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Snippet #1765654

located in The Ruins (Healer's camp), a part of Shadows of The Forgotten, one of the many universes on RPG.

The Ruins (Healer's camp)

The Ruins of Blackhurst, home of the White Shadows

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Luckas Character Portrait: Annie Turner Character Portrait: Sean Fletcher
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"I don't know why she was at the mountains. She wouldn't tell me." Alistair said with a shrug. "I honestly thought Lena had come back to the Shadows a long time ago. Never occurred to me that she had been away all this time."
"That's odd, even for Lena, isn't it?" Sean asked, a slightly intrigued expression on his face. He had been intrigued about Lena's disappearence for a very long time, and speaking to someone who had seen he recently had brought that feeling back. She couldn't have left for absolutely no reason; there had to be something more to it.
Before Alistair had a chance to respond, however, an all too familiar voice echoed through the encampment. "Hey Sean! It's good to see that your sister is alright! Maybe I'll try the same trick on your new right hand man the next time I decide to show up in camp!"

Sean froze for a split second while Evin's voice reached his ears, before he instictively pulled a dagger out of hiding and began to move towards the voice. However, he was caught by Alistair on a choke hold. The man had moved to stop him, before he even took a step.
"Relax, now." The man whispered to as Sean tried fight the hold. "Give me that knife."
Sean didn't let go of the dagger, but he stopped fighting Alistair's hold . "Let go of me, please." He muttered.

As soon as Alistair released him, Sean walked a straight line to Annie's tent, finding her standing right outside of it. He stopped in front of her, pointing the dagger to her face. "I trusted you, Annie!" He shouted. "You let that maniac near my sister!"
Annie shrugged. "I'm not a bodyguard, Sean. And I can't keep track of who goes near who in here. Hence the rules about leaving weapons outside. Which now leads me to the question: Is this a knife you're pointing at me? Because that's surely a problem."
"You have got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed.
"I'm not kidding. And please, keep your voice down, there are sick people in this camp, you know." Annie replied in her calmest tone. "Now, please lower your weapon, Alpha. Let's talk."
Sean shook his head. "I'm getting so tired of your crap Annie. Really, really tired!"
Annie tilted her head to the side and grinned. "I see... You are going to use that, then?" She asked innocently. "Because you know, if you're not, it just makes you look stupid."
Sean was furious, but he flinched; Annie wasn't the one he was truly angry at, harming her wouldn't do him, or anyone, any good. He needed to stop himself now. Slowly, he lowered the dagger, and sheathed it. "Fine." He stated finally. "Talk to me, Healer."

Annie sighed. "You and your men have disrespected the laws of this encampment one too many times, Sean. As much as you trusted me, I trusted you. Perhaps we are both equally foolish since we cannot maintain that trust for a full day."
Sean nodded. "Perhaps we are." He agreed. "What measures will you take, then?"
"All of them." Annie replied simply. "You and your people are no longer welcome in my camp as of now."
Sean snickered. "Wow, are you sure this is what you want to do?"
"You pushed me into making a choice I didn't want to make, Alpha. This is my decision." She told him.
Sean frowned slightly. "I have no reason to move against the Shadows, Annie. Don't give me one."
"Don't do that." Annie smiled. "Don't threaten me, or you might have to fulfill those threats, and believe me; you'll regret it if you do. Maybe not now, but one day."
"Who's threatening who, now?" Sean asked raising an eyebrow.
"It's not a threat... It's just what I know." She said with a small shrug.
Sean sighed. Looking over Annie's shoulder he saw his sister watching him from inside the tent, a disapproving look in her eyes. He turned his gaze back to the leader of the White Shadows. "Is that all you have to say to me, Healer?"

"No, Alpha. It's not." Annie stated. Cutting the short distance between herself and the assassin, she gave the man a hug, and added. "May the Goddess light your path."
Sean simply stood, sincerely shocked by the gesture, as Annie released him and turned her back. He didn't really know what had just happened there, but the other healers seemed to understand, because they looked just as confused and shocked as he did.

"Please remove yourself from my territory, Alpha. I won't ask you again." She said, as she walked past Katelyn and into her tent; she whispered something to the girl, but Sean couldn't hear what it was. Katie seemed pleased with it though, as she walked to join him.

