A Teacher in the Shadows [mod please]

[Elric van Maer]

First Darkening of his visit to NP: Summer

Elric had arrived only earlier that brightening in Nexus Prime. He wasn't wasting any time. In fact, he had been on the go since he got there... visiting the trade circle first and foremost for a change in clothes and then visiting a tavern to change into them. He was all business in Nexus Prime thus far, fun could come later.

The shadows of the wooden buildings along the area known as "The Docks" casted down upon him with rigid consistency. They brought with them a sense of anonymity, an air of secrecy. He liked that about the night... it comforted him. And as he made his way past the dimly lit buildings and storefronts, he felt oddly at home in a strange city.

But he wasn't out for a late stroll. No, Elric was out looking for something or more accurately, someone. He didn't know the person's name or what they looked like, but he knew they'd be around. At least he hoped so. Making his way through the dirty streets and pitch black alleyways, his cloaked head turned side to side, eyes scanning the darkest shadows for a person. For a thief.

He knew they were somewhat organized in some cities, but wasn't sure if that was true in Nexus Prime. Either way, he wanted to learn their ways, their techniques. Elric wanted to dive head first into the underworld and figured the easiest way to do that would be to start life as a "criminal." If he was known by them, they would purchase his services. And if he was trusted, those who deal in poisons would trust their recipes to him.

He was eager, but he would have to be patient. First and foremost, he needed to find a teacher... or someone who knew one.

[Toruko Kasui]

Dusk promised the rising of the darker entities. Dusk promised figures emerging from the shadows. Dusk in the Docks was a dangerous time. Bulky sailors patrolled their boats and quarters, carrying a lantern on the end of a heavy pole. One swing would promise your head rolling along the wooden planks. Slimy mould stuck to the bottom of shoes, mud splattering against trousers of those who dared show their faces at this time. The flickering lights from inside empty houses, warehouses and storage yards filled to the brim with looming boxes, large crates and sacks piled high. The keepers of these darkened buildings usual boasted scruffy hats, dark rags for clothes and blackened faces you could never see.

Some reported sightings of gangs, thugs and stalking figures following them into the night but never being hurt. Yet some were brutally mugged, beaten and even murdered. The Docks was indeed an ideal location. Once the deed was done, the sea would cover your tracks. It was no wonder even the sailors were on edge at dusk. Their superstition got the better of them when the waves pounded boats against the dock, imaginations whispering of bodies in the water floating up from their graves knocking for revenge.

Here it was easier to lose someone than to find them unless you knew where to look. As Elric zipped through alleyways, eyes scanning at all time, he was unaware someone was watching him. The stray cats fighting large rats scurried around knocking over bins and small empty crates setting a heart ajump. Their screeching covering the sounds of fabric moving from shadow to shadow. The blanket of the sky hid figures well here. Indeed it should, as a couple of figures emerged behind Elric without making a sound.

They moved swiftly, not wanting their victim to make a single sound. The first leapt silently from an alley beside Elric, pushing him with full force against a wall with their elbow. The second drew a set of daggers in each hand and held one blade up to Elric's throat, the second dagger pointing to his stomach pressing in. The figures were both male. Their faces were covered by cloth, their eyes piercing. The first spoke in a croaky accent, making sure Elric couldn't wriggle away from their grasp.

"Well, well, well," he began to cough. "A new face around the Docks! A new face means new blood, new money, new openings for us, eh?"He pressed Elric harder to the damp stone wall behind. "You gots money don't ya? Cough it up now or you'll say bye bye!"
The second man pressed the daggers up harder but still not piercing the flesh.

[Elric van Maer]

Elric had been looking for trouble and indeed it had found him. The only problem with it was that he was on the wrong end of the trouble. The last thing he wanted to be was the victim, but that's exactly where he stood... knife to the throat and all. Doubt was the first sensation to strike his mind after the initial jolt of surprise. It was doubt that he was walking down the right path, doubt that he was where he should be, doing what he should be doing. The second sensation was a more primal instinct that all together erased the doubt from his mind... it was his fight or flight response, his instinct was telling him to survive. Still, his logic told him he was outnumbered and unable to fight hardened criminals (as these ruffians seemed to be), and so his mind instructed his instinct to sit back and watch the show.

"Money?" he said, without almost a jovial tone. He laughed at the idea, knowing good and well that they would be hard-pressed to find money on him. The few bank notes he carried were in his name, and mist importantly, in his boots. He carried only 10 crowns in a purse at his hip, likely what they would find.

"If I had money, would I be hanging around here?" He had a valid point, especially in the dead of night... why would he be at the docks if he had money, why not a nice inn or restaurant? He would try this tactic first... if it didn't work, he had something else in mind.

