The air was practically buzzing with excitement. It was the day of the tournament, and vendors shouted out their wares at people passing on the street, while everyone bustled their way towards the arena. People pushed and shoved to get the best seats, and there was not a single person sitting at home with nothing to do. Tournament days were days of booming business for the poor, thieving for the homeless, and excitement for the rich.
For Rae Vixen, it was none of the above. For Rae, it was a day of nervousness, of fighting, and hopefully, of glory. She stood in the shadows of an empty alley, watching the booming streets with shaded violet eyes. The constant buzz of emotion almost made her want to double over. This was why she normally stayed clear of cities. Too many people. Living, and non-living.
However, she'd "heard" news. Well, not heard. Dreampt of news was more like it. She'd had another one of her strange dreams a few nights ago, where she'd glimpsed the other side. The dimension where souls that no longer inhabit their bodies go. A spirit had come to her in the dream, and she'd woken up, sweating wildly, only able to remember one snap of information. That something important was going to go down this tournament day, and in order to be a part of it... She had to be in the tournament. Not a thrilling idea. However, Vix had learned long ago not to question these dreams, so she'd willingly entered herself in the competition.
Now she stood, shoulder leaning against the wall of the alley as one hand slipped fingers through long, glossy black locks of hair, absent-mindedly. It was a habit of hers, when she was thinking or observing, to toy with her hair. Either that, or poke gently at the three small diamonds that lined the underside of her eyebrow. She stood there, violet eyes shining as she observed the street.
At least the chaos was good for one thing. A distraction.
Without another word, she slipped her bow over her shoulder and started into the bustling crowd. Reaching a vendor, who was selling hot breakfast rolls, she slipped up behind him. He was a good 5 inches taller than her, and he didn't see her. She leaned forward, on her toes and whispered gently in his ear. "Would you be so kind as to give a hungry girl some breakfast?" She breathed, and he turned on his heel, ready to strike, but when he saw her, he stopped. He looked down into her wide, much-too-large, violet eyes, and her delicate, nonthreatening face and dropped his hand to his side. "Depends." He grumbled, grinning wickedly. "What do I get out of it?"
She sighed and took a step back towards his stall, slipping her hand out behind her to grab two rolls as she talked. "I wasn't talking about that you pig." She hissed, just as a man took off running through the crowd, zipping past her. "Maybe you should be less concerned with pretty girls, and more concerned that that man just took off with at least twelve of your rolls."
At that, the baker spun, giving her enough time to grab her breakfast and split.
With a full stomach, Rae approached the alternative arena entrance that those who were not simply watching the tournament were supposed to use. The guards looked at her funny. "I'm Raven Trix." She said, giving them her fake name. "I'm a contestant." They eyed her small frame and their eyebrows shot up, but they let her in. She couldn't help but catch their comments about how she'd never survive as she headed towards the participants balcony.
Once out on the balcony, bright light and loud cheering hit Vix hard, and she had to grip the wall with white knuckles as a wave of emotion crashed down on her. She could feel the symbol on her upper thigh burning ever-so-slightly, but she didn't know why. She stood in the back, under a shadow, silently watching the others. Hopefully her dream had been right. Whatever this was about, it better be good. There were better things she could be doing on a tournament day than this.