"Come on. I want to go home." She said, pulling him by the hand towards the gates.
Sean let Katie him lead him to the exit of the camp, not understanding what had happened to make her suddenly less angry with him. He noticed some healers were moving out of their path as they walked, it was all just very strange to him. "Kate, what... What did Annie say to you?"
"She just said that I'm still welcome at any time." The girl replied simply. "Funny, I thought you'd ask about Evin first." She smiled.
"What did he want with you?" Sean asked, turning to look at his sister.
"He apologized for poisoning me, and then he offered to... Take me somewhere safe." She answered. "I said 'no, thank you' and that was pretty much it."
"Why?" He asked. "I mean... You're not happy. I know you're not."

Katie was silent as Sean retrieved all of his weapons at the entrance of the small camp, and remained silent until they were entering the forest. Then she replied to his question. "I'm not happy." She stated. "I wouldn't be any happier anywhere else though; I would just be unhappy and ignorant." She chuckled. "No... I'd rather stay and keep an eye on you."
Sean heaved a little sigh. "You know, if you ever... If you ever want to, you can leave. It's alright." He told her. "I mean... You don't deserve to be stuck in the middle of this. You deserve a better world than this. I'm just sorry I can't give you that."
"Are you really? Sorry?" Katie asked him. "Sometimes I'd love to think that you are, but I have trouble believing you."
Sean stopped walking and turned to face her. "I am sorry, Kate. I never wanted things to have to get this far, but now they have. It's too late to just turn around now."
"You talk as if you had no choice!" She replied. "I just can't understand why you had to do this in the first place. Was it all because fo mother? All of this just because of what happened that night?"
"No!" Sean shouted. "It's not all because mother. Not all! I could have gotten over her death if only there had been justice, but no... Dani wouldn't let me have that. She forgave the Shadow Hunter as if the whole thing didn't concern the rest of us; as if the lives he took meant nothing. That woman had looked me in the eyes and sworn to me that she would make him pay. She betrayed me, she betrayed the clan!"
Katie shook her head in disbelief at his words. "She wanted to end it, Sean! She wanted this to be over."
"It wasn't over for me! Sure, maybe he was sorry, maybe they were both sorry, but it just doesn't change what they did; and it doesn't mean they paid for it. It's not justice."
"When will you pay, then? For lionel, and Owen... And whoever else is still about to be killed in this mess you creted?" She asked him, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "What's the price for this revenge of yours, Sean? How much are you willing to pay?"

Sean faltered under his sister's gaze; Katie always had a way of making him feel ashamed of himself, mostly because she knew that he could stand anything, but he couldn't let her hate him. "I'm already paying. I pay a little every time you look at me this way. I pay a little every time someone dies in that camp. I pay a little bit everyday and I don't think I'll ever be done paying even after I'm dead, but you know what? I made a choice, all I can do now is keep going."
"What about me and Donovan? For how long will we have to pay? Father is dead, Lionel is dead, and you..." The girl's voice broke as the tears finally began to roll down her face. "I want my brother back, Sean. The one who used to tell me stories when I couldn't sleep, the one who used to make me laugh... I loved him, I miss him. And I hate this stranger you've turned yourself into."

Sean sighed heavily and pulled the girl into a hug; holding her tightly as she began to sob against his chest. "I'm still your brother, Katie." He whispered to her. "I'm still here."
"You have to stop, Sean. Please. I don't want to see you get killed." She begged. "I don't want to lose you too."

"I know, sis. And I'm so sorry, but I can't turn back now."

[Assassins' Camp - Few hours later]

Sean was immediately bombarded with a thousand reports from different scouts and messengers, the moment he stepped foot in camp. Looking around he could tell something wasn't quite the same in the air around the camp. He could catch glimpses of people talking amongst themselves in whispers. Somewhere along the way to the Leaders Cabin he lost track of Katie's movements; the girl disappeared somewhere in the camp, its crowds and noises. Perhaps Sean had disapperead in there as well some time ago, but it was useless to think of these things now.

He took his time to sit at his desk, rub his temples and focus his eyes on the reports he was handed; very much aware of the messenger that had followed him into the common room, but paying the man no attention. "Hum... Salamanders attacked, aparently no survivors... Smaller mercenaries caught wandering around again..." He mumbled to himself as he read the messages, not showing much interest in any of it, until he reached Sheila's report. "I see..." He muttered out, anger burning in his eyes at the words. He had warned the Captain of the Black Knights that there would be trouble if they were associated with any traitors, but apparently the woman didn't listen, or didn't take him seriously, because Sean was now being informed that Jake had rejoined the Black Knights.

