It was a rather disgusting city if Dae was being honest. His hood was pulled over his head to hide his face from those that wove their way through the dirty streets. Dae could feel his nose involuntarily scrunching in reaction to the stench that was wafting from the trash piles that had been established at the side of the buildings. He began to wonder how he was going to get the smell out of his leather armor and cloak before he made it back home. There was little about anything he was doing that he wanted to explain to his mother and sister. Least of all he wanted to explain to the little man who had recently decided to latch himself to Dae. The young man didn’t mind in the least, but his occupation was not something he wanted his little shadow to take up.

His occupation was not something that was really discussed in the family at all actually. They knew what he was doing, and the training he had done with Kieran. None of them wanted to really acknowledge it since they were healers. Mother was not pure hearted entirely, but she had done her best to push away the taint in her heart. Dae had been born from that taint. None of them judged him for the direction he was taking his life since they each were going their own way. Dae loved them dearly, but certain things were necessary in life. What he was doing was going to help.

The white leather hood helped shield the smell away as he turned down another alley way toward his destination. Dae had gotten his target settled, and knew he had to deal with it quickly before the man slipped away. It was a perfect time. He checked his wrist blades to make sure they were in proper order once again out of habit. The man was a slaver. A piece of filth that dealt with not only slaves, but they were children slaves. Dae had heard of him before, but the piece of trash was slippery.

Dae took a deep breath and found a place to perch himself while waiting for his time to strike. It would be a few hours before his target would arrive to check on his cargo. The man was a beast of habit. Patience would be Dae’s victory, and the prey’s down fall.

She'd killed him… she hadn't meant to, all she had really wanted was for him to leave her alone… but he hadn't listened, even when she had begged him. 
They were still chasing her, his men, searching for the 'woman' who had killed their 'Noble' Lord. Not one of them had stepped up to help her, to pull him off her, when she had pleaded for him to leave her alone - no, they had stood, watched, turned a blind eye to what he was about to do, because he was their Lord and he was rich - he had paid with his life, not because she had wanted him to, but because her scream was purely instinctual… the fact of the matter was he had brought it on himself, and his men were lucky to be alive considering they had been in the vicinity at the time. 

The stench of the city did not phase Morrigan; Banshee were hunted, most of her kind spent their time in tombs or cemeteries, surrounded by the dead and the decaying. For Morrigan and her mother it had been necessity, just as it was for her now, it was easier to hide in a tomb or an open grave, and they tended to be the loneliest of places too. She had been driven here by her hunters, driven to this place to hide. In a way it was better - the city was crowded with the filth of society, what was one more girl with a mask over her face really? 
A cacophony of caws echoed from the rooftops above her, Morrigan's unkindness of ravens keeping close to their Mistress, ever in her eye-line, keeping watch lest the men should find their way onto these streets. 

Morrigan slipped out of the doorway she had been huddled in, hood pulled over her pretty face, bandana across her nose and mouth to hide her jaws - a constant source of shame for the Banshee, she and her mother had not been like the others of their ilk, her mother had loved her father for a start, and he had adored his girls, despite what they were. When he had died, and her mother had died to save her, Morrigan had been left alone in a world she barely understood, she had not been fully taught how to change her face and so was stuck with her gaping jaws, filled with needle sharp fangs. Had she been able to complete the transformation she would have been beautiful… but Morrigan was an abomination and she knew it. She hadn't mastered her Voice yet either, still too young to have learn how to stop it from killing others, instead she had taught herself to 'throw' her voice with telepathy, it seemed as though she was speaking… though she most definitely was not. 

Above her Corbin led the unkindness through the air, the largest of her ravens keeping his onyx eyes trained upon her figure while the others kept one eye on him and the other on the streets around her. She dared to glance up at the five, jet black birds keeping up with her, the others spread throughout the city, and as she did so she ran straight into a man. "I-I'm sorry s…sir." She stuttered, a hand instinctively flying to the bandana at her face, paranoid that it would have slipped and revealed her true nature to him. 
"Stupid girl." The man snarled, raising a hand to hit her - but he was never given the chance. 
Wings, talons and sharp beaks filled the air as her ravens immediately came to her aid, Corbin screaming bloody murder at the man who had dared to try and hurt his mistress. The largest raven chomped down on the man's hand, talons deep in his wrist as he kept his balance with his wings, the others aiming for the man's face. 
"Corbin!" She cried, forcing herself to use her telepathy despite her instinct being to physically scream his name. 

