She was taken for a moment by his eyes, the silver irises causing her to hesitate and simply stare, her lips slightly parted. It took a moment for her to snap from her trance, carefully maneuvering the cloak about his shoulders before flipping the cloak over his silvery head. She then rested her hands upon his shoulders, sighing faintly," I… Do not know," she breathes quietly answer, her sincere confusion and honesty clear in her answer as she stifles a sigh.

Releasing his shoulders, she looks down one end of the alley, then down the other before focusing upon him again," We passed a tanner on the way here, I need to get this strap repaired… Could you wait here while I go there? I won't be long, I promise,"

Aven nodded, a bit flustered from the extended eye contact. Hakon really was breathtaking, her hazel eyes almost entrancing him into a daze. She wasn't sure if they'd met before, either, which only raised more questions. If she was the blurred figure in his memories, what did that mean? He hadn't studied much into memory manipulation magic, but he did know that memories weren't easy to destroy without majorly damaging the brain's other functions, and he didn't feel impaired in that respect. Judging by that fact, he assumed his memories were swept under the proverbial rug, as it were. That could explain the flashbacks, as specific stimuli could allow a resurfacing of those buried memories. Still, it could be coincidence, as he'd only been fully awake for a day. 

"Yes, I will be fine here. I just need to sit down for a bit, and I should be back to full strength." Speaking of strength, it was probably wise that he create dark matter to use. Unlike the world Aven remembered, there was not even a shred of dark matter around him, as if it did not exist naturally. He would need to convert normal Matter into dark matter by himself for use if he planned to employ his abilities. 

Hakon smiled, resting upon his head, murmuring," Be safe," before pulling away, beginning to stride off as she scooped up the shield, tucking it beneath her arm again as she strode off. Again, she did not see the gaunt man amongst the crowd, watching them closely. Her concerns lay with her shield as she moved toward where she spotted the tanner.

Her mind wandered. She wasn't knowledgeable to even guess that her memory was wiped, merely that God was teasing her with some untapped potential. Immortals were always so bored, so why not? It was certainly a possibility.

Aven laid against the empty stall, slowly recovering his strength. He could feel his power slowly returning, but he had barely any dark matter to work with. Getting his hands on more food and drink was obviously his best option, but he could just as easily convert other loose Matter he found. The problem was, he was in a city, where there were no twigs or leaves, of even dirt. Only stone and wood, and he wasn't about to rip apart a building just to replenish his abilities. Later, they'd have to go eat somewhere, so he could be even relatively useful on whatever job they found. 

The repose, however, was short lived. A rapier soared from out of nowhere, sailing to pierce Aven's heart. Aven caught sight of it just in time to move his torso to the right, the fine blade piercing straight through the middle of his shoulder and burying itself into the wood behind him, and he gasped in pain. The blade thrummed with a dull, holy light, sizzling again Aven's flesh and halting any attempted regeneration. The gaunt man approached quickly from a distance, drawing two daggers from his belt, content with having Aven pinned. 

The man from the tavern? Making his move as soon Miss Kilandre left, I should have anticipated that. His body descended into the shadow of the stall, the holy blade nearly severing his arm in the process, as the holy light negated his magic in that area. In the darkness, Aven is at a loss of what to do: he was far too injured to run, assuming that the man could imbue his weapons with holy magic, they would cut straight through his shadow. He couldn't fight without adequate dark matter, either. What could he do?!

Hakon meanwhile bartered quietly with the tanner, even managing to swap some awkward banter that broke the grizzled man into laughter- managing to crack a smile across the serious woman's features. She eventually was able to barter a coin and the strap for a clean belt and buckle, settling down upon her knees beside the tanner as she began to fix the large strap upon the shield, vaguely she was aware of some odd feeling in her gut, warning her of something. Of what exactly, she could not place her finger upon but she began to worry about Aven nonetheless.

Was light really so draining to him? It was a port city, so the sunlight from the sea was harsh, reflecting off the waves and likely heightening its power. Her lips curled into a small frown as she finished pushing the leather thong through the small holes within the shield's frame and fastening them in tight knots before she stood, swinging the kite shield over her back as she nods faintly and begins to head back to the alley. Alas, she pauses, noticing a stand of fruits… Maybe some food would help them both, he was likely a little drunk too, right?

Aven was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or, more accurately, the sun and a bloodthirsty sword wielder. He figured he had two seconds before the man closed in and finished him off, and there weren't enough shadows to defend himself with. The only chance he had to survive was to kill the man by turning him into dark matter, and he didn't want to stoop so low to end a life. Perhaps that was a core part of his being, even without memories. 

Hakon idly decided now was not the time, her gut screaming at her to get going- maybe she was sick? By now she felt a little light headed herself wth worry and began to jog  back to the alley. Almost instantly she noted the man above the cowering mage in her cloak and roared," FACE ME!" Immediately drawing sword and shield- and charging like a bull down the narrow pathway.

Hell hath no fury like a Paladin who's traveling companions are threatened.

Hakon brought her sword to her side akin to a lance in the narrow walkway, shield held up and at the ready. Moving with surprising speed. If she had been truly donned in Paladin armor, she would have been much, much slower.

Aven was seconds away from being diced when Hakon bellowed her challenge. The assailant's attention was diverted, and he swore, bringing his daggers up to defend. Meanwhile, the holy aura faded from the rapier impaling Aven, opening an oppertunity for him. Aven gripped the blade, black veins rapidly spreading over the blade until it was pitch dark, and dissolved into particles which flowed into Aven's mouth.A small grin surfaced on Aven's face: he was back in business. From the shadows, a tendril shot out, wrapping around the man's right arm, restricting his movement and opening up his right side for attack.

The broadsword sank into the man's exposed side, crunching through bone and meat like a massive fang closing upon hapless prey, quickly followed by the full brunt of the kite shield crashing directly into the man, ripping him away from Aven like a charging buffalo connecting with an unfortunate soul at full tilt. Hakon managed to keep herself from tripping over the tangle of limbs, quickly retreating a few steps, placing herself protectively before Aven with her back to him, already a small pool of sweat was visible on her lower back through her tunic. Blood dribbled from the tip of the sword, splashing upon the ground as the Paladin faced the gaunt man, preparing to strike him again if need be, shield held aloft.

Another memory surfaced, this time of another dark tunnel, different then before, of a feeling of hopelessness. One that was borne out of fearing for the life of someone quite dear to her- being alone, facing a hundred little enemies… The relief of calling out and hearing an answer, of falling into the arms of… Who? Her lips formed a name, but upon realizing it, she quickly forgot- what was that name? She knew- she knew then she had to find whoever this nameless person was, each of these flashes was based around them.

The attacker reeled back, bleeding profusely from the giant gash, unable to defend from the heavy sword with a single dagger on his offside. Instead, his weapon pulsed with holy light, and he severed the tendril constricting his arm, dropping the dagger in his right to place a hand over the fatally deep wound, light emanating from the area as he used a powerful healing spell to seal it. The action seemed to draw a sizable amount of his mana, as his eyes drooped slightly from the effort. He scowled at Hakon and Aven, speaking in a harsh tone. "You would impede the work of God, woman? That monster you are protecting bears the unmistakable stigma of necromancy, the shadows obey his commands." His eyes narrowed. "It is pure evil."

Aven had no words, though he had plenty of thoughts. This isn't necromancy! The scholar in him bellowed in frustration, This isn't even magic, you zealous fool! It's dark matter manipulation, and even if it were magic, shadows are not necromantic?! What nonsense is this?