Topic: The Adventures of Kith, the Cat, and the Khatun
Subject: Kithran: Birthday Girl
28th Day, Trevack, 447 E.R., Ethryn, Ertain, The Silken Favor, 23:57
“Ah yes, my favorite customer!”
“I am not your customer, Jacquelyn, I am your tenant,” Kith dropped the bag of coin into the lovely madam’s palm and grinned, “Though I am paying a pretty copper to be screwed, so,” she shrugged.
A look of shock took the dark-haired woman’s face, “Insulting both the lavish room I’ve allowed you, and at the work of my beautiful girls, your best friends, and I daresay your family? Really?"
Kith rolled her eyes, “I apologize, they are very good at what they do.”
“Well, you would know, wouldn’t you?” the madam smirked back at her adorable travel bodyguard and resident thief, “And yet no apologies for that beautiful room of yours? You know I am wasting money letting you lounge around in there.”
The half-Syl eyed the hefty little pouch she had just handed the madam, “Oh, are you?”
Jacquelyn jostled the bag in her hand, “Yes, in fact,” and she tossed it back to Kithran, who caught it just before it pummeled her in the face, “why don’t you just keep this, hmm? You don’t seem to need us.”
“Jackie?”
The madam scoffed, “Don’t Jackie me, Kithran, this has been a long time coming.”
“It has?”
“Oh, don’t play coy with me, you little thief.” Her hands went to her hips, accentuated by the cut of the dark blue dress she wore, “I appreciate your work, but I am sick and tired of your blatant disregard and lack of respect for The Silken Favor and those of us who work very hard to maintain it.”
“Jacquelyn, I was just--”
“Jacquelyn, stop playing with her!” An arm wrapped around Kithran’s waist and the curly-haired Meera appeared beside her, surprisingly dressed up for an evening in which she was not working, “It’s just after the Reign now.”
“Is it?” a wide smile spread across the madam’s face, washing away all the ire it cast just a moment ago as she looked back at their tall half-Syl, “Happy birthday, Kithran! I hope you didn’t think I was serious,” she said, as though she would have been very happy if Kith had, “You may keep your coin this month, as my gift to you.”
Kith's eyes grew wide with surprise and comprehension as several more voices called out in celebration to her. The room filled with all of those who lived and worked at the Silken Favor, who were not otherwise preoccupied with clients, and all finely dressed for the occasion. Wine was poured, which Kithran politely declined in favor of ale, and presents were presented. Much of what she received were small, glittering trinkets, like those they had seen whenever they had barged into her room to bother her. Kithran’s room was the only one that never received guests, and so by that logic, was the safest to burst into unannounced--the half-Sylvari’s own privacy be damned.
The trinkets varied in shape and size, most being able to fit in her hands, and all very colorful. Some of the women even boasted, in whispered tones, far out of earshot of Jacquelyn, that they had pilfered the items off of clients in honor of the thief. These were the items Kith cherished the most.
The party continued through the early hours, and only when the clouds in the winter sky began to lighten did Kithran finally, happily, pass out in her lavish room.
1st Day, Dhenns, 447 E.R., Ethryn, Ertain, The Silken Favor, 13:35
Kithran awoke in the afternoon to her door being kicked open violently by the short mistress Rina, who had been one of the otherwise preoccupied residents of The Silken Favor from the night before, unable to enjoy the festivities. This was, perhaps, the reason she was still capable of being so loud.
Kith winced and rolled away from the sound, throwing her thick blankets over her head, “What are you doing?” she called groggily, her voice tinged with sleep and dehydration, “Leave unless you've brought me water.”
“I have, actually,” Rina's light voice chirped now just above the thief, who had apparently fallen asleep in piles of her gifts, “As well as some willow bark for your headache, and breakfast for your birthday.”