[Toruko Kasui]

The victim did not appear to struggle much. His build was heavier than either thief had expected. They didn't worry much, they had theived many a time from all sorts of races. The pair were not well known for their antics. Sometimes only one would dart off into the night returning with a small pouch of crowns, other times the two would return to their little, rat-infested hidden shack with jewels, weapons, their cloaks stained with the blood of those they slew. This darkening, the pair were tired of mini adventures outside the walls of the city. This darkening, the pair wanted to steal from whoever waddled past. Thankfully the new face did.

The second thief laughed coarsly under the fabric hiding his identity. The dagger he held slackened as his breath clouded in the cool air. Small droplets of rain swept over them in the tense moment below. The two thieves looked at each other and laughed hard in Elric's face. How dare he think himself so high and mighty. Those who knew the Docks well wouldn't wander in here, with money or without it. This was a place people could die easily in. Notorious for the thieves, the gangs, the assasins, the stalkers, the angels of death reaping rewards for their dirty ways of life.

"Money?" the first laughed again. "You think we're only about money, boy?"
"You are shallow if you think the only thing you can steal from a person is money!" snarled the second letting his grip of the daggers tighten again. "Don't make me laugh! You have a lot to learn about this city, brat! Everybody knows not to cross the path of thieves in the Docks at this time!"

The two thieves snarled a few times before looking at each other and nodding. The second repositioned the lower dagger to Elric's liver. A sure fatality if the blade was to pierce the flesh.
"Humour us," the first said, gripping to Elric's clothes. "Why are you sulking around here! Why not run to mummy?"
The smaller thief with the daggers cut free a buckle, threatening ever more to stab the man.

[Elric van Maer]

Elric's hair stood on end as the knife moved to the side of his torso, pressing ever closer to his skin. His attempt at theatrics had failed miserably, though he was still alive now... perhaps the conversation he had started would be his ticket out of harm's way and into the vocation of harming. He tried his best to control his breathing, but the air escaped his lungs in quick spurts, causing steam to project from his mouth like a small pump. He had to think fast... and what he had in mind before came to mind once more...

"I was looking for you," he said plainly. "Or rather someone of your repute, I want to learn your ways."

What he had said would likely come off as a desperate attempt to save his own arse, which was why Elric included...

"I have certain 'skills,' that could come in handy you see."

[Toruko Kasui]

The rain poured down, droplets lashing on the daggers, shining a smirk, reflecting the fabrics and eyes of the two figures. They were both wearing matching navy fabrics anyone could guess was cotton, not tailored for their builds but tight enough not to flap in the wind. As the rain hissed down onto their hoods, dark patches began to form from the top of their heads down to their knees. The second, holding the daggers ever closer, cursed as his darkened blue eyes flicked up to the clouds. He cursed again under his breath. His daggers would not be enjoying this weather in the slightest. If they rusted later on, he wouldn't be happy either.

The two snorted at an instant of the man's plainness.
"You were looking for us?" asked the first. His grip had loosened slightly. "You mean, you want to thieve too? Ha!" He began to laugh coarsely. Surely there could have been other ways the man could've looked for thieves. Why pick a most dangerous way to do so?
"And what would you have to say? You want to learn how we do things? You want to thieve from innocent souls? What if it got you in trouble. How would your mummy cope?" The second laughed again. "What 'skills' can you possibly have? You didn't even expect someone to mug you! It seems you have no skills to show for!"

The two realised this man was a waste of time. There was nothing to steal and they were getting bored. The rain had dampened their moods fully. They both let go slowly, the one with daggers still pointing at the stranger, just incase he tried moves of his own.
"I'm tired of you," said one. "You've obviously got nothing fun about you. It's raining, looks like you're lucky tonight."
They turned to leave, getting ready to run and jump full force, sulking back into the shadows to disappear.
"You ain't gonna follow us are ya?" said the other, the daggers still shimmering. "Boy, what's your purpose? What's yer name!" A pause loomed over the situation. Clouds rolling by, threatening thunder in the summer night.

[Elric van Maer]

They let go of him and he was thankful, but the things they were saying weren't making him think he had found the best way to learn what he wanted to learn. Perhaps these two were too rough around the edges, perhaps they didn't find any "craft" in what they did. Elric had heard of thieves who held their art in high esteem, but perhaps these two were just rejects... failures at keeping real jobs so they turned to the streets. It was possible and likely.

"Grey," he said when asked his name. Elric had decided on that name while on his way to Nexus Prime. It would allow him some mystery and likely keep his parents' name off the streets. That was the idea, at least.

"And I've got skills that can put you to sleep for a week," he said nodding at the taller of the two, "And you unable to walk for candlemarks," he motioned to the other.

He was speaking the truth. Of the many things he had learned from Professor Guess in Vortex, a knock out potion had been one of them. It was strong as he had been told, and he had sold one such potion in Taralon. It was that potion that he was fairly sure had made him a murderer... since he didn't tell the buyer what the antidote was... the person was likely to die in their knocked out state.

