Nyagi Yhistarok. A black Miqo'te, Keeper, raised under the docks of Limsa Lominsa since she was a little kit by a small sect off the rogue's guild. She grew up living about as normal of a raising one would expect in that environment, learning from her tutor and friends, ever an up and coming rogue, destined to work under Jacke himself. There were times she'd slip into the temptation of common thievery now and again, a pick pocket here, a swindle there. But she always had her friends and teachers close by to set her straight, if ever she went too far.
So why then was she finding herself fleeing for her life? What changed to make it so that someone she once called friend was now trying to make sure she never saw the outside of that little shack's walls? She was expecting a ruse, yes. But it would be a fair stretch of the mind to think she was completely prepared for her best mate to be the one to show a different side. The sharp of his blade, this opposing rogue's "kiss", stung on her face. If she were to find answers, she'd have to first find her exit, as she was quickly being backed into a corner of the shack.
A rope catches her foot as she makes another parry, and she hooks it's coils on her heel, dodging the next attack while kicking it into the fray. An opening to sidestep her pursuer, she dives for the door, knocking some boxes of supplies on the ground, further complicating the two from meeting blades again. In a matter of seconds and a few close passes, she now was between her attacker and the door, throwing a shoulder against the grain, and the door swung wide.
A blinding flash of light, the sun was rising just over the sea and shined through the doorway, giving Nyagi time to make her escape. She jumped into the waters of the harbor and swam off underneath the surface. The rogue runs out the door after her, but does not jump in. Another rogue shows to have not been far off, and both were familiar to Nyagi. Once her dear friends, they agree that she won't show her face any time soon and so they walk off down the docks.
Nyagi, under the water's surface, sees through the ripples of the water the two rogues. She remained still under the water long enough to be sure, she was a fairly good free diver, surfacing under the docks in that quiet section of Limsa's trade district. Clambering up back on the docks, she takes care that the coast is clear. The morning frost still hung in the shadows of that quiet harbor and she pulls off her boots, shaking the water from her gear as best she can. Her breath puffed and soon her body shivered from being damp that cool morning.
As she strapped back on her leather belts and secured her weapons, her thoughts run and rerun the events of that early morning, trying to figure things out. Where did she miss it? Was she really that oblivious the whole time? She searched her memories as she took her leave of the docks and slipping back to the shadows of the market streets and then the outskirts of the town. There was no shortage of safe havens for a sneak as she in and around Limsa's harbors, and with a trained step, she manages to make her way, remaining unnoticed.
Finally, as the mid-morning sun continued to rise that first bell, she sighs with some relief, having found her favorite cove unspoiled. Growing up as an orphaned Miqo'te can make those like her one of but a few dispositions. They all share a natural will to survive, but -how- they choose to survive can vary from cat to cat. Be it in the arms of strangers, earning their keep by sacrificing their bodies; there are some, such as she however, who default to distrusting the common man, taking from others what they needed to survive, and keeping to a few abandoned corners of the city's harbor where they could take shelter from the wind and rain of the coastal local. It was mearly chance she didn't remain a reclusive "dock-dodger", being taken underwing by the rogues of Limsa Lominsa. Make no mistake though, she still kept a secret or two of her own in spite of the hospitality shown towards her those many years ago. It was in her nature.
She strikes her flint and starts a fire in the cliffside recess, hanging her cloth and leather on a line to dry properly. She looked out toward the ocean horizon, a sea breeze picked up as the weather turned warmer. From her humble place of sanctuary, she can see ships coming and leaving the city, their trades varying from the honest to the horrid. She had developed an eye for most of the ships that frequented her shores, knowing which were likely to conduct business of the illegal sort. Be it smugglers or slavers, she sometimes wondered in her youth how such attrocities could continue as they did in this modern age of commerce.
