Ashes (Open to Kat, Cel, Cil)

[Celeste]

Just before Celeste woke from her nightmare...


The names had punched holes in my heart as the cowering woman on her pathetic broom uttered them. Her panicked tongue had garbled the last name but that one had struck the hardest and I made her repeat it. My blade had been out of its scabbard and swinging towards her head before I realized what I was doing. It took all of the strength I possessed to redirected it into the stones along the canal edge. It had the desired effect though. The human had repeated the name more clearly.

''I am not as martially inclined as the rest of the Cats. I leave the killing to them and worry about keeping them hale and whole.''

Kat. And the younger woman was Celeste. I had thought to feel elated by those names but that was not quite the reaction I had. Instead I was flooded with half-remembered memories. Joy, pain and more strongly: betrayal.

''He was my husband. You had no right!''

''I am sorry Little Flower. Please forgive me.''

I strode into the lakeside inn with purpose. This aimless existence, a pantomime of a life, is eating away at my soul. I crave answers and I will get them.

I make it halfway through the common room when a fat man wearing an apron moves to intercept me. I cannot go up, he says. All the rooms are rented and he values their privacy. Of course I ignore him. What do I care for his rules?  He insists and that is when he tried to grab my arm.

My sword once again seemed to respond to a will of its own though my hand is the one that wields it. It cleaves through his arm as if it were butter. He has no time to even speak before I reverse the upward thrust and slash a path through his flabby midsection, spilling blood and entrails on the wooden floor.

Behind me a woman screams. I turn around only to face two men in guard uniforms rising from the table where they were apparently sharing a late night drink. I have no time to waste and tell them not to interfere but, of course, they ignore the swiftness with which I have killed the man at my feet. One of them shouts for me to halt as he reaches for a sword at his waist while his comrade charges in my direction. I will let no one interfere with my quest. I step forward and to the side. This man has never fought a kaldorei. He moves too slowly and obviously expects an attack from higher up. I sidestep and slash low. He cries out in surprise as my blade removes his left leg at the knee. His momentum makes him fall foward as he cries out in surprise. I reverse the grip on my blade and drive it down into the man's back.

The last man advances blade held high, his anger clouding his judgment. Gripping my sword with both hands, I drive my sword into the man's chest and push him back until the tip of my blade is struck into a table. The carnage was over as quickly as it had started. I feel no joy for my victory nor guilt. These people interfered.

One last person remains alive. A woman clearly dressed as a serving girl. She looks no older than my daughter's age. My daughter. This makes me pause. The thought came unbidden as if from rote memory.

I move closer, leaving my blade into the last man's corpse. I reached down and grab the crying woman by the neck. She made absolutely no effort to defend herself. Terror freezing her in place. I squeeze her neck slightly as I raise her in the air and bring her closer. I examine her features, perhaps she can help me remember more before I continue upstairs. Unfortunately, fear has turned her into a crying and useless mess.

A faint sound tickles my elven ears. I cock my head to the side, slightly turning it towards the stairs. Someone is coming.

When a figure steps down far enough to be in view, I squeeze tighter until I heard the sound of the serving girl's neck break. Tossing her body aside, I take a few steps away to retrieve my weapon and turn to face the stairs.

[۞ KAT ۞ AKA Red Viper]

Although it had been years since Kat had worn leathers and danced in the shadows with roguish ability, she had never forgotten how to walk silently... Granted it was not an ability she used often, always -wanting- attention. However there was a time and place for everything.

Her back slid along the wall as she took each stair with a toe to gradual heel creep, dagger raised and ready, although it was more presentation than something she would actually use now. Now, her voice was her weapon and the suffering it could summon.

Any pain her body had been feeling was once more swept away by the adrenaline coursing through her. Was it Eow? Again? Was she indeed back? Again?

The woman's thoughts raged, scorching with memories of their last encounter. What was supposed to be the -last- encounter. The last painful goodbye. No... whatever this -thing- was... it wasn't Eow. Her Eow was dead.

