In a hurry }{ ~OPEN~ :)

[Kilaray]

The village was busy today. Good. Maybe he could get lost in the crowd. Right now, he didn't want to be found.

Earlier that afternoon, Jarrah unexpectedly bumped into a small group of his brother's mercenaries. Normally he could detect the signs of their presence ahead of time and avoid an encounter. But he'd been careless this time around, hadn't been paying attention. It didn't happen often that any less than three weeks passed between run-ins, as it took some time for Alaron to reorganize his lackeys and set them on his trail again.

But this time, his brother must have thought ahead. The last encounter had been six days ago. The only way Jarrah could figure they could find him again so quickly might have been if Alaron sent out more than one group at a time.

But if the medic had to look at the bright side of things, there were only four mercenaries in this group, rather than the usual dozen or so. At least if he couldn't avoid a confrontation, it wouldn't be as difficult as usual to do away with them.

Do away with them. Good heavens, what a thought to have. A decade of being a fugitive was having a negative impact on his outlook on things. Oh well. No time to worry about that now. He had to find a place to hide out for a while until the heat was off.

Actually, he would have preferred to have avoided coming into Tamasha Village. If the mercenaries caught up to him here, it would create unwanted problems. But Jarrah had little choice in the matter - he needed to restock on a few things, and it would be inconvenient to wait until he reached the next town. Still, he wouldn't stay for any period of time. Just long enough to take care of business and then he'd be on his way again.

For now, he walked with a slightly hurried pace into the first public building he could find. He didn't often frequent taverns, but maybe if the hunters followed him into town they wouldn't think to check here. Jarrah tried to keep a casual demeanor as he took a seat at an empty table a fair distance from the entrance. But he was on edge and knew some of it was showing in his actions in spite of his efforts.

After a moment or two one of the waitresses approached, and he realized just how uptight he was when her appearance startled him a bit. "What ya be 'avin, sir?"

Keeping his gaze locked elsewhere he said quietly, "Thanks, but I'm not ."

"Somethin' ta drink, then? Ya can't just waltz in 'ere and plop yerself down without orderin' somethin'." Her agitation at the idea of a non-paying customer was showing not only in her tone but in her actions. She actually went so far as to rest a hand on her hip, as if she could intimidate him into cooperating. Jarrah had a passing thought of how foolish she looked.

However, he didn't want to create a scene so he finally said, "Fine. Surprise me." Thankfully that was enough to get rid of the annoying waitress. "No tips for you," he muttered once she was out of earshot.

[boomdeboom]

"Wow, look at that!"
A person said this as Kit, doing his usual show every morning, twisted the fire from his torch into a moving creature which flew around the audience which gathered around the young male to see his talents. His sandy blonde hair flew side to side as he moved his body to the fire, and his metal colorful earring creating a sweet sound as they bounced off eachother. Applauding this, the audience began to show requests as to what animal he should turn the fire next. Hearing a dragon, and with a quick flick of the rist, the fire rose up and grew and twisted until it became a dragon with huge snarling teeth and wings that were wide. Enjoying this, Kit was happy to see bits of money fly into his tattered old hat, which he had put out in front of him for money. Because he even got anything at all, he knew today was going to be a good day.

After an hour of performing, the elemental controller finished it off, and waving goodbye to some of the younger viewers, collected his earnings. Opening his rugsack which was left on the floor by his side, he took out a leather pouch and dropped his earnings into it, then tying a strong knot in it so nothing could fall out. With his pouch of money in his hand and a rugsack on his shoulder, the male threw a fist in the air with delight. Since he hadn't eaten anything for a while, today was sure to be a treat.

Finding a nearby tavern, Kit sat down on an empty stool. Scratching his matty sandy blonde locks, thinking that he had to find someplace to wash himself soon, a exchange of words across for him made him look up from the tavern menu and look on with his sparkling emerald eyes to a customer and waitress, whom seemed to be having somewhat of an argument. Pretending like he wasn't listening, staring at the menu below him, he tried everything to not laugh as he heard the waitress nearly smack the customer with her words. It was quite amusing. He kept his gaze locked down there until the talking ceased and the waitress stalked off. Turning his eyes back to the customer, he eyed the male curiously. Something about him seemed like he was an interesting guy, although he thought that of everyone. Alas, he was too shy to even go up and talk to him, so he remained seated and gazed through the menu, trying to find something to eat.

When a waitress with a smile came up to him, she cheerfully asked. "What will ya be havin' sir?" He couldn't help but make the amusing difference between his waitress and the one the unlucky customer across from him had.

"Hmm, I'll have today's special with a glass of your freshest wine please." Giving a friendly smile back to the waitress, she quickly scribbled down his order.

"Excellent choice sir, your meal shoul' be ready in a few. Just sit tight deary!" She then walked off. Growing bored, having ordered his meal and having no idea what to do next, he looked to the burning candle beside him. Raising his index finger, he began to control the fire, bending it and expanding it. At the same time, Kit looked on towards the customer again, curious as to what his story was.