She stretches, arching her back as a cat would, yawning before a sudden wince. She'd forgotten her face was cut. It was a wonder to even herself, as surely the salt of the seawater would have alerted her sooner, but she was slowly letting go of the stress and figured her body was suppressing her pain up until that moment. She takes from her pack a vial of medicinal cream, drawing it on her face with a finger, to soothe the open cuts. She takes her dagger and wipes the side of it, buffing some shine into it. She reaches into her pack and takes out a leather repair kit. As one could imagine, using even the smallest needle and thread she had in her kit would be brutal and she had only the thin side of her blade as a mirror. Nevertheless, she endures some measure of pain and is able to tend to her wound. "...Tha's definitely leavin' a scar..." she sighs as she looks over the stitch work. As for the cut on her nose, she had to make due with a simple bandage.
At last, with injuries addressed, she sighs, leaning back on a patch of moss that had crept into her cove months earlier that spring. As high risk her profession would put her in time and again, she learned that things were just how they were and could slip into a relaxed state. Who knew when she'd get that next chance? She continues to mill over the day and of her past with those two rogues. She rolls her eyes as she gives a sigh. For once in a long while, she couldn't relax and take her mind off things. In her past she could easily throw her cares to the trade winds, no matter how messed things might have been, but today made her question. Everything.
"Ye got spunk, ye do lass."
For once, just for once, the while the weather was holding that sunny day on the streets of Limsa Lominsa, the little Miqo'te wanted to actually get out there and peruse the goods fresh off the ships. It was a new week and exotic shipments were in season. A myriad of food and leathers not common to La Noscea had come from one of the new trade fleets. This was not a common influx of trade but what added to the unusually busy traffic of consumers and business was the recent erecting of the Aetheryte in the Octant. Now not only did the city streets bustle with locals and long haulers, so too now was the population saturated with adventurers of every likeness and pursuit.
And there sat Nyagi, plopped on her rump and being schooled by her seasoned colleague. She burned in the face with arrogance, tail twitching with annoyance. Worst yet, she hated to be talked down to. And today of all days. If only she could be left to her own devices, instead of being swamped by the recent string of lessons she was forced to undertake. She was sure her tutor took a cruel pleasure in keeping her from what she wanted to do. Much less to enjoy the anonymity of the crowds that -she- was obviously not going to be allowed to slip into.
She huffs as she stands, resuming her rogue stance, her pose was that of a young kit, still not keeping her center of balance low and the tutor shook his head as he resumed today's lesson. "Ye gotta keep on yer toes 'n heels equally." he spoke with a tone, implying he'd said similar things to her time and time again with little progression on her part to let his instruction sink in. "Ye ain't gunna be fast on yer feet if yer as stiff as ye are with that kin'da stance, lass. Don' ye get it yet? I kin sweep ye off yer feet from at least four ways from where 'm lookin'."
"Cum 'on, yo! I ain't got m'mind fer all this annoyin' trainin' ye keep puttin' me through. 'Ow in bloo'y 'ells am aye gunna dodge e'ry thin yer throwin' at me wen I kin't e'en change m'direction tha' fast?" Nyagi snapped back, her tone equally as arrogant as her expression, roughly accented from a mix of sailor tongue she'd been exposed to since a babe. "Aye... kin't we jus' call 'er a day? Ay'ben at it fer three weeks straight, wit lil' mor than an evenin's rest."
"Ye ain't pickin' up on yer trainin' like I want ye. I know yer better than tha'." the tutor replied. The Miqo'te bristled with anger, "Ye kin't be serious? I kin do e'ry thin ye ben throwin' at me jus' fien. Yer pro'ly usin' som sor'a crazy magic ta be movin' as fast as ye are. Ye jus' don' wan' me ta 'ave any fun. Ye don' trust me ta leave yer sight fer no'in..!"
The hyur sighed, rubbing his brow, "Ye can complain all ye wan', but don' think fer a minute I'm gonna trust ye after last time. 'm still cleanin' up yer mess with the yellajackets an' the only reason yer not rottin' in a cell fer yer impudence is cuz I sent 'em on a wild goose chase."