[Toruko Kasui]

A flash of light broke the silence, rain pouring down heavily. The daggers reflected shimmers into the eyes of all three figures, wet from the water. A droplet streamed down the nose of the taller thief as he chuckled. His hands turned to his hips and belted a strong hearty laugh. He approached the Grey character and slapped him on the back, continuing to laugh. The other thief looked on in sheer disbelief. The man took off the fabric from his face and revealed a surprisingly young face. He was, looking at him, about twenty-eight years of age, a bit of stubble poking from his enlarged chin. His teeth bore whilst he laughed, slapping the stranger again.

"Ha!" he belted again. "What a fine man you are! You remind me of...me! I like you, kid. You got spunk alright. We could've killed you easy though. Be more careful!"
The second thief stared in complete disbelief, sighing as he lowered his daggers. He cursed again under the fabric he refused to pull away from his face.
He walked over, darting his eyes up and down the alleyway, making sure no other thieves were roaming around.
"Keep your voice down, damn it!" he hissed. "Alright, kid. No harm in taking you on. If you have such impressive skills, you could become an alright thief, if you have it in you. It's not easy. It's tough, challengin-"
"And so much fun!" he roared with laughter. It must've been some sight. A total flip of personalities. The two, whilst stalking the alleys were deadly, as soon as they stopped, they were back to their old selves.

The second sighed heavily and leaned himself up against the opposite wall hoping to be more sheltered from the unforgiving rain. A second flash and clap of thunder rolled by, not affecting their moods.
"Grey, huh?" he peered over. "I'm sure that's not the name your mummy gave you but whatever you want. Best to keep yer name hidden if you're going to be a thief. We could use an extra hand... But we ain't babysitting ya. Got to work for it, got it? What you looking at? Assasin? Burglar-"
"Man, I hate those guys! Always sneaking around into other people's homes-"
"We steal too," he sighed another time. He slapped his forehead with his hand. "Come on then Puppy Grey, lets get you shaped up. You know you could die, right?"
The sight, the conversation, even the mood of it all seemed so out of place. These two weren't your average thugs, though. There was much more to these two bickering buddies than let on.

[Elric van Maer]

Elric was completely taken aback by what happened next. The thief who was laughing aloud was showing a completely different side of his personality, or so it seemed. It made sense that thieves could laugh too, after all, Elric didn't plan on giving up laughing when he started thieving. Such a thing didn't seem proportionately appropriate, at all. But it was the smaller one, the one not laughing that continued with the now mild-mannered threats and comments. Still, his question got Elric thinking... "what kind of thief are you going to be?"

The idea of an assassin excited him. It seemed the be a respected vocation, even outside the realm of criminals. Time and time again he had heard stories of famous killers and assassins, and even more about the notorious reputations of Arakmatian assassins in particular. They seemed to come and go like the sand. These of course were romantic versions of reality, but at the chance to have someone romanticize what he did, Elric would jump. Breaking into people's houses and stealing didn't seem so bad either, it was likely easier... the loot was probably top notch and he could think of some acidic concoctions that could come in handy on door locks.

"I...I'm not sure," he said to the shorter of the two when he was asked.

And then came the deciding moment, the contract in a way...

"Come on then Puppy Grey, lets get you shaped up. You know you could die, right?"

Elric's answer was short. "I know, I'm in."

[Toruko Kasui]

ooc: sorry it's been a while! I'm coming online more during the mornings though so please bear with me!

The rain was really beginning to pour down. It was irritating the second out of the two. He flipped his daggers away in a short flash of light and cursed, looking up at the sky with hatred in his eyes. This kind of weather could put even thieves in bad moods. His gaze fell upon the Puppy of the group. He tilted his head as he stared, not knowing if the pup could see his eyes or not. He eyed him; He's not too short, sort of good shape I guess, hmm his clothes are a bit ... crap, not a bad build but not perfect, he's no assassin unless he puts in the candlemarks, I guess it's a pick pocketting thief for starters! he thought to himself.

"Alright then," he nodded. "Name's Dru. This here's Craven. Of course, I ain't telling you anything else. That's all ye need to-"
"We're brothers!" belted out the first. He slapped his brother on the back then slapped Grey's back too. "Blood related and all that! Not much fun doin' things on yer own!"
His brother was obviously irritated. The rain, the loudness, the strange situation this turn of events threw at him; he was in a bad mood alright.
"Right, let's get down to it," Dru sighed. "You're not in a fantastic shape. Assassins are light, strong, very blarsay-"
"That's not how you says it!" Craven roared again with laughter, slapping his thigh heavily.
"So I think the best way to start out," he tried to ignore his silly sibling. "Is to start with the basics. Want to learn some pick-pocketing, Puppy? First though, let's head back for now. I hate all this stupid filthy rain!"

