Zephyra was far too young to be in a tavern. As she stood under the sign of a winking mermaid she knew that. Even though there were some kids going about- likely spawn of the workers or of those occupying rooms- she did not fit in here. It wasn’t a problem, though. She came here for one reason only and that was to start and keep up a bit of mischief and fun. So she let the door swing open and silently approached the bar. With the barkeep’s back turned, Zeph extended her hand out, her fingers moving and twisting like serpents making a bit of red light drift towards the barkeep’s skull.
 
When he turned there was no sixteen summers young girl standing there but rather a full-fledged woman of twenty or more summers. With her dark chocolate hair and her red eyes, she grinned as he served her up a dainty glass of red wine. It was a port wine and it was sweet to the taste. She took the time to look around the tavern and catch some targets for her play. The first was a round table engaged in a dice game.
 
Zeph moved behind one, pretending to watch, but her hands were working behind the man’s back and a flick of red light went to his temple. Then she shifted ever so slightly to the left to the bulkier man next to him. The same fate befell him. She stepped back and into the shadow of a column before her mind tricks set in. Soon the table was moving as the two argued over which one of them was a ‘cheating bastard’. She chuckled quietly to herself and sipped at the red wine in her hands.
 

Then she noticed a woman at the bar who appeared to be waiting for someone. She was alone. With quiet steps she came up behind her and worked her serpent-like fingers. She drew out the woman’s fears and one of her worst seemed to be of cats. With an eyebrow raised she looked through her mind’s eye and saw the common room fill up with nothing but cats and even the patrons became cats. The woman started screaming and backed herself into a corner. Who would have thought a grown woman would be afraid of cats?

She was getting so sick of this tavern.  She had been spending far too much time here, and she was beginning to fear that she was going to run out of clients before too long.  Adeluna was a large area, but only so many people would be looking to hire an assassin at one time.  Perhaps it was time for her to lay low, and stop taking jobs for a while.   Regardless of if she decided this was the case, she had one more client that she was due to meet this evening.

She sat at a table near the back center of the tavern, watching for her client to arrive.  It was not the first time she had done work for this particular woman.  Dalanesca didn’t much like her.  She was a bit of talker, but the woman paid handsomely and who was she to turn it down?  So, she ordered an ale and took her time.  The type of ale tonight was a bit heavier than most – and that was fine with her – she would just take longer to drink it.

Eventually, she noticed that her client had already arrived at the tavern and had merely looked different than last they had met.   Within second of her noticing the woman, a young girl, who looked as though she could not have been much older than fifteen or sixteen, walked up behind the woman and did something strange.  Within moments, the woman was cowering in a corner, screaming something about cats.  She could see the amusement in the young one’s eyes as the woman seemed to mentally dilapidate on the spot for no reason at all.

Dalanesca was not amused.  Whoever this girl – nay, this child –was, she was messing with Dalanesca’s client and she was not happy about it.  She stood from her table, abandoning her flagon of ale, and marched straight over to the young girl.  She had the absolute intention of stopping her, and asking her what exactly it was that she thought she was doing.   

As soon as she was near the girl, she reached an arm out so as to grab her wrist and turn her, if she did not yank her arm away immediately.  ”What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, a threatening tone to her voice.  ”This woman’s done nothing to you, now stop whatever strange magic you are using against her and put her right.  She’s to pay me money and I’ll not have a child ruining it for me.”  Her words came out in nearly a venomous hiss, and she was doing everything she could not to turn this girl into a target. 

Zephyra had not noticed the woman in dark garb hanging around at the back at the tavern, then again there were always shady people hanging around at the rear of taverns in their dark clothes and full to the brim with weaponry. The woman did not look out of place and so she did not pay much notice to her. It was her mistake for the woman had indeed noticed her and noticed the little mind games that she was making the people of the tavern prey to. It wasn’t until a forceful hand grabbed hold of her arm, twisting it ruefully, that she noticed the woman.
 
Apparently the woman Zephyra now had in the corner running from imaginary cats was some contact this woman was to meet- some contact who was to give her money. Unfortunately she knew how people could be like around these parts when they didn’t get their money. At first she winced at the pain in her arm, finally dropping her mug on the ground and spilling its contents on the floor. “Why don’t you just go get what she owes you It’s not like it would be that difficult.” Of course it didn’t occur to her that it might be some sort of actual business transaction and not a collection of debt.
 
When the woman only twisted her arm more and was quite insistent that a girl wasn’t going to ruin things for her, she outstretched two fingers and flicked them. A small dash of red light went flying across the tavern and into the woman’s eyes. Immediately she relaxed and then looked around the tavern perplexed at why she was there and where in the world had all the cats gone that had been chasing her? She thought for sure they were out for her blood. Zephyra rolled her eyes at a silly notion as that.
 
