Unearthly fog descended upon the hiri of Neera, home of the Nightingale Clan. And in that obscurity I fled towards the forest using the hidden path that only our clan knew existed. My heart clawed at my heaving chest. Adrenaline fueled my speed. I abandoned my sword long ago and only had three daggers to brandish in front of danger.

 

My feet, sore and torn from my frenzied sprint, barely carried me across the opposite end of the town square. It was simply the orders of Mother that kept me from turning back. Back to the losing battle of my people. Just before I reached the edge of the eastern gates, I saw movements from the corner of my eyes. No one else knew of this path, the ones that knew were all fighting or dead. I tightened my hold on my daggers.

 

A figure lurched at me and I aimed. Despite the situation I was in, I allowed a grin of victory. I stepped closer to inspect the face of my attacker. I shouldn’t have. I felt the air from my lungs leave me as if I’d been punched. The figure lay sprawled on the ground. Unmoving. Face turned up with an expression of shock. The face of--

 

“Aya, we hafta go right now.”

 

Out of reflex she grabbed the dagger hidden in the folds of her clothes and slashed the space in front of her. It was met with a clang of metal and an amused chuckle. Azure. Aya opened her eyes and was met with the disapproving face of her Keeper.

 

“Specifics?” she asked. She didn’t bother waiting for the reply she knew she’d never get and tossed the scraggly blanket aside. Her daggers, along with his, fell on the dirty mattress with a soft thump as she organized the contents of her bag.“Where to?”

 

“We needa go to the forest near the Kaylindair Hold.” Azure made himself comfortable on a stump she improvised as a chair. He picked up a piece of food, but thought better of it. “Target?” Aya knew he’d answer this question. It was one of those safe ones which provided answers that even she was entitled to receive. He shrugged, his narrow frame becoming even narrower in the process.“A rebel from the White Ravens.” Interesting…

 

Aya formulated her next question, knowing full well what the response was going to be. Still, she tried to push her luck.“Aren’t they the more subdued clan? What did he do and why is it so important that we leave at such a late hour?”

“Nice try. Ya know I can’t tell you. We just need to retrieve whatever he’s got on him.” His amber eyes held her dark ones with a warning glint. Don’t say anything stupid, they seemed to say, especially out loud.

 

“Withholding information from me defeats the purpose of this whole partnership,” Aya mumbled. It was illogical, really. They should’ve just kept her gagged and shackled if they didn’t want to deal with her curiosity. It’s been years since then, but it was those first few inhumane years that she truly felt human.

 

Those were the only years after the purging of her clan that she felt alive. Azure took her re-stocked bag and swaggered out of her cell. She rolled her eyes at his attempt at chivalry and yanked it back. He grinned that irritating dimpled grin of his and slung an arm over her shoulders.

 

“Let’s go, partner,” he announced, ignoring the grumblings of the locked-in convicts. They made an odd pair, Aya and Azure. He with his short stature and prestige and she with her taller frame and ill reputation. But she supposed only through these contradictions will she be able to achieve the purpose of being left as the lone survivor of the Nightingale Clan.

 

---

 

Kaylindair Forest

 

Aya struggled against the temptations of strangling Azure as they walked, too slowly in her opinion. The Elders weren’t too happy that a corpse came with the artifact from their mission the day before.

 

“The Kusa Buredo only wanted their item back, not a dead clan member!”

 

Gods of Uma, please spare me of this life. Alleviate my pain. Help me get rid of these filths. We can start with Azure, pleaded Aya.

 

His vulnerable position in the lead didn't help either. So many holes. So many chances. She can probably jump on his back, a surprise attack, and put him on a choke hold. She can picture it so clearly: Azure down. Herself as the victor. She’ll have her freedom and wash her hands of this job forever. She’ll live at the edge of the wilderness, far away from the treacherous eyes of any hiri.

 

"We're here, Aya," Azure called out. His voice snapped her back to reality at a nauseating speed; back in the world where there were no openings to attack and the shackles of crime unbreakable. The world where Aya existed.

 

They arrived in the middle of a clearing deep in the forest. The branches swayed in peaceful harmony with the gentle wind as their leaves fanned out to filter the scorch of the midday sun. Unfamiliar scents and movements senses and the hair on her arms stood on ends.

 

"You didn't tell me we were going to have an entourage for a company."

 

The Rogue’s innate instincts never failed her. She was born with the blood of a fearless survivor and the graceful cunning of a leopard; a dangerous combination for an assassin. The training she received since she was a mere babe as well plays a vital role in her current state, and the reluctant training the Black Crows begrudgingly offered her only sharpened her claws.

 

"Astute as always. Didn't think ya' would notice them straightaway."

 

The Rogue groaned inwardly. This was no time to play immature jokes. Withholding information from a partner was a serious moral violation. "I'll castrate you," she growled. She wasn't joking but he took it as one. His guffaws further made the urge to end him all the more enticing. Out of all the idiots in the clan, she was unlucky enough to be under his so-called supervision.