"Aye don' care! I coul'da 'andled m'self jus' fien. 'sides tha, Aye--" she was cut off by being seated on her rump again with a plop from a simple leg sweep of her tutor. "Oof! ...'Ey! Aye wuz'nt e'en rea'y!" she rubs her backside, dropping her daggers. The tutor does not hesitate in that instant and kicks up the dagger from her side, in a quick turnaround, pressing the hilt of it against Nyagi's ribs, "Oi! Wut do I keep tellin' ye?" he shouts at her while pinning her down by the hilt of her own dagger, "Never let yer weapon touch tha dirt. Yer nothin' but a jellyfish awash the shore, disarmed."
"G-grr!" Nyagi grunted while staring defiantly at the hyur with her sharp glare. The man backhands her, "Ye take tha look o'f yer face righ' now ye got'it?" he yells, shoving the dagger against her before kicking the other one at her feet as he stood back up, "Ye got spunk, ye do lass. But ye jus' don' understand 'ow ta choose yer fights."
"Piss off!" Nyagi retorts while wiping the scuff off her face, hiding the tear knocked from her for being struck. She sits there in a pout. This behavior was clearly unacceptable to the hyur and he grabs her by the hair, giving her head a shake, "Git yer head outta yer ass an' knock the attitude off." Nyagi wincing, "Argh..." she peers at him still defiantly as he grips her by the scalp. A brief staredown and she yields. The tutor pushes her head down as he releases her, "Now take yer sharps an' stance. We'll do this all day again. We'll keep doin' it til ye get it righ' or till I knock yer head clean off yer shoulders, we will." he gives his sleeves a tug, loosening his own tension.
The two resume their stances and Nyagi is made to practice until the sun sets for the last bell that spot of training. "..." Nyagi was dirty and sore by the end of the day, same as it had been for weeks, and she looks disgruntled as she is rejoined with her friends. Some pat her back, consoling her, while others boast at their own accomplishments of the day. The tutor rejoins his fellow rogues for the evening giving his head a shake as he appeared to have made little progress yet again with his student. The others give their respective responses, some agreeing, some suggesting Nyagi was not fit to continue her training. All in all, the end of another mundane day.
There Nyagi's mind slips back into reality. Perhaps she'd dozed off and dreamt of days long past when things weren't so complicated. The sun was rising over the horizon for another bell, her fire had gone out but the coals were still warm. Life post calamity was odd in some ways, with locked seasons and fast days, but that was just how things were nowadays. Most everyone, Nyagi included, adapted well enough and Nyagi had a good sense of how long she'd been out.
She dresses and stokes the fire to warm herself up a bit better before opening her pack of supplies. Water washed, "Hmm... so much for that." she pulls out some wads of paper from amongst her things. It had been a few notes, and one being a writ of sale. She shakes her head as she sets out a leather repair kit she had rolled up in a moleskin, a pair of loaded dice, a whetstone, some vials with dry herbs in it, until she found some jerky wrapped in a large bayleaf, still dry thankfully. She tears off a strip of meat and lets it hang in her mouth as she puts back her belongings.
The call of gulls and the strike of a bell in the not so distant harbor of Limsa signals Nyagi to look a glance out to sea again. She watches the waters, teeming with life as birds above and fish below feast on the krill come to the coast. She spots a rowboat in the distance. Her keen eyes can aught but make out familiar colors, however before she sees a glint of light and something darting past her lit cove. An arrow struck fast to the sandstone, accurate as ever from such a distance. She ducks back into her cove and scoops up her belongings. Whoever that was, and they seemed familiar indeed, they had taken aim and tried to off her right there. It was possible that arrow would have found it's mark had Lymlaen's grace not granted a rogue gust to turn the path of the arrow ever so slightly to Nyagi's right.
Nyagi would be cornered if she stayed any longer, and dashed out of cover for the hillside past the cliffs she thought were safe. Someone had knowledge of her, how else could they have found her? At this point Nyagi figured she'd worn her welcome and she still hadn't connected the dots as to why now she was being pursued by rogue members? She had only one person left to turn to. Only one person she could trust to have any hope of sorting things out.