[Kilaray]

Normally he had more tolerance for people who behaved like that waitress. But today he couldn’t help scowling at her back for just a moment as she walked away. That’s all the farther it went, his attention returning to his current predicament.

Jarrah had gone through plenty of encounters with his brother’s mercenaries and he was loathed to admit he seemed to be accustomed to the routine. But this was the closest he’d ever gotten to actually being caught. In his carelessness he’d all but waltzed right into their camp and had a tricky time of it getting away.

In the scuffle that followed, he managed to make it out fairly unscathed – except for the one time a blade caught him across his right side. Mind you, it wasn’t serious and because his black shirt effectively hid the bloodstain he quickly forgot about it. But he had yet to properly tend to the injury, so now he was beginning to feel the sting again.

Setting his bag on the table, he rummaged through it for a moment until he found a stray cloth. He did his best to not make anything obvious as he wet it down with water from his canteen and pressed it to his side, though probably someone nearby was aware of what he was doing. With any luck, no one would say anything.

He barely noticed when the waitress came back with his drink, as he suddenly had a feeling he was being watched. Stealing a quick glance around the tavern, he soon found the source of his anxiety. He was being watched, all right. By some sandy-haired kid nearby. Who was…playing with the candle flame.

Turning away again, he started laughing quietly at himself and forced his tense muscles to relax. Wow. He was more paranoid than he thought if a teenager could put him on edge.

[boomdeboom]

Meeting the eyes with the stranger, for a split second, Kit quickly turned his gaze back towards the ground, feeling embarrassed that he was caught staring at someone. Usually no one would get so embarrassed over a feeble thing like that moment, but he was quite shy, and so it played in his mind as to what this stranger thought of him. Probably a weirdo. But, it wasn't new for him, he was used to being called a weirdo. It was his nickname. Anyone like him fell into the category of being a weirdo. The more he thought of this, the more he felt depressed, and with a soft sigh returned to focusing his attention on the flame which danced under his fingertip. He didn't need anyone to like him, he was a traveler after all, no need for friends, no need for stupid emotions to rise up. No need to be happy.

He wasn't sure how long he had been in a deep daze, his mind lost with the beautiful colour of the candle, that it made him jump slightly as he heard the familiar voice of the waitress whom had taken his order. Bringing his gaze up to her, suddenly realizing that his food had arrived, his mouth began to water as the delicious aroma of his food rose up through his nostrils. He realized how famished he was, and with that thought his stomach let out a long groan of hunger. The waitress laughed at this.

"There ya go darlin', hope ya enjoy it!" The waitress said, a bright grin on her pink lips, her friendly eyes sparkling. With a smile back, he took the food and once she turned her back began to wolf it down, taking sips of his wine whenever his throat felt dry. A roast with fresh vegetables, potato's and gravy, the best meal he had in a while. And the wine, it made his tongue dance with the different flavours.

When he began to slow down, his hunger not taking control of him, he began chewing each morsel of food to let the flavours last on his tongue, and during this his attention began to draw back to the stranger from earlier. He wasn't sure why, but the vibe he got from him was that he was hiding from something, or perhaps someone. He wasn't sure, but being the type of person he was, he wanted to help. Even if it brought him into unnecessary trouble. With his free hand fidgeting with his long fringe which laid over his eyes, unsure as to what to do, he chewed on a roast potato as his gaze flew back over to the customer. Yes, he seemed anxious, afraid even. What was the matter? And who, or what was he running from?

[Kilaray]

Jarrah had no idea how long he sat in silence. So many times did he sit by himself in the woods with nothing to do for hours on end that he rarely kept track of time anymore. He didn't even bother with the drink - he only ordered it to get the waitress off his case, after all.

The medic wasn't a nervous person by nature, but at some point his fingers started tapping against the table as he continued to watch the tavern's entrance. Partially from his anxiety, yet also from boredom. He hadn't yet seen any signs that the mercenaries had caught up to him. Still, he didn't think enough time had passed to be certain they weren't on his tail.

Eventually he leaned forward to rest his chin in his hand as he took another glance around the tavern. A good way to kill time, he found, was to watch people. Sometimes he would catch parts of interesting conversations nearby, or find amusement in some drunkard's behavior. But today he soon lost interest in that, too. Besides...he felt that set of eyes on him again.

Stealing a sideways glance towards the lad, he tried not to laugh. Something must have caught the kid's attention for him to be studying the medic so closely. It was rather comical, to be honest.

A moment later Jarrah turned to face the lad completely, usual smile in place - though there might have been a hint of a smirk in there somewhere. "Did I grow a second head or something? I can't be that interesting." He was only teasing and kept his tone light so the boy wouldn't misinterpret that he was angry.