With force she jerked her arm out from the woman’s grasp. She looked to be an assassin of some kind. God help who she was after, since she was so unpleasant to her and she was not even her target! “Look all it is… is a bit of harmless fun. I start brawls and make people like her curl up in corners and cry. It’s not like I am killing people like some people in this room might be doing or have already done.” She rubbed the spot where the woman had grabbed her. “Do you think I could help you? You cannot say something like this can’t be useful! Watch!”
 

Zephyra moved as silent as the grave behind a table of two card gaming fellows. With fingers twisting and flicking, a spot of red light went into the man’s head in front of her and then into the man’s eyes across the table. They both saw their hand as winning and the other as losing and before long the fight had escalated to such that the table had been turn over, all the drinks had been spilled, and the barkeep had them both thrown out. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. “You can’t say this girl can’t help you.”

She rolled her eyes as the girl winced in pain at her grip – she was barely exerting any pressure onto the girls arm (although she was most definitely not taking into account the age difference between herself and this girl).  The girl dropped the mug of whatever she had coerced the bartender into serving her, and it spilled around their feet.  Dalanesca had to stifle a bit of harsh laughter as the young girl asked her why she did not just go take advantage of the woman in her weakened state and get what she owed her – she did not seem to understand the nature as to why she was awaiting that particular woman.

Without releasing the girls arm, she gave it a bit of twist and hissed out a threatening string of words.  ”Don’t comment on things that you can’t comprehend,” she said, breathing a warning to the girl.  ”It’s not so simple as collecting a debt, little girl.”  She did not release her grip, but watched as the girl undid her spell, or whatever sort of hold she had taken over the client she had come to seek.  She had to admit to herself, she was mildly impressed at her abilities for how young she seemed.  

The girl finally seemed to have worked up enough courage to take her arm back, she kept a watchful eye on her.  ”Harmless is only harmless if it doesn’t affect anyone else, and you’re having a negative effect on me,” she spoke, just above a whisper.  She froze momentarily when the girl mentioned being of service to her.

She stood back and allowed the girl to walk off, and watched her weave her intricate web of mental control upon two men playing a card game.  Impressive, she couldn’t help but think to herself as the two men got into a brawl.  The girl returned to her previous spot and spoke to her, and Dalanesca was quiet for a moment.

The girl wasn’t wrong – her talents could prove useful to Dalanesca.  She just had to think of how.  ”So, you want to cause a bit of trouble, do you?” she asked.  Met with an eager reply, she nodded.  ”Fine.  I’ll figure out a way for you to assist me, I suppose.  I’ll pay you.  But if you get in my way even once,” she hissed, a threatening tone taking over the mere annoyance that had first masked her voice.  ”I will slit your throat from ear to ear without a moment’s hesitation.”  Her warning seemed out of place when paired with the sweet smile that had spread across her lips.

”After I collect from this client, you can come with me to my next meeting.  We will see if your talents are indeed… useful,” she said.  ”Wait here,” she said, and wandered over to the woman she had been meant to meet.  She conversed with her shortly, was handed a satchel of crescents, and walked back over to the girl.  ”What is your name, child?” she asked, her voice almost softer than it had been previously.

Zephyra was not used to pain. Being the child of Angela, she had been well-protected most of her life. The most pain she had ever felt was the severing of her mental link between herself and her dearest, and now departed, friend Nyssa. It was a different pain, though, being entirely mental and emotional. Physical pain was unusual to her and it likely hurt more than it realistically actually did. The woman laughed at her and she did not know whether the laugh was in mockery of her wincing or something else.
 
Her arm was twisted and Zephyra winced again and let out a small little yelp that garnered an interesting look from the barkeep but he did nothing to stop the altercation, if it could be considered one. “Comprehend? What, you probably want some money from her or maybe a trade?” When the woman told her that it was not so simplistic as taking a debt she was owed, the girl rolled her eyes. What, did she need signed papers? A blood pact? An oath? “You need a blood pact or something to collect a debt? Just collect the debt! At any rate she will come to her senses soon.”
 
Rubbing her arm, though it truly was not that sore, as she scoffed at the woman saying she had a negative affect on her. It was not as if Zephyra had mind warped the woman and stolen the silver crescents off her and left the assassin before her with nothing to settle her debt. All she did was pick at the woman’s brain a while to find out one of her truest fears and play on them against her for a bit of… mischievous entertainment. Besides, she couldn’t be that much of a kind person if she was having someone assassinated.
 
But luckily for the budding psionic, the woman seemed a bit impressed with her talents. No doubt her age played a factor. While she still had a long way yet to go, even sixteen year-old mages could not control their powers in ways she could and the arcane was usually considered easier than the psionic.
 
A broad smirk crossed her face when the woman inquired if she wanted to get into a little trouble. That was precisely what she wanted to do! After all it was why she was here in the first place, messing with people’s minds and starting bar fights. She mentioned pay but the young Zephyra wasn’t even really interested in the pay. What she was interested in was the trouble and the adventure.  “I won’t get in your way,” then she paused and took a jesting tone. “Of course if I did I would fiddle with your brain and make you forget!”
 