Blood. The scent hit her hard making her swallow thickly. She could hear the sounds of carnage below, even with only half her hearing. She wondered if Celeste could hear it.

Celeste. She would not allow anything to happen to that girl. The young woman who had saved her by sacrificing her own mother. The scared child up cowering in that huge bed with a succubus her only comfort at the moment.

She would die before allowing anything to happen to her. She was the only goodness and light left of her beloved friend.

Kat's shadow slunk along the wall long before she was in full view making her curse and stop her silent decent. Why bother now. The rest of her footfalls reeked with purpose, and determination.

The sight of the dead bodies did nothing to phase her. It was the sight of the undead elf that caused her amber eyes to blaze. Hissing, she summoned up a sudden surge of power, deep red wafts of disrupted aura flaming out about her.

"GET HER OUT!" Kat roared as her eyes met Eowithiel's, calling up to Mirweena, who despite her blase and casual demeanor petting and cooing to try and calm Celeste, was instantly ready, and demonstrating supernatural strength as she jerked Celeste out of the bed. She was not about to tolerate any resistance, and held the woman against her chest in a vice like grip with her arm as the other opened the window. Stepping out, her leathery wings poised in the night air, "Do not worry little lamb. The Mistress will come back to you safely." she purred before hauling the human out the window and taking off.

Kat bared her teeth at the elf who had yet to move... Why was she just staring... It didn't matter. Those eyes would see nothing soon enough. "Hail dear Eowithiel," she crooned, "ye won't be getting her...But, lucky ye, ye got me."

Eyes beginning to glow fel green, she slipped her dagger into its sheath, and readied to kick her ass, her hands coiling into claws at her side....

[Celeste]

Eowithiel

The name slips through my thoughts like a poisonous caress. It soothes my ache for knowledge about my former self but also leaves pain in its wake. 

This is not the reunion I was expecting. I was clearly drawn to this woman speaking to me. I had thought to gain my memories, my sense of self.

This woman is a stranger to me.

I do not know this woman though even without her threats I would have known that she is a foe. My purpose was to destroy her, once, though I cannot fathom why. It was important to me once. My blade held loosely in hand, I move to the side slowly. This enemy then is a means to an end, surely. I was drawn to her because she could help me find the other. Unless they are both enemies? Why are my stolen memories apparently tied to either one? Corpses cannot speak. I cannot kill them. Not yet.

In my moment of confusion at seeing this woman coming down the stairs I have failed to grasp the meaning of her shouted order. I understand now as I sense the other one, Celeste or Kat?, moving quickly. I kick an overturned chair in the direction of the one here on the ground floor. The attack is a simple distraction. A second or two is all I need to dash through one of the ground floor windows.

I roll to my feet and stare up at the sky. A demon? A demon carrying the other one away. The winged creature turns her head and we lock eyes for a moment. Then she and her charge are gone into the night.

[Cillian]

Sleep had not found Cillian, nor did he want it to. The sudden turn of events which the young paladin really didn't have much of an idea about, had impacted him terribly; the looks and reactions from those more directly involved were enough to give him pause. They were hard-nosed people. 

Worried and with restless energy he decided to forgo getting a room at the inn, and instead opted to grab himself a mug of ale to accompany him out to the Lakeshire docks. The night had been a pleasant one, and he figured he could watch the entrance to protect those inside--especially if some supposedly dead family member decided to make her way looking for answers. 

Several had walked in and out of the inn, but all seemed the common sort, regulars and weary travelers looking for a night's entertainment, or a brief respite. None of the sinister looking type that he had been afraid of. It was the cozy town of Lakeshire after all. 

The moon had grown bright and his mug had run dry, but the lake had been enjoyable enough on its own. The light sounds of the water rippling and gently slapping upon the dock had made for a rather peaceful place to sit and reflect. Something he didn't have as much time for as he would've liked. 

The lull of a welcomed peaceful time was hard for him to ignore, he sat and became nearly consumed by his thoughts. Not all of them nasty and terrible, in fact, some of them had been refreshing; thoughts of relations long thought lost, of a potential to belong again. Little did he realize that even these pleasant thoughts served to betray him. He hadn't noticed the Night Elf that had walked into the inn. 