Back thumped against the stone wall behind him, which he was sure had scum on it that would dirty his white leathers. The color was not the best he had selected, but it was actually easier for him to blend in with crowds than previously thought. Dae scratched an itch at the corner of his eye while he waited. There was not much for him do between his waiting for the target to finally arrive. Technically he could have left for a while. The assassin didn’t want to take the chance that he would miss an opportunity due to boredom. So there he sat waiting for the marked man to finally arrive for his time to die. The more that he had been informed about this particular target the more he wanted to do the job for free. People were sold as items but not before they were used in the ways that the man wanted. The marks were kept minimal in order to not damage the cargo too much for the purchasers. Dae gritted his teeth at the thought of what those women and children had gone through.

The trick was going to not just cut the head off the snake, but also the organization. There would need to be no way for these atrocities to continue after the kill was made. Someone else could not just slip into the position to keep it going. No, Dae was being careful. Key positions were being taken out along the way. He was going to take this down and get those people free. The next step was to find those previously sold and free them as well. First step, kill the head.

A deep inhale before a cry out caught his attention. It was the not the normal cry out that was heard in the city. Desperation was weaved into the words as the woman attempted to get her freedom. In a split second Dae was off his perch to track down the source. Little time passed before he came across a woman near a man being attacked by rather large looking ravens. Blood was streaming down the man from the injuries inflicted. It was not hard for Dae to understand what had happened for the situation before him to fall into place.

Shadows plumed out to encompass the entire area so none could see. Dae moved through that blackness to grab the woman’s arm firmly and yet gentle. ”Stay close to me,” he murmured. The shadows seemed to continue to follow them as he hurried the woman away through a few corridors to his original perching spot. He could not be away from there long. With a simple thought the shadows dissipated to reveal his kind face from beneath his own hood. Gray eyes looked over her to see if there was any real damage done besides her fear. Her features were covered by a bandana around her mouth, though her eyes were quite dazzling.

”What happened back there?” Tone was matter of fact, though there wasn’t a sternness to threaten her. He needed his facts before he could figure the best way to deal with her and his own situation.

Her birds surrounded the man, each of them moving constantly, to stop the man from getting a good grip of them… all but Corbin, who had personally taken offence at the man's attempt to back hand his Mistress. If anyone had been able to see them before, they would not now. Darkness enveloped them and Morrigan was glad of the cover, it was more natural to the Banshee to be hidden, and the shadows were far more like home to her.
Suddenly a man was beside her, his hand firmly upon her arm, though far more gently than others had been with her in the past. Morrigan's natural instinct was to pull away from him, to flee his grasp - but her Unkindness recognised help when they saw it, and not one of the ravens attacked the newcomer, their attentions still upon the man who had dared to come at their Mistress. 

At his words Morrigan nodded silently, her free hand pulling her hood further over her face, conscious that he was extremely close to her. She followed the man's lead, looking over her shoulder only once to count her ravens and ensure that they were all accounted for, thankfully the birds were clever and the moment she was safely away they had dispersed - Corbin giving the man one last scratch with his talons for good measure. While she kept close to her saviour, Morrigan also kept her head down, only once glancing up with her own storm coloured eyes to look into his. He had a kind face, and beautiful eyes, his voice was soft and something about it settled her racing heart.

"I-I bumped into him, I-I get ner, nervous in crowds," she admitted softly, her gaze avoiding his as she 'spoke'. "I apologised… but it didn't, didn't matter to him." Morrigan shuddered, hugging her arms to her body as though a chill had suddenly run through her… not that the cold really affected a creature such as she. Corbin and the others settled close by, their dark eyes fixed upon the man who had rescued their Mistress. "How can I thank you?" She asked softly. 

Brow arched in surprise as well as interest at the way the birds protected the mistress the way they did. It was not something that anyone saw often. He had his fae dragon that was a sloth in many ways. Dae couldn’t see Tril doing anything like those avian creatures were doing. The woman he pulled along with him looked like she needed as much help and protection as possible. The assassin held her close to his form in order to sneak her away from the assailant. From beneath his hood the man felt himself smirk as the largest looking raven took a final dig at the attacker. Good. Hopefully there would be some injuries that could get infected. Dae memorized the man’s face for future reference. There would be a meeting later, and Dae was never late for a set meeting.