“Breakfast?” Kith's head suddenly emerged disheveled from her blankets, trinkets clattering away from her into smaller, glittering pools. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, shoving her new collection aside to make room for the tray Rina had brought her. Free of the confines of her comforter, the aroma filled her nose, and her belly almost immediately growled at her to fill it as well. Normally Kith took rather meager meals at the brothel, running a few blocks away to her favorite pub once it opened if she was feeling particularly peckish. But this: a large link sausage, scrambled eggs, a roll, an apple, and quail eggs! Oh dear did she love quail eggs.
After chugging most of her water, she cut the sausage in half and held one side out at the end of the knife to the short woman, “Thank you for bringing all of this, Rina, care to join me?”
She shook her blonde head, “No, thank you, I’ve already eaten. Twice today, in fact, Kith, it’s well past Mid Solanis already. You’ve wasted most of your birthday!” She sat down in a red plush chair near Kith’s bed and stole the remaining half of sausage off of the thief's plate, despite having just rejected it, “And before you really thank me, Jacquelyn ordered me to bring this to you.” She took a bite. "Though I am, surprised she did not send me up here earlier. You know how she loves to toy with you, regardless of the occasion."
Kith smiled as she chewed, “Then I must remember to thank her again, I suppose. And give that back, you haven't earned it.” She reached for the sausage in her friend’s hand, but Rina shoved the rest in her mouth and chewed with her mouth open to show it off to the slow half-Syl. Kith looked devastatingly disappointed, “Wow, and on my birthday.”
Rina rolled her eyes, “Ah thtill gah you suffing.”
Kithran’s eyes lit up and she tossed two of the quail eggs into her mouth before setting her tray aside. “Chew your food woman, good lord, let’s have it!”
Rina smiled at her excitement, trying not to laugh so she wouldn’t choke or irritate the bruising as she swallowed the rest of the sausage, and pulled a book from her pocket about the size of her hands, “Sorry, it isn’t anything sparkly or colorful or anything.”
Kith took the book, made of thin leather covers that opened to a mass of thin blank pages. She looked back up at Rina, amused, “A journal?”
“Well, technically yes, but I thought you could use it to write your songs, or your ideas for songs.”
“My songs?”
She nodded, “Yes, you’re always humming, or repeating a lyric here and there as though you’re trying to memorize it, and I thought this might help.” She hesitated, “Is it ridiculous? Will you not use it? I can go steal something better off a client--”
“No,” Kith grinned at her, “Rina it’s perfect.” She pet the soft leather of the cover and her grin became a reminiscent smile, “My . . . my father used to use something like this for just that reason. Thank you.” She set the book beside her and swung her legs over the side of the tall bed, taking a deep breath.
“What are you doing?” Her friend asked, the cheerful lilt having returned.
“I am going to hug you.”
Rina gasped, “But you don’t do that, Kith.” It was well-known and well-documented that their bodyguard thief was more likely to climb the side of a building to get out of returning a hug then succumbing to it. Once Rina had been in the middle of hugging her, and she had managed to get free by pulling herself up onto the stairwell above and climbing out the window.
“I know,” Kith said now, pushing herself forward to embrace her kind friend.
The blonde mistress stood up and stepped back, “No, I mean, you don’t have to do that.”
Kith also stood up, “I’m going to. And I am much taller and faster than you, so running is futile." She held her arms out robotically, "That was a very sweet gift, I have to hug you.”
Rina backed up further and held up her hands, “I’m serious, Kithran Ikhari, do not touch me.”
Kith stopped, finally noticing the sincerity in her friend’s eyes and tone. Rina was normally one of the first inclined to force an embrace on her. Now she looked almost afraid of her.
Her jaw and fists suddenly clenched, watching Rina's arms wrap protectively around her ribs, as she had seen before with some of the girls whose clients had treated them poorly. “What happened?” she demanded, “Who was it?” She was off to her wardrobe before Rina could even answer.
“No, Kith, stop. It was no one. Nothing." She saw the thief glance back at her arms again and quickly lowered them, "And anyway, you know Jacquelyn said you are not allowed to attack anymore clients. What if she kicks you out for real this time?”
Kith tossed a black shirt on the bed behind her, “Then why did she order you up here, Rina? Of everyone available? So late in the day?”