The hour was late, and if he had truly seen and noticed her, he likely would've reacted sooner, but at this point, a Night Elf in human lands had become much more common place. Surely there wasn't anything to worry about? He let it slide, instead playing in his imagination and musing about potentials that had yet to come. 

The squeals and commotion hadn't been hidden by his thoughts, however. These weren't the bits of excitement from late night tavern goers, he had recognized the deafened, fear-laden scream which had come from inside the tavern, barely audible to those outside, but just loud enough for him to pick up. Something had come. He pushed himself up and grabbed his sword, saying a small prayer as he rushed towards the inn...

He arrived to the faint sound of Kat's voice, but he couldn't make out what was said, the sky had garnered his attention as the succubus summon to guard Celeste had taken to the sky... Celeste in hand! She had shown. Surely. Nothing else would explain the sudden departure. 

He readied himself, but before he could head in he saw a form dash out the window. Lithe and elven. 

The desire to check on Kat had been strong, but if this Eowithiel had been here, then likely whatever had happened inside had been concluded and he knew Celeste was safe. At least for now. 

Pushing off his toes he began a sprint after the woman, "Hey you!" loudly escaping his lungs... 

[۞ KAT ۞ AKA Red Viper]

Once again Kat was left cursing the length of time it took to conjure up a chaos bolt. One of her most powerful attacks- but it came with a price. Time. She didn't have TIME!

Hissing she jumped out of the way of the chair, still somewhat unnerved by the odd look in Eow's eyes. What was it.... Something was missing... Her eyes widened. Recognition. That was it.  Kat was very used to people recognizing her, that flash in the eyes when the light bulb goes off... But.. there were no lights in Eow's dead eyes.

"She don't know who i be..." she mused inwardly as she stood straight once more, moving to kick the pieces of the now shattered chair out of her way. "How is that-"

"Hey you!" It was Cillian.

Her eyes glanced upstairs and then toward the exit. What in the nine hells was he doing outside this time of night, especially after... She shook her head. Didn't matter. It had been highly doubtful he had gotten his armor back on this time of night- she herself was still clad in comfort wear. Neither of them was really fit to be facing down a fully armored Death Knight of unknown power and ability.

"f*ck me..." she growled heading for the door, stepping over a body on her way.

At the inn's thresh hold Mirweena slipped into her mind. "Mistress.... The lamb and i have gotten away safely." there was a brief pause before the demon's tone adopted an uncustomary serious tone, "You need to get out of there. Now. That elf, she is not what she appears." Another brief pause- this time her image flickering somewhat before she added loftily, "And the little lamb is having a bit of a panic attack. You should come soothe her properly. i do not think she will calm to my hand without me using... different methods."

Kat's eyes narrowed. Not what she appears? What the f*ck is she then!? "Arrgghh!" This was not looking good.

Stepping out, she grunted as the night air lapped at the sweat slick upon her body. "Cillian!" she barked, "We -gotta- go! Now!" It was apparent she was NOT happy with this new turn of events.

Eow wasn't that far away. Already her thumb was upon the ember that called her steed. Within seconds its ghostly neigh cut through the cool air, its fiery visage lighting up the night.

Kat leapt on, reigning it in a tight, anxious semi circle her eyes locked on the elf.

"Hup!" she grunted kicking into the horses flanks sending it air born. Flying quickly toward Cillian she hovered above him, "NOW! Let's GO!" Then head off into the night, her direction forty five degrees off of where Mirweena had flown. She was not about to lead Eow directly to them right now.

[Celeste]

I feel my control of the situation slipping away. The first one is gone, spirited away and my second prey has unexpectedly fled when she was clearly preparing to attack just moments ago.

The frustrated cry that escapes my lips is full of anger. So close! Who are these people to deny me? If I must track them down into the holes they cower in, I will.

But for now, I can sate my anger on this foolish human running at me.

I turn, raise my blade and stride purposefully to my next target. He is meaningless but his death might satisfy me. For now.