"...Aksel..." she muttered under her breath as she turned a hill. A few more arrows are loosed on her, but she dashes through some trees and quickly leaves sight of the coast.
So why then was she finding herself fleeing for her life? What changed to make it so that someone she once called friend was now trying to make sure she never saw the outside of that little shack's walls? She was expecting a ruse, yes. But it would be a fair stretch of the mind to think she was completely prepared for her best mate to be the one to show a different side. The sharp of his blade, this opposing rogue's "kiss", stung on her face. If she were to find answers, she'd have to first find her exit, as she was quickly being backed into a corner of the shack.
A rope catches her foot as she makes another parry, and she hooks it's coils on her heel, dodging the next attack while kicking it into the fray. An opening to sidestep her pursuer, she dives for the door, knocking some boxes of supplies on the ground, further complicating the two from meeting blades again. In a matter of seconds and a few close passes, she now was between her attacker and the door, throwing a shoulder against the grain, and the door swung wide.
A blinding flash of light, the sun was rising just over the sea and shined through the doorway, giving Nyagi time to make her escape. She jumped into the waters of the harbor and swam off underneath the surface. The rogue runs out the door after her, but does not jump in. Another rogue shows to have not been far off, and both were familiar to Nyagi. Once her dear friends, they agree that she won't show her face any time soon and so they walk off down the docks.
Nyagi, under the water's surface, sees through the ripples of the water the two rogues. She remained still under the water long enough to be sure, she was a fairly good free diver, surfacing under the docks in that quiet section of Limsa's trade district. Clambering up back on the docks, she takes care that the coast is clear. The morning frost still hung in the shadows of that quiet harbor and she pulls off her boots, shaking the water from her gear as best she can. Her breath puffed and soon her body shivered from being damp that cool morning.
As she strapped back on her leather belts and secured her weapons, her thoughts run and rerun the events of that early morning, trying to figure things out. Where did she miss it? Was she really that oblivious the whole time? She searched her memories as she took her leave of the docks and slipping back to the shadows of the market streets and then the outskirts of the town. There was no shortage of safe havens for a sneak as she in and around Limsa's harbors, and with a trained step, she manages to make her way, remaining unnoticed.
Finally, as the mid-morning sun continued to rise that first bell, she sighs with some relief, having found her favorite cove unspoiled. Growing up as an orphaned Miqo'te can make those like her one of but a few dispositions. They all share a natural will to survive, but -how- they choose to survive can vary from cat to cat. Be it in the arms of strangers, earning their keep by sacrificing their bodies; there are some, such as she however, who default to distrusting the common man, taking from others what they needed to survive, and keeping to a few abandoned corners of the city's harbor where they could take shelter from the wind and rain of the coastal local. It was mearly chance she didn't remain a reclusive "dock-dodger", being taken underwing by the rogues of Limsa Lominsa. Make no mistake though, she still kept a secret or two of her own in spite of the hospitality shown towards her those many years ago. It was in her nature.
She strikes her flint and starts a fire in the cliffside recess, hanging her cloth and leather on a line to dry properly. She looked out toward the ocean horizon, a sea breeze picked up as the weather turned warmer. From her humble place of sanctuary, she can see ships coming and leaving the city, their trades varying from the honest to the horrid. She had developed an eye for most of the ships that frequented her shores, knowing which were likely to conduct business of the illegal sort. Be it smugglers or slavers, she sometimes wondered in her youth how such attrocities could continue as they did in this modern age of commerce.
She stretches, arching her back as a cat would, yawning before a sudden wince. She'd forgotten her face was cut. It was a wonder to even herself, as surely the salt of the seawater would have alerted her sooner, but she was slowly letting go of the stress and figured her body was suppressing her pain up until that moment. She takes from her pack a vial of medicinal cream, drawing it on her face with a finger, to soothe the open cuts. She takes her dagger and wipes the side of it, buffing some shine into it. She reaches into her pack and takes out a leather repair kit. As one could imagine, using even the smallest needle and thread she had in her kit would be brutal and she had only the thin side of her blade as a mirror. Nevertheless, she endures some measure of pain and is able to tend to her wound. "...Tha's definitely leavin' a scar..." she sighs as she looks over the stitch work. As for the cut on her nose, she had to make due with a simple bandage.