"Well,” Rina examined her fingers, “I was busy earlier."
"Recovering, I'm sure." She threw her shirt over her head and began tucking it into her black pants, "And though others were available all day, and she'd have loved to disturb my sleep earlier, she waited until you were feeling up to it?"
Rina shook her head, "Kith, thank you for your concern, but--"
"Come hug me then," she stopped tying her leather armor and held out her arms once again, "You love making me hug you and it's my birthday and I demand it. So hug me."
The blonde woman made for the door but Kithran easily leapt in her path. Instead Rina wrapped her arms around herself again and looked away.
Kith sighed, placing her hands on the small woman's shoulders, "I am sorry this happened to you Rina, please let me do something about it. Please let me try to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Rina finally looked up at her pointy-eared friend, "Thank you Kith, but you really cannot. He is a foreign official. He will be very heavily guarded. And a Sendrian, no less."
Kith continued tying up her armor, scoffing in reply, "Your lack of faith in how sneaky I am is insulting, Rina. And on my birthday."
"It's not how successful you've been that worries me, it's your stories of accidents and failures that--"
"It. Is. My. Birthday, Rina."
"And I'd like for you to have another one."
Kithran rolled her eyes, "You've told me they are male, Sendrian, and an official. I can waste time snooping about, but I will figure it out. Or you can fulfill my birthday wish and tell me."
"I thought your wish was for a hug."
"You've missed your window."
"Jaris."
"What?"
"Desmond Jaris. That is his name." She glared at the half-Syl for having been forced to disclose his name, but Kithran had oddly seemed to have stopped paying attention to her.
Kith skirted around the little mistress and rushed to the nightstand beside her bed, ripping open the top drawer and pushing aside a plethora of trinkets until she found an old, crumpled piece of paper. She had memorized the names in Tara's terrible handwriting years ago, but she had to be sure. And, sure enough, there was his name, fourth from the top, Desmond Jaris.
Her hands shook slightly as she gingerly folded the piece of paper again and placed it back into the drawer. Kithran had only shown Jacquelyn the list of names once, the day she had left Calestra with her five years ago. Had she remembered, after all this time?
Tossing her pillow aside, Kith grabbed and sheathed the daggers found underneath and made her way to the window. She opened it and looked back to Rina. The woman was small, blonde, and had a face that could be taken for much younger than she truly was, if that was what someone was looking for.
"Are you alright, Kith?"
She realized she was glaring at her friend while she thought of the torture she wanted to put this man through, "No. Yes, I’m sorry. I'll take care of this." She ducked out the window and stepped onto the ledge, disappearing up above the top of the frame.
Rina stared at the empty space Kithran had disappeared into for just a moment, smiling to herself as she turned to leave, when the thief’s face appeared upside down at the top of the window, her thick black ponytail dangling below the top of her head, "Wait, Rina, after you tell on me, can you please tell Jacquelyn I said thank you?" Her head disappeared for just a second before reappearing in the same place, "And please save my quail eggs for when I get back! Okay bye!"
Rina winced as she laughed at the empty window, and moved to take care of their rambunctious protector's leftover eggs.
1st Day, Dhenns, 447 E.R., Ethryn, Ertain, 22:55
It had been a very long day, and it would be coming to an end fairly soon, Kith hoped as she scaled the side of one of the manors set aside for foreign dignitaries. She halted only once in her climb to admire the king’s palace, rising dauntingly high above her. Kith spent little time in this area of Ethryn, but the palace was omnipresent no matter where in the enormous city she was. And here, in the shadow of the colossal building, it was equally beautiful and intimidating. She would love to climb it one day.
Though she knew from Rina's description where she might find Jaris, Ethryn was not exactly a small city. It was one of the largest, in fact, and there was no guarantee the piece of trash would even be here. And actually, he hadn't been when Kith first arrived that afternoon. Considering how long the trip up this way had been, that realization had been incredibly frustrating.
Additionally, Rina had not been able to join Kithran's party because she had been with him for the entirety of the night. If he intended to have another all-nighter somewhere else, she may have to spend more time, more days tracking him down. And who knew when he would be leaving again for Sendria?