When at his previous hiding spot, he finally started to get a good look at the woman. She was young and rather hidden beneath all of her layers. It was tempting for him to try pull back the hood to get a good look at her. He knew that was rude and instead hoped up back to the top of the barrels to sit next to her. From the way her body language was poised there was little threat to be assessed. She was a girl to be assaulted on the streets. Typical of this particular city. Head leaned back to rest on the cold stones behind him as he glanced at her from beneath his hood. As she ‘spoke’ Dae tilted his head in surprise. Though he did not reject the communication since it seemed to be her way of conversation.

He smiled brightly over at her while lightly patting the top of her head as if to comfort her. ”Don’t worry about it. Really, I’m here to help.” Dae released her before tucking one leg up on the nearby barrel to keep a close watch on where his target would eventually show up. He hoped that the chaos nearby hadn’t deterred his prey to go somewhere else. ”You can stay with me until things settle. I will need to get to my….job soon though. I don’t want you getting mixed up in it.” His tone was serious and flat. The last thing he needed to do was get this young, scared woman involved in his bloody world.

A quick glance over at her told him that if she did, well it would only make things worse for her. ”Are you cold? You look like you are bundled against the weather,” he joked with her in reference to the coverage to her face. ”Though it gives you that mystery woman vibe that intrigues most men. If you are cold, I can help you find a tavern close by to warm up instead of sitting out here in the chill.” Dae wasn’t exactly sure how to interact with the girl. She was on the jittery side, and the only person like that in a little way was Alairia. Even so, she had a light that this woman didn’t seem to have. Not that Dae thought she was dark or anything….but having a hoard of ravens didn’t exactly scream to the world of your innocence.

Morrigan had never been this close to a man before… well… that wasn't strictly true she supposed… she had, but it had not exactly ended well, and she had not wanted to be this close to him either. Even now her instincts told her to push this man away from her, to keep him as far from her frame as she could… her bandana could only hide so much, if he brushed against her cheek, there would be no denying the horror that lay beneath the material - it could hide her mouth, but he would feel her fangs and she would not be able to do anything about it.

Her ravens returned to her, Corbin settling upon her shoulder as was his place, two of the smaller birds settling on the opposite shoulder, another finding a place on her forearm as she hugged herself, while one of the others settled above her and Dae; keen eyes watching the world around them. This was, in truth, merely a small selection of her Familiars, she had twenty, if not more, to her Unkindness, though they didn't tend to all come to her at once. Corbin never left her side, but the others came and went as they pleased - acting as Morrigan's eyes and ears across Revaliir. 

"No one does anything for nothing," she replied, almost coarsely - though given her nervous disposition it was unlikely she had meant it quite as scathingly as it came out, his touch was not unwelcome but it confused her, she was not used to the kindness of others, especially men. What they could see of her was attractive, it gained her a lot of attention she could do without… and brought trouble to her life that made an already difficult existence, almost unbearable. 
"What, what do you do?" She asked, using the change in topic to distract herself… though from his words she wasn't entirely convinced she wanted to know. 

As his attention turned to her attire, she swiftly shook her head, hand immediately tugging at her hood to further cover her face, the other hand checking that her bandana had not slipped; her ravens adjusting themselves accordingly as she moved. "N-not cold, my kind don't - don't feel the cold," she admitted softly. In a way she wished she did, she had often wondered what that word meant… but Banshee's had no concept of temperature. Come Summer or Winter, Morrigan felt nothing. Well, that was not entirely true, she did feel embarrassed at his words, maybe her 'inconspicuous' clothing was not helping her at all… 

In an uncharacteristic move, her ravens took to the air, Corbin's talons clutching at the bandana around her face while Raban and Merla pulled her hood away from her. Morrigan gasped, her hands immediately slamming to her face to hide her mouth from the man… but there was no way she could have hidden her jaw from him in that way. Tears filled her eyes but she forced herself not to weep aloud, the smallest sound could still hurt her saviour and she did not want to hurt anyone if she could help it. Corbin returned to her, dropping her bandana into her open hands as he did so. She did not hate him, she didn't hate any of them - her ravens often knew what was best for her… but this… this hurt… she hated what she was, all she had ever wanted was to be normal. 

She allowed the man to look at the true nature of what she was for a moment, before pulling the bandana back across her mouth, tying it on and adjusting it over her nose before she shifted her hood back onto her head. "It's safer for everyone if I'm not anywhere crowded…" she said in a dejected tone, her gaze avoiding his own, she could not bear to see the disgust in his eyes. 