At last, with injuries addressed, she sighs, leaning back on a patch of moss that had crept into her cove months earlier that spring. As high risk her profession would put her in time and again, she learned that things were just how they were and could slip into a relaxed state. Who knew when she'd get that next chance? She continues to mill over the day and of her past with those two rogues. She rolls her eyes as she gives a sigh. For once in a long while, she couldn't relax and take her mind off things. In her past she could easily throw her cares to the trade winds, no matter how messed things might have been, but today made her question. Everything.
"Ye got spunk, ye do lass."
For once, just for once, the while the weather was holding that sunny day on the streets of Limsa Lominsa, the little Miqo'te wanted to actually get out there and peruse the goods fresh off the ships. It was a new week and exotic shipments were in season. A myriad of food and leathers not common to La Noscea had come from one of the new trade fleets. This was not a common influx of trade but what added to the unusually busy traffic of consumers and business was the recent erecting of the Aetheryte in the Octant. Now not only did the city streets bustle with locals and long haulers, so too now was the population saturated with adventurers of every likeness and pursuit.
And there sat Nyagi, plopped on her rump and being schooled by her seasoned colleague. She burned in the face with arrogance, tail twitching with annoyance. Worst yet, she hated to be talked down to. And today of all days. If only she could be left to her own devices, instead of being swamped by the recent string of lessons she was forced to undertake. She was sure her tutor took a cruel pleasure in keeping her from what she wanted to do. Much less to enjoy the anonymity of the crowds that -she- was obviously not going to be allowed to slip into.
She huffs as she stands, resuming her rogue stance, her pose was that of a young kit, still not keeping her center of balance low and the tutor shook his head as he resumed today's lesson. "Ye gotta keep on yer toes 'n heels equally." he spoke with a tone, implying he'd said similar things to her time and time again with little progression on her part to let his instruction sink in. "Ye ain't gunna be fast on yer feet if yer as stiff as ye are with that kin'da stance, lass. Don' ye get it yet? I kin sweep ye off yer feet from at least four ways from where 'm lookin'."
"Cum 'on, yo! I ain't got m'mind fer all this annoyin' trainin' ye keep puttin' me through. 'Ow in bloo'y 'ells am aye gunna dodge e'ry thin yer throwin' at me wen I kin't e'en change m'direction tha' fast?" Nyagi snapped back, her tone equally as arrogant as her expression, roughly accented from a mix of sailor tongue she'd been exposed to since a babe. "Aye... kin't we jus' call 'er a day? Ay'ben at it fer three weeks straight, wit lil' mor than an evenin's rest."
"Ye ain't pickin' up on yer trainin' like I want ye. I know yer better than tha'." the tutor replied. The Miqo'te bristled with anger, "Ye kin't be serious? I kin do e'ry thin ye ben throwin' at me jus' fien. Yer pro'ly usin' som sor'a crazy magic ta be movin' as fast as ye are. Ye jus' don' wan' me ta 'ave any fun. Ye don' trust me ta leave yer sight fer no'in..!"
The hyur sighed, rubbing his brow, "Ye can complain all ye wan', but don' think fer a minute I'm gonna trust ye after last time. 'm still cleanin' up yer mess with the yellajackets an' the only reason yer not rottin' in a cell fer yer impudence is cuz I sent 'em on a wild goose chase."