She did have some things in her favor. Though Ethryn was larger even then Calestra, Kithran's work had taken her through every inch of it multiple times over the last five years. She knew all of the shortcuts, hiding places, people to trust, those with information, and those who could obtain information. After some hours of scouting and prodding for that information, she learned Jaris would be here shortly, and with a little company. So perhaps he was planning another horrific all-nighter, at least she knew where he would be.
There were a number of rooftop guards, both on this particular manor, as well as those surrounding it, but with swiftness and timing, she was sure she could either evade or subdue them with little trouble. From there it was simply a matter of slipping in through his window and striking while he was distracted, apologizing to the girl he had ordered, and hoping she would keep herself together amongst all the blood Kith intended to spill. Then Kith would slip out once again.
It was a fairly simple plan.
Kithran finally made the top of the manor, catching her breath and resting her arms for a moment in an alcove she had scouted earlier in the day. From here she would follow the path she had eyed on the left side of the estate. There would be some trickiness to avoiding the guards, but she was quick and her daggers were deadly. All she would need to do was avoid them.
First be quick in your mind, darling.
A small smile touched the corner of her mouth as Tara’s voice echoed in her mind. It had been some time. This is for you, Tara.
Kithran drew her daggers and spun around, peeking beyond the corner for line-of-sight on the guard who would be further along the way. When it appeared the coast was clear, she moved forward. Swift and silent, after years of training and practice, Kith moved along the rooftop with ease, her black leather armor and clothing rendering her nearly invisible to any not seeking a thief on a rooftop.
She ducked behind another ledge and crouched down, her head on a swivel for any sign of the guard on this or any of the other rooftops.
Nothing.
Kithran frowned. There was really nothing. No one. None of the guard from earlier. But that was ludicrous, wasn’t it? Where would they be? Perhaps her contact was wrong and Jaris would not be there that night . . . but there would still be some guards--if not a grand amount on this manor, then certainly one or two on one of the others.
She slowly popped her head up to look fully at what she could see of this roof and those surrounding.
Nothing.
She crouched back down and continued forward, her eyes and ears alert for any sight or sound that seemed out of place. Before her the roof slanted up a short way, and then down again on the other side. Below that would be the window through which she would attack the asshole. But as she silently climbed to the top of the slant, another dark figure appeared, crouched in the place Kith would have perched before climbing into the room, and with a massive sword strapped to their back. Before she could react the figure dropped down and Kith leapt over, sliding low down the other side of the slanted roof, no longer worried about the noise she made, and let herself fall over the side, catching herself by her hands and swinging into the open window.
She wanted to be the one to kill him. She had to be. Kith landed softly on the decorative rug inside the room, and all inside immediately noticed her.
Jaris looked at her wide-eyed over the rag that was held tightly in his mouth from behind by a curly-haired woman in a scarlet dress. She stood on the ornate bed, her hands white as she gripped the rag holding the man back. His lecherous eyes winced in pain as the massive sword of a muscular woman with her back to Kith came down across his chest, though it stopped halfway through its course as its wielder noticed her accomplice startled by something behind her.
Kith’s eyes grew wide as she slowly stood up, hardly willing to believe her eyes as she stared back at the curly-haired mage, but unable to deny who she was seeing, “Esme?”
The maiden looked back at her, squinting as though she could not believe her eyes either, “By Fortune’s Smile . . . Kithran?”
The larger woman spun around at the name, and Kith’s shocked expression bounced from Esme to Serena and back again.
The maidens were here.
In their hesitation, Jaris shoved his head backward into the mage’s stomach, and lurched forward, away from the terrifying warrior beside him. Before either could react, Kith threw a dagger into his achilles, causing him to fall forward onto the carpet. He rolled over and cried out in pain, but Kithran was already on him, having sprinted past the others.
“Sir!” A muffled voice called through the door, “A’ ye a’right in there?!”