Dru scanned the area with his eyes. He was very surprised nobody had heard them, or should he say his brother, and come running down the alley to mug them all! Indeed so it was in the Docks that thieves sometimes thieved from each other. To a thief, anyone will do. Of course, assassins were harder to mug. They were barely even come across and if found, would certainly murder you for even trying. Such was the risk of thieving at night. During the day, however, things were a bit simpler. Of course the guards would be on their watch all the time but no other real dangers lurked. More people were around which meant more opportunities which meant more money and items to thieve.

They began to make their way through a spider's web maze of alleyways until a small broken down shack, held together desperately by rusting nails, came into sight behind warehouses and dumps. The place smelled awful. Rotting fish and garbage stained the air that should've been fresh with sea breeze. Stray cats were chasing or even being chased by large rats scurrying to and fro. There was a certain taste one required to even want to enter such a place willingly.

"This is home sweet home!" beamed Craven, mouth agape. His mouth was flowing air in and out rather than through his nose. This was probably because it smelled so bad to breathe in. His brother was doing the same.
"For now, this is where we lives. It's not great but who cares, eh?"
"Come on inside!" Craven beamed, slapping Grey inside the shack hoping he would make a welcome addition to their small thieving group.

[Elric van Maer]

Elric found the chemistry between the brothers quite amuzing. While one was as serious as acid, the other was as jovial as a drunk. But it was also obvious that they could both get the job done, though when he got to their shack he'd likely be surprised as to how little it appeared they had in deed accomplished. He simply nodded at the mention of pickpocketing, figuring it was as good a way to thieve as any. It worried him a bit, but the opportunity to steal from someone while they walked next to you was something of a rush of adrenaline. Perhaps this would end up being quite the perfect entry for Elric into the underworld.

The rain poured upon his now cloaked head, the grey fabirc doing very little to keep his hair dry. His face, on the other hand, was more or less shielded, as the hood came quite far in front of his face. This was why he had wished for a hood to begin with... to hide his face, for just about any reason. They moved through the alleyways in such a way that Elric was lost quickly into the trek. After all, he was new to the city, quite new, and didn't know his way around even the main roads, let alone the alleys. When they finally made it to the shack, he wasn't so sure he wanted to enter it at all. The smell was horrid, as was the general construction. Elric knew he'd have to learn from these guys, but living like this he wouldn't do beyond their training.

He ducked inside the shack, a rank smell of dead fish greeting him. He could have vomited on any other day, but he was far too unsure about what would be happening, a sense of excitement and fear bundled together. He simply entered and did as he was told. After all, he would have to keep his ears open if he was going to learn their tips and tricks. His life of thievery was about to begin.

[Toruko Kasui]

The excuse for a door swung open, almost falling off the rusting hinges set into rotting wood. A night like this was not good for the little shack. As the rain poured outside, it dripped inside. The ceiling was very low, one would have to bend their neck down to stand straight. Even the smaller thief had to bow his head as he entered. The dampness of the shack was choking the air. A constant harmony of drips smacking pans, buckets and the wooden floor below made it hard to concentrate on much else. Summer made air sticky, rain made it humid, this combination alongside the stench of fish and rotting rubbish outside and inside the shack was disgusting. It felt like a shower was needed everytime you moved.

The hut consisted of one room. It was only a few metres long too. Pans, buckets and other forms of containers were dotted around catching, with failure, the dripping leaks from the roof. A hole in the side of one of the walls posed as a miserable looking fireplace with only a few blankets rolled up sitting there, out of the way from the drips. Not much else was found here, indeed it seemed to be abandoned were it not for the buckets placed precisely by drips. The floors had holes poking in and out, probably rot from the damp. The walls looked tired of standing, matching the floor in material. Topping the hut off was a wooden ceiling boasting many tears and more holes letting in a shred of light from the street lamps further away and, of course, the rain.

As the three entered, Dru ran across the room to what appeared to be a peep hole in the back wall. His eye shut, the other peering through making sure nobody was around. Once he was certain the coast was clear he sighed, throwing down a pouch on the floor. He sat down, cross legged, his left arm resting on his lap. Craven smirked at his brother and copied his motion. They sat still for a moment, not speaking nor looking at anything but the floor. The rain was lifting only slightly.
"Summer should be hot and dry," Dru nodded to himself. "Not like this."
"Welcome to the shack, boy!" Craven chuckled. "You gots a place to stay or do we need to put you up for the night?" He waited for Puppy Grey's response before lifting a rolled blanket from the fireplace and setting up two bedspreads. Craven tossed a half eaten bread roll to his brother and a whole bread roll to the new kid.
"Tomorrow, we show you how it's all done," Dru said, still looking at the floor, munching lightly on his bread roll. "You should get some rest."