"Aye don' care! I coul'da 'andled m'self jus' fien. 'sides tha, Aye--" she was cut off by being seated on her rump again with a plop from a simple leg sweep of her tutor. "Oof! ...'Ey! Aye wuz'nt e'en rea'y!" she rubs her backside, dropping her daggers. The tutor does not hesitate in that instant and kicks up the dagger from her side, in a quick turnaround, pressing the hilt of it against Nyagi's ribs, "Oi! Wut do I keep tellin' ye?" he shouts at her while pinning her down by the hilt of her own dagger, "Never let yer weapon touch tha dirt. Yer nothin' but a jellyfish awash the shore, disarmed."
"G-grr!" Nyagi grunted while staring defiantly at the hyur with her sharp glare. The man backhands her, "Ye take tha look o'f yer face righ' now ye got'it?" he yells, shoving the dagger against her before kicking the other one at her feet as he stood back up, "Ye got spunk, ye do lass. But ye jus' don' understand 'ow ta choose yer fights."
"Piss off!" Nyagi retorts while wiping the scuff off her face, hiding the tear knocked from her for being struck. She sits there in a pout. This behavior was clearly unacceptable to the hyur and he grabs her by the hair, giving her head a shake, "Git yer head outta yer ass an' knock the attitude off." Nyagi wincing, "Argh..." she peers at him still defiantly as he grips her by the scalp. A brief staredown and she yields. The tutor pushes her head down as he releases her, "Now take yer sharps an' stance. We'll do this all day again. We'll keep doin' it til ye get it righ' or till I knock yer head clean off yer shoulders, we will." he gives his sleeves a tug, loosening his own tension.
The two resume their stances and Nyagi is made to practice until the sun sets for the last bell that spot of training. "..." Nyagi was dirty and sore by the end of the day, same as it had been for weeks, and she looks disgruntled as she is rejoined with her friends. Some pat her back, consoling her, while others boast at their own accomplishments of the day. The tutor rejoins his fellow rogues for the evening giving his head a shake as he appeared to have made little progress yet again with his student. The others give their respective responses, some agreeing, some suggesting Nyagi was not fit to continue her training. All in all, the end of another mundane day.
There Nyagi's mind slips back into reality. Perhaps she'd dozed off and dreamt of days long past when things weren't so complicated. The sun was rising over the horizon for another bell, her fire had gone out but the coals were still warm. Life post calamity was odd in some ways, with locked seasons and fast days, but that was just how things were nowadays. Most everyone, Nyagi included, adapted well enough and Nyagi had a good sense of how long she'd been out.
She dresses and stokes the fire to warm herself up a bit better before opening her pack of supplies. Water washed, "Hmm... so much for that." she pulls out some wads of paper from amongst her things. It had been a few notes, and one being a writ of sale. She shakes her head as she sets out a leather repair kit she had rolled up in a moleskin, a pair of loaded dice, a whetstone, some vials with dry herbs in it, until she found some jerky wrapped in a large bayleaf, still dry thankfully. She tears off a strip of meat and lets it hang in her mouth as she puts back her belongings.
The call of gulls and the strike of a bell in the not so distant harbor of Limsa signals Nyagi to look a glance out to sea again. She watches the waters, teeming with life as birds above and fish below feast on the krill come to the coast. She spots a rowboat in the distance. Her keen eyes can aught but make out familiar colors, however before she sees a glint of light and something darting past her lit cove. An arrow struck fast to the sandstone, accurate as ever from such a distance. She ducks back into her cove and scoops up her belongings. Whoever that was, and they seemed familiar indeed, they had taken aim and tried to off her right there. It was possible that arrow would have found it's mark had Lymlaen's grace not granted a rogue gust to turn the path of the arrow ever so slightly to Nyagi's right.
Nyagi would be cornered if she stayed any longer, and dashed out of cover for the hillside past the cliffs she thought were safe. Someone had knowledge of her, how else could they have found her? At this point Nyagi figured she'd worn her welcome and she still hadn't connected the dots as to why now she was being pursued by rogue members? She had only one person left to turn to. Only one person she could trust to have any hope of sorting things out.
"...Aksel..." she muttered under her breath as she turned a hill. A few more arrows are loosed on her, but she dashes through some trees and quickly leaves sight of the coast.