[Flashback - Newhaven, approximately 3 years ago]

It was early morning and Mageria had already dealt with half a dozen problems. She had to figure out what to do with the captured Blackpond soldiers, now that there was no one to exchange them for; she had to deal with the holes in her chain of command that occurred from losses during the fighting; someone had just realized that some of the children living in the Castle were now orphans and just what was going to happen to them? Normally this would all have been dealt with by someone else, at the very worst it would have been the Captain of the White Knights who had to figure all of this out. But he hadn't been seen for quite a while now, and if she ever caught up to him . . . . Thomas was doing the best he could, but he was mostly occupied with trying to smooth over difficulties between Lady Sarris and the Council. That didn't even begin to cover the fact that they now had an heir running around that needed to be protected whether she liked it or not.

Mageria had assigned two of her most discrete Guard to watch over the girl and told everyone else that they would get their answers when she had answers to give them. That being done, she escaped up to the bell tower, where she could have a moment of quiet, locking and bolting the door behind her. There was no one else around and so she leaned against one of the windows and just looked out at the land stretching out past the walls of Newhaven, one hand idly gripping the hilt of her sword.

It was early morning in the castle, an unnamed shadow roamed the halls,unseen. He had a message to deliver, and very specific instructions regarding what he was supposed to do: "Deliver this message to the Black Knight Captain. Don't kill anyone. Don't let anyone see you." That was what the young man had been been instructed to do. Might seem like asking too much, but for a Wolf... Not really. Well, except maybe for the fact that he was meant to make sure that the message got to the woman directly, that could pose as a problem.
The young wolf did managed to keep a watch on the woman at a distance until see finally entered a room alone, locking the door behind her. A little bit of a setback, but fine.

"Hey, you there! Who are y-" The soldier didn't have the time to finish the question, and before the answer became clear as the man, who he assumed to be a servant, had turned and hit him in the face. Having started a commotion and knocked out a guard, the young assassin had to leave fast, but he still needed to deliver the message. "Aw, screw it." he thought, pulling a dagger.

When the woman on the other side of the door, reached the hallway, she would find a passed out guard and a note pinned to the door, with a dagger, saying: "Meet me outside the city gates at noon. Don't be late."

[Noon]

At exactly noon the new leader of the Pack reached the walls of Newhaven. Sean had been strongly advised against this, but he thought it was an opportunity he simply couldn't let slide. After all, the Pack needed some breathing room, Newhaven needed some breathing room. A truce, even if temporary, would give him room to organize the clan better.
Of course, Sean didn't plan on telling Mageria any of this. If she wanted him to play nice, he was going to ask for some things in return. After all, Newhaven had a rightful ruler, that would have been killed by the Shadow was it not for the Pack, and the clan had taken many losses in return. It was only fair that they got a little bit back.

This was the point of this meeting after all: Not what the Pack had done or the Knights had done... Only what was fair. Plain and simple.

Mageria spent the time waiting for Sean by picking out the right spot for them to meet. Out of sight of the ruined gates, in a clear enough spot that he didn't think it was an ambush, but close enough to cover that it wasn't suicide for her. It was a delicate balance. After she found the right area, she found her attention drawn by the work of the people rebuilding the walls. Among the townsfolk were a number of men dressed in bright orange tunics. They were the captured soldiers from Blackpond. Given that there was now no chance to trade them for Newhaven soldiers and the fact that she wasn't willing to execute them or house them in the dungeons, she had chosen to put them to work. From now until Newhaven was rebuilt or they were traded with Blackpond for some favor, they would work rebuilding what they had destroyed. It was fair, she thought. And more merciful than what her own men had received at the hands of Rory and Hastings.

A scuff of leather on stone drew her attention to the side. It seemed that Sean was being as careful as she was about not provoking the other person. She leaned against a bit of stone and looked over at him.
"I appreciate your restraint on delivering the note. Not elegant, but effective; and no one was permanently hurt." She turned and face him squarely. She was still fully armed, but kept her hands carefully away from her blades.
"We're telling people that the Wolves that killed the King have all been brought to justice. So there's no more need to continue to attack the Pack." She tilted her head just slightly to the side. "Are you going to give me another one?"

Sean snorted slightly as Mageria mentioned the note, he should have never sent a inexperienced active deliver it. However he said nothing until she finished talking. He shook his head slightly, with an amused grin, his arms were crossed underneath his cloak, however he wasn't in one bit tense. "Far from me to want to complicate things captain. However the Pack would have more than enough reasons to attack the Black Knights. I would have let the trespassing go, but you provided aid to a traitor, after he killed our second in command, and kidnapped one of our recruits. So, are you sure you want to be asking that question?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow. "You asked me for a truce, remember?"