Kith looked up and grinned, seeing the maidens had already barricaded the door, then dropped her gaze again to the man pleading for his life beneath her. This man, who had been one of many responsible for ruining Tara’s life.
Heedless of his begging, bribing, and blubbering, Kithran pressed the tip of her blade into his neck, leaning forward, “For Tara, and for the countless other lives you’ve destroyed.” And she drove her dagger down hard into his jugular, tearing the blade down toward her as she withdrew it and jumped away. She watched his throat gurgle with blood until it stopped altogether.
A tugging at her arm drew her gaze away from the dead man, and she noticed how much louder the pounding and shouting had become on the other side of the door. Kith turned to the mage beside her, who had pulled her other dagger free of the man’s ankle and now held it out to her. She wiped it quickly before putting it away, “Thank you Esme.” Serena's sprinting toward the window caught her eye and she nodded in her direction, “Should we head after her, then?”
Esme smiled and shook her head, wrapping an arm around Kithran’s waist before she could protest, and pulled her wand free of her pocket, “Far too much trouble, I think.” With a wave Kith felt her stomach yanked forward and up, and with one last jolt her feet crashed down onto the rooftop.
The mage tightened her grasp on the disoriented half-Syl until she sorted herself out, then fully wrapped both arms around her, “Kithran! I can’t believe it’s you! I haven’t seen you since . . . since Tara.” Kithran winced at the memory and Esme pulled away, “Serah said she had seen you once some years ago, and that you were enormous.”
A laugh escaped Kithran, despite herself, “Enormous?”
“Hey!” Serena called from a rooftop over, “We need to move!”
Kith looked down at the dress the Esme was wearing, “Think you can manage?”
Esme rolled her eyes and dashed toward the ledge, leaping across the space there and expertly tumbling into a crouch on the other side, “You think only a thief can run around rooftops?” She called to a much taller Kith than she remembered, and waved her over, “Come along now, Kithran!”
There was more movement from within the manor below her. There was shouting and the clanking of weapons and armor, but Kith’s grin remained wide as she soared across the alleyway to join her two old friends, and grew at the look of pride they had for her when she landed.
Serena clapped her shoulder, “It’s good to see you again, Kithran. And happy birthday. Now, let’s go find the others.” With that she turned and sprinted away once again, an equally congratulatory Esme, and a speechless Kith behind her.
“I can’t believe you found us! And on your birthday!” Esme chuckled as they jogged along, “Shinara truly has some odd plans for you, Kithran. Where have you been for the last five years?”
Kith hid her scoff at the mention of that worthless goddess, “A brothel.”
Esme choked and Serena nearly stumbled, “What--”
She waved Esme’s question away, “The list, Tara’s list, have you gotten to any of the others on it?”
“One, two, and three,” Serena called from in front of them, “You took out number four tonight, which leaves five more left on the list.”
“Yes,” Esme added, in the more pessimistic tone Kith had been used to hearing out of her as a kid, “but they become increasingly more difficult to find or get near as the list goes on.” She smiled again at Kith, and the trio slowed to a fast walk, now that they had put several blocks between them and the manor, “We could use a thief, Kithran.”
The young half-Syl grinned and Esme’s heart warmed at the sight. It had been so long, and she and the others had been so worried for her. When Tara was murdered, each of them took it as their collective duty to take care of her from then on, but other then Serah, the rest of the maidens hadn’t seen more than a glimpse of her Kithran for ten years. She had evaded them completely in Coria, and after Serah had told them she had run away, they didn’t think they would ever see her again. They had felt as though they had failed both Tara and her. Yet here she was, that same blinding grin on her face she had had as a child running after her mentor through the halls of the Long Gamble.
Kithran herself couldn't believe what had become of her day. The maidens, here, fighting along with her. It was all she had truly wanted as a kid. The feeling of seeing them again now, talking with them, it was something she hadn't expected she would ever have the chance to do again, or even want, and she was surprised to find how happy she was to have been so wrong on both accounts.