Dae let out a light scoff at the tone that he ‘heard’ from his newest protectee. Many made that assumption of nothing came for free. The assassin didn’t believe in true altruism either considering he got a high off of helping people in the capacity that he did. In a way, that was his payment in the kind of rescues he had just done. Many other times there were payments made towards the man shadowed from the world. He kept this part of his life a well-known secret from his family. They ‘knew’ what he was doing, and yet it was not something they discussed. ”Then I will take my payment in the form of your gratitude, and your name. Call it square.” Leather gloves flicked up a single finger as if that indicated for her to pay up. She had good reason to not trust strangers just from the recent encounter. From the way that she was reacting though, it was not the first time.

The young shade half-breed clicked his tongue as he turned his gray eyes back to where he was sure his target would emerge from. The quiet had been mostly kept, despite the efforts of the crows…ravens? Dae could never be sure which were which. It was good she had protection, but it could have cost him his hunt.

It wasn’t often that people asked him what he did. They either were quite aware due to the end of the blade they were of his, or they assumed he just worked at his family apothecary. Dae scratched underneath his chin as he contemplated the best response. Finally, he lifted his arms in a shrug. ”I’m an assassin,” he answered point blank. There was a hidden smile he let flash from beneath the shadow of his hood. ”I am contracted to take out this particularly nasty guy. The trail has been followed and set. Now, it is time for me to full-fill my contract to bring peace for my contractor. And to answer any other questions: no, I am not in a guild. I do my work alone except for a broker that I work with.” Dae shrugged his shoulders again as he allowed her to marinate in the information she was just presented with. It was not every day that someone admitted that they were an assassin to your face.

Brow raised as she said the words ‘my kind.’ The shade sniffed the air slightly to give note that she was not holding the scent of human. Then, her birds took flight to expose what she had coveted. Gray orbs widened as he began to fully understand what he saw. What was surprising was that she finally gave him the full sight to process.

Slipping from the barrel top, his boots made no sound on the cobblestoned street as he stood before the woman…the banshee. ”Well, then we won’t take you anywhere crowded,” he grinned brightly down at her. The assassin helped adjust the hood over her head to make sure it was seated properly. ”No worries,” he said with a wink. ”I’m not exactly normal either. Not the first time I have met a banshee….though I’m surprised that your mouth has formed normally.” Dae tilted his head to the side a little as he reached up to wipe away any lingering tears on her face. It had taken him a while to internally be okay with who he was. The young man knew how his existence had come to be…the history. Despite the love of his family, his existence had caused his mother great pain. That fact was not one easy to get over as he grew up at an accelerated rate.

”Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t say anything, but you don’t need to hide from me. I’ve seen plenty in this world; won’t scare me off that easily.” He smiled at her again with a gentler expression that reached his eyes. ”You are safe with me.”

His words were soft and soothing, something in his tone made her feel more at ease than she ever had before - at least since the death of her mother. She missed her dreadfully, unlike many of their kind Morrigan and her mother had lived happily once outskirts of a human town - her mother would often venture thee with her father and return with gifts from concerned townsfolk who often asked after their ‘sick’ daughter. They had been happy, until the Magistrate had discovered their true nature… 
Her eyes flickered to the man and for the first time in decades she managed a genuine smile. ”Morrigan, my name is Morrigan,” she said softly.

His occupation did not frighten her, many Banshee took as assassins vocation - there had been several groups of her kin that had become famous for their prowess in seducing their marks and killing them - who didn’t want to be around an ethereally beautiful woman? ”Sometimes it’s safer not to be part of a larger group, more likely to be betrayed,” Morrigan stated darkly… after all that was how her family had been found out - the jealousy and subsequent betrayal of her aunt…

Dae’s kindness towards her was unlike anyone she had met anywhere before. ”My mother died before she could teach me to fully transform my face… or learn how to talk without hurting others - I’ve become adept at misleading people into believing my telepathic voice is in fact my real one. I’ve always hope to find another of my kin to teach me, but there aren’t many of us and it was one of our own who betrayed my family in the first place… it’s hard to trust they won’t do me harm,” she uttered, lowering her head. 
Morrigan looked up at Dae, unsure of how to take this kindness. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed for the first time in a very long time. Looking down at the streets and then back at Dae she smiled gently, ”Let me help you, my ravens are my eyes and ears across this entire world - whatever they see I see, maybe we can repay you and get your contract completed quickly given I’ve been a distraction.”