He stopped to look around at the people rebuilding the city walls. He always did like Newhaven, it was such a lovely place once upon a time. Finally he heaved a sigh and looked back at Mageria. "The Wolfpack had an Inn established in Newhaven, the Shadow had it burnt down. We would like to rebuild it. We would place workers there, and it would be a neutral zone. A safe place for my people to sleep when away from. Like it once use to be." He leaned against a piece of rock. "You give me the Inn back, and you can consider the past erased."

Mageria thought for a long moment then shook her head regretfully. "We don't have the resources to build an Inn at the moment. We have people sleeping in warehouses and corridors in the Castle and even in the streets. We have to rebuild the walls and then homes first. At least using city workers. Private businesses don't really tell us where their workers come from."

She idly stretched the muscles in her neck. "Here's the thing, Sean. Right now the nobles are busy doing other things; they don't give a damn about the Pack right now. Give them a reason to stay awake at night, and they'll be looking your way again. So much as you and the traitors are going to be at each other's throats, keep it out of the city. No knife battles in the middle of the road, no corpses missing their guts showing up. If you want a neutral zone, it's going to be truly neutral."

Sean nodded, listening to the woman's concern with care. He honestly didn't care for the people of Newhaven right now, but when you are a leader, you have to learn to give a little for what you get. "I never asked you people to build it. We will tear down the burnt down construction and rebuild it ourselves. I can also put a few workers at your disposal to help rebuild civilian homes. Aside from that, once the Inn is functional we will be paying taxes." He smirked. "What your city council does with it, is your concern, but we will be paying nonetheless."

He made a small pause to let the offer sink in before continuing with the next point he needed to make. "A neutral zone, is a neutral zone. Which also means I won't have your soldiers knocking down any doors or asking any questions. Once my people are within those four walls, they are not to be touched. In return, no one else who enters the Inn will be harmed, not even Evin Bana himself, after all he did. In the future, should someone from Newhaven need to contact the Pack for any reason, it should be done through the messengers there; no more sneaking into our camp." He took another glance around, then looked back to her. "It's the best deal I can offer, and if anything I'm being too nice."

Mageria lowered her eyes for a moment then flicked them back up to Sean's. "Fair enough. I'll pass the word. Anyone that I can order or terrorize will stay away from your camp. Anyone stupid enough to head your way when there's a safe alternative will have to face the consequences of their actions on their own." A brief smile crossed her face as she turned and looked back at Newhaven. "And I'm sure that the Council appreciates your future buisness." The slightest trace of sarcasm leaked into her voice. "I certainly appreciate your altruism."

She held one hand out between them. "If that concludes things?"

Sean hesitated for a moment, did making a truce with the Knights made him feel slightly sick to the stomach? Yes. However, this was for the best. At least in this moment it was the best for the clan and for him. Anything personal could wait. Finally he pulled one hand from under his cloak and reached to shake Mageria's hand. "I say we've reached an understanding Captain. There is one thing I should warn you of, however." He crossed his arms over his chest again as he continued. "As promised, I will not hunt for traitors in your city, but if I suspect Newhaven, or the Black Knights, of helping one of those rats, we will have a problem." With that clarified, her turned around to leave. "I will have my workers in the city by nightfall. I trust that they will be fairly treated."

Mageria inclined her head. "Of course, Alpha." Her tone left it uncertain as to what she was replying to, however. She would make sure that the workers weren't harmed; however, given that she was on much better terms with Crystal and those that followed her, there was no doubt in her mind that there would be trouble in the future between the two groups. It was as inevitable as the sun rising in the south. She watched Sean turn to leave.
"I'm glad we could come to an agreement."


[Reality - Wolfpack Camp, present time]

Sean was still staring at the report, rereading it one more time. Actives were attacked, there had been damage to the Inn, although the traitor was kind enough to pay for the troubles... Jake was provoking him into making a move. Fine. He would do just that, but not they way he was expected to.

Standing up, he walked to a bookshelf and pulled a book from it; a book of myths, nothing much, but inside of it there was some vital information on a sealed envelope. "I'm so glad I removed this from the archives before Evin torched them all." He said, now addressing the messenger that was still staring at him at the doorway. He turned towards the man and extended the envelope to him. "See that this makes it to the hands of the Head of the Newhaven Council, with my compliments. I know hoe badly they have been bothered by the Black Knight Captain, I think it's only fair they have something to defend themselves with."
The messenger blinked, holding the envelope with shivering hands. "The Newhaven Council, Sean? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." The Alpha replied. "And one more thing..." Sean mentioned, scribbling down a note and folding it neatly. "Deliver this to someone of the Black Guard, tell them to deliver it to their Captain." Sean smiled wickedly as he put the note in the messenger's hands. It read:

I thought we had an understanding.