While the assassin conversed with the woman who was just barely out of her stupor, Zephyra went over to the bar and got another delicate glass of wine, paying extra for the glass she broke even though she was certain such a thing like that happened often here. When the woman came back she smiled. “Zephyra Rose, daughter of Angela Rose. What is yours, woman who sneaks around in shadows?”

When the young girl made a comment of fiddling with her mind, Dalanesca shot her a look as sharp as the dagger in her sheath.  ”You’ll do no such thing, because if you spend more than a few minutes with me you are going to realize how much a terrible idea that would be,” she said, the threat quite apparent in her voice.  ”You’ll do well to just listen to what I tell you and do as I ask, and not interfere,” she added, as an aside. 
 
When she returned from negotiating her contract, she looked back to the girl as she introduced herself.  Dalanesca was silent for a moment, wondering if she should reveal her name to this child or not.  After a moment’s hesitation, she decided that not much harm would come of it – and hoped she was not wrong.  ”That’s… that’s actually a very pretty name,” she commented, her face seeming mildly surprised.  ”I’m Dalanesca.  You may call me that in private, but in the presence of clients, targets, or any other sort of company, you are to refer to me as ‘D’ and nothing else.  Is that clear?” she asked, her eyes striking, but her demeanor had warmed up a bit towards the girl. 
 
”My contract fell through with that woman over there,” she said, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the woman that Zephyra had mind-controlled only minutes before. ”Thanks to your meddling.  But you will repay me with your assistance, and if you are in fact useful I’ll split the coin with you,” she continued.  ”I’ve another client coming to meet me here shortly.  You will say nothing unless spoken to, at which point you will impress upon the client that you are my apprentice and are learning to follow in my footsteps,” she said. 
 
She grew quiet for a moment.  ”Actually, this might be a good time for you to showcase to me what sort of an asset you could be,” she said, a devilish glint to her eyes.  ”Convince the client to pay me triple.  Can you do that?”  She liked this idea, if Zephyra would go along with it.  The client was already known to pay well, and if she could convince the client to pay her even more… then this girl might prove to be an asset after all.
 

After a few moments, a man came in and approached the two of them.  He introduced himself, and Dalanesca assured him that he was supposed to be meeting her.  She turned to look at Zephyra as an indication that she should work her magic, so to speak, and theoretically sat back, waiting to see what would happen.

If she had not been noticing the dagger and the other weapons this woman had equipped herself with, Zephyra would have rolled her eyes at the threat towards her. Do what she was told? It sounded very much like her mother, and if she wouldn’t listen to her mother, a Goddess, why would she listen to some cloak and dagger assassin that she had no true proof was even that threatening? No, Zephyra liked to live on the wild and unpredictable side of things and, even though it thus far got her in trouble, she still kept doing it anyway. “I won’t be ruining anything for you, for God’s sake!” Then she mumbled, inaudibly she hoped, “Get the stick out of your rear.”
 
The assassin complimented her name as ‘very pretty’ and it seemed such an odd thing coming from a hired killer. One did not usually expect a hired blade to compliment their name as being something ‘very pretty’. “Uh, thanks, I guess,” was all she could muster, the awkwardness of the situation having made things difficult for her. She introduced herself as a woman named Dalanesca, but went on to explain that in front of anyone else she was to be referred to simple as the letter ‘D’. Zephyra found it a bit cheesy but no matter. “Well, your name is pretty, too, Dalanesca.”
 
Dal, at least that’s what Zephyra was content to call her in her mind, explained that her contract with the woman over in the corner had fallen through thanks to her mind meddling. She wasn’t quite sure why, as she should have been back to fully functioning capacity a few minutes after the spell was lifted from her. She thought it sounded more like an excuse than anything. At any rate, Dal told her she would repay her through her assistance. How, she wasn’t sure.
 
Dal had another client coming to meet her and Zephyra was given strict instructions to sit there, not speak unless spoken to, and pretend she was an apprentice learning the art of the blade. Zephyra wondered how that would fly as she could not imagine many assassins having apprentices following them around. She nodded in agreement and was ready to take on the challenge when Dal changed her mind. She wanted her to showcase what an asset she could be by getting the client to agree to pay triple. Her eyes lit up with excitement at the chance to mind meddle for some benefit other than amusement. “I think I can,” she said with perhaps too much excitement in her voice.
 
Not long after a man came into the tavern and approached them. Dal did the initial work of assuring the man that they were who he was looking for and then she saw Dal glance her way and assumed it must be her subtle gesture that now it was her turn. Zephyra kept her hands down but her fingers rippled like snakes and soon a flash of red sunk into his temples. She had woven a false belief that Dal was the only assassin capable of completing his job and so she deserved triple pay.