Her smile wavered. She couldn’t stay with the maidens. She didn’t want to. She didn’t like what their god had allowed done to Tara for her entire life, and she didn’t want to be ruled by what the Laughing Maidens deemed best for her. And she absolutely did not want to follow them back to Coria.
“I’m sorry,” Kith slowed to a stop, “I can't be your thief.”
The two maidens also stopped and turned back to her. Esme frowned, "Why not? We can help each other, we can take those names off Tara's list together."
Kithran winced again at her name, and shook her head, smiling sadly back at them, "I don't want to. I don't want to go with the maidens. I want to go alone."
"Kith-"
The dark-haired girl held her hand up to stop any further protest, and took a step back, "I'm sorry. Tell Serah and the others that I miss them. And . . . please don't tell my dad, about this, what I've done, where I am . . . who I am."
"Oh, your father!" Esme's face brightened suddenly in the darkness, "Kithran, you ha--"
"Stop!" She urged, "I don't want to know, I'm not going back. It's too hard to hear about it. I don't want to know." She took another step back toward the Silken Favor.
“Kithran-”
“I said stop!” She shouted. Her eyes began to sting and she hated herself for it, “I don’t want to know.” She turned and headed back to the far ledge, “Bye.”
Esme watched her, defeatedly, as she climbed over the side of the building, and turned back to Serena, who maintained her pointed gaze at the place Kithran’s black ponytail had disappeared below. “That went terribly,” the mage said, following the other on.
“She should know about her family,” the tall maiden grumbled, “maybe she'd stop this foolishness and finally go home.”
Esme scoffed, "That one? Since when has she ever not reacted foolishly to anything?"
Serena shook her head, "She’s too much like Tara."
"Not enough like her, really. Tara was hot-headed, but at least she trusted us. That one though," she jerked her head to the side, "Fortune knows what she wants.” They continued in silence for some time, both lost in their memories, until Esme’s voice cut through the crisp winter air once more, “How old is she today?”
The burlier maiden looked up, counting the time in years since they had last seen the half-Syl, "Twenty-three."
Esme smiled sweetly at the thought of her childish face, in spite of the sadness she felt for having lost their girl once again, “Happy birthday, darling."
Serena grinned, repeating with Tara's Sendrian inflection, "Daaaaarling!"
2nd Day, Dhenns, 447 E.R., Ethryn, Ertain, 01:27
Kithran’s bag was full. She took what trinkets she could spare the room for, but she would be leaving much behind. It was incredible to her that she could unknowingly accumulate so much. One part of her wasn’t so surprised, as it was part of her daily routine to swipe items from unsuspecting people, but so was selling off the knick knacks for coin.
She sighed, knowing that when they cleaned this room out, they would find a plethora of things that did not belong to her. They could, however, earn a nice little sum for the Favor if they sold the lot, and Jacquelyn would finally be able to put the room to good use again. The next occupant was sure to find some of her more clever hiding places, though Kithran did keep the most expensive items for herself, as well as her new notebook.
Kith went to her window and looked back at the lavish room and the comfortable life Jacquelyn had provided for her over the last five years. She would miss them all, and it was upsetting that she could not be around to keep them safe, but she had spent too much time here. She had been only seventeen when she had left Calestra with the madam, nearly eighteen, but aimless nonetheless.
Now though, now she was stronger, smarter, ready finally to pursue the rest on Tara’s list. She killed Jaris tonight, but the maidens had already taken care of the three before him, and she couldn’t let them have all the fun, could she? There were more of them, but Kithran was stealthier, craftier, and she’d like to see Serah tell an outright lie without giggling uncontrollably. She smiled at the thought.
With one last look, Kithran climbed out of the Silken Favor one last time, and began her trek to Sendria.
Posted on 2020-01-13 at 22:59:24.
Edited on 2020-02-01 at 01:04:07 by breebles
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What game do you own the 
Return to Charadun - Q&A
The Morphing Game
Return to Charadun - Recr
) black market auction she will be hosting at her manor. See you there!
HOW IN SHINARA'S NAME DID SHE GET THAT?!?! *Kill Bill flashback music plays*