Instead of a signature, there was simply the symbol of an alpha to mark who had sent it. Sean nodded towards the door to get the messenger going. "Be on your way now."
The man left, still a little bit wary of his assignements, but Sean was sure that he would get it done no matter what.

As the messenger left, Donovan stormed into the cabin and slammed his fist on the table. "She was here, Sean!" He shouted.
Sean raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Shut the door, lower your voice, and tell me who you are talking about." He said calmly. "Sit." He said montining towards a chair.
Donovan didn't sit, however, he closed the door and took a breath. "Crystal was here. She spoke to Avius. He just let her go!"
Sean sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" He mumbled. "Don't worry about it, Don. I'll talk with him."
"How can you be so calm, Sean?" Donovan asked. He was furious, it was noticeable.
"Well, I've been wanting to drive her out hiding... There has to be a reason why she showed now, of all times. Something changed." Sean explained. "It could be good or bad for us, we just need to find out what it is."
Donovan finally seemed to calm himself and sat down. "How?"
"First, I'll talk to Avius, but I have other means of finding that out. I think it's time I use them." He smiled. "Relax, Don... She'll pay for what she did, be patient. Now, go tell Avius I want to see him."
The boy nodded firmly and stood up, leaving the cabin to do what he was asked.

--------------------------------------

[Blackpond]

Jake kicked down the door and, as he did so, he immediatelly felt the cold steel of a dagger on the back of his neck. He could be dead now, but he wasn't yet. A male voice sounded in his ears. “I hope you don’t expect me to pay for the door. Its real agar wood. Almost three hundred years old.”

Jake took his time looking at the inside of the room, before responding. It looked like a murder had occurred there just yesterday; aside from the blood on the carpet, which was visibly dry. He ran his eyes from the bloodied floor to the ripped curtains... That was the spot where Hastings had fallen. If only those walls could tell him what they witnessed that night...

Finally, he responded to the man holding him a knife-point. "Send me the bill if you like." He told the man. "If I live to pay, that is." He added. "Which begs the question: Are you going to use that. Mr...?"

-------------------------------------------------------

[Newhaven]

Luckas was intrigued by the woman's reaction. He expected a White Knight to be, well... Boring, but no. He was even a little surprised when she touched his face. If only she knew what he could do to her with just a little touch... He snickered, but only on the inside. She seemed to be enjoying the idea of messing with his head, and he was going to play along for the moment. As she moved on, he walked after her. for a while, just letting her talk. For another simply watching her expression. She seemed like someone he could play with, someone easy to push into madness; she certainly had things in her mind that she wanted to conceal, but the fact of the matter was that his hands were still bound by that damned healer. As long as Lena Turner lived, it wasn't safe to go back to his former ways. He'd have to make good with what he had at the moment: An entertaining chat.

“Veronica Zein, but you may also call me Zein, and what brings you to the Newhaven’s castle, or even better, who allowed you to enter?” The woman had said.

Luckas finally answered the woman, if not for any other reason, simply to see how far she would go in this little game of theirs. "Veronica, huh? I'll call you Ronnie, it kinda suits you. I don't adress people by their surnames, it's too impersonal. Nicknames are far more friendly." He said with a cheerful smile. "That said: You may call me Luke. My reasons for being here are personal ones. I might tell you sometime, when we know each other better, but not now. And, this might come as a surprise to you, Ronnie, but no one let me in. I was allowed to stay though; I'm just that charismatic." He said, flashing a smile that was, at most, amusing, but not really charming. "As for my answer, I don't think it was at all complicated. It's a simple thought: You cannot fully know anyone, not even yourself. Think about it: How many people truly know what horrors they are capable of? Let's say you have to make a choice: Kill someone you love dearly, or kill an unknown child, in plain sight of said person. If you kill your loved one, you'll suffer. If you kill the child, you save your loved one, however, the person will always see you as a monster capable of killing a child. Tricky, huh? And you can speculate as to what you would do, or how far you would go... But unless you live it, you can never truly know. That's what makes the world around us bearable: Those little illusions that give us room to believe we're not monsters; that we have lines we would never cross. The truth of all matters remains unknown; buried in the back of our minds while we hope we never need to unleash it upon ourselves." He said absently as they walked. Then he chuckled. "I sound complicated again, don't I? Let me put it in few words: 'Reality', as people like to call it, is nothing but a lie. The actual truth lies within a little area of our minds we cannot reach. The only way to see it, truly... Is to allow it to shatter. So that is what reality actually is: What you people call 'insanity'."