[boomdeboom]

For a moment or so, Kit was so curious about the person that he forgot about playing with the candle, as his hand was soon laying on the counter. Anyone who looked at him would have thought he was a fool, and he felt like one too, but his curiousity was getting the better of him. Something about the aura of that person intrigued him, he was unlike any of the other people in the tavern. He wished he studied more on reading aura's at that time, it would have helped a bit during that time.

Once the stranger turned his head towards Kit, a embarrassed crimson blush flew across his cheeks. Oh god, he was screwed. That person must really think he was weird, or a stalker. Ah, a stalker, he defiantly wasn't that! But, his embarrassment calmed down slightly as he caught the man's voice, he wasn't angry, even though he should have been because Kit had been looking at him for a while now. Turning his bright green eyes sideways, not able to look him in the eye, he began to fumble for words. Kit wasn't the best person for first impressions, he was a bit shy, only when he performed was he comfortable in front of people.

"I-I'm sorry! I know it's rude to stare at people!" Facing the male again, the furiousily embarrassed blush still on his cheeks, he bowed his head , something he usually did in the splur of the moment whenever he was embarrassed, being taught that by master. But, just as quickly as he bowed, he lifted his gaze and stared at the customer, his fringe covering the top of his eyelids as he stated, the embarrassment from his voice gone but yet the flush of red remaining on his pale cheeks.

"I know it's none of my business, but you seem to be anxious about someone, and if you need any assistance I can help!" he said, saying in a low voice. Although he was only 16, his actions making him seem younger however, he was used to being in battles as some people whom watched his shows didn't like his control over such power, thought he was a devil. Although he would probably get in the way, or do something stupid, he still wanted to help the stranger. He wasn't sure why, he was strange like that.

"I mean, I can even help you get out of this village, or help you in battle, or something like that!" His eagerness obviously showed in the way he spoke, although he tried to keep it as low as possible in order to prevent any attention being drawn towards him. He wasn't sure why he said what he said, he was always told to not move so quickly, but that was just he personality. His mind moved quickly, and so did his words. Not really thinking through things.

[Kilaray]

Try as he might, Jarrah couldn’t hold in a chuckle at the boy’s reaction when he was caught staring. The laughter made his side ache a little but not so much that he couldn’t ignore it. It was safe to assume the kid was on the shy side, since he hadn’t said anything on his own.

Jarrah didn’t take any offense in being stared at. Actually, he found it amusing. Curiosity didn’t make a person “weird.” Nosy, perhaps, but not weird. Although, for a moment he wondered just why the lad seemed so interested.

His laughter tapered off when the other mentioned his being anxious and the smile faltered for a second or two. So that was it. The boy was more observant than most, he had to admit. No one else seemed to have noticed. Or if they had, they were keeping it to themselves. A certain part of him would have preferred if the teen had done the same – Jarrah hated having to keep people at a distance and have them take it the wrong way.

He was so used to bumping into mercenaries that the encounters didn’t often faze him anymore. But today’s had been a close call. It must have shaken him up enough for others to detect it.

While the medic did appreciate the offer for help…he wasn’t too particular in someone getting involved needlessly with his situation. Especially a lad of his age. If the boy had known anything about the man he was running from, he wouldn’t be so eager to step in.

His first thought was to deny anything was wrong and leave it at that. That was how he often handled the situation. Yet somehow Jarrah had a feeling it wouldn’t work this time. The boy may have been shy, but he also seemed to have a certain determination that wouldn’t allow him to be convinced of such a thing.

So instead he worked up the smile again and gave a small wave of the hand. “Thanks, son, I appreciate it. But I’m fine. Really. It’s not as big a deal as you think.”

…

Okay, so that was a blatant lie. But Jarrah wouldn’t want the lad getting caught up in this mess if he could avoid it.

- - - - -

Out in the street, the mercenaries had split up to cover more ground. After asking around they learned their target had entered the town. It was just a matter of forcing him out of his rat hole. Three of the hunters headed further into town, while another hung back to survey the area around the tavern.

[ooc – feel free to control one or more of the mercenaries if you feel it will move the story along more easily]

[boomdeboom]

"It's not as big a deal as you think" An obvious lie. It seemed that he was a terrible liar, as even though he tried to hide it with a smile, Kit could tell. The actions of his eyes easily showed that it was a lie. But why would he lie? It was not like he was the enemy? Then, an idea ran through his mind, making a soft frown appear upon his lips. This man must think of him as a boy, a useless boy whom would be able to do nothing and was too 'young' to die. True, he didn't want to die anytime soon, but he was hardly useless. His control over the elements were way better then most twice his age, a natural gift some called it. Looking straight into the eye of him, his emerald irises narrowed down with determination, Kit said.

"I'm not as weak as you think y'know. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm useless!" For whatever reason, the adults who thought of him as young made his emotions turn. Why, he didn't have a clue, perhaps because he wanted to be relied on, to prevent another human dying the way his parents had, at the hand of a sword.

Then, Kit realized it. Some of the people in this tavern were looking uneasy as they whispered in worried voices. Turning his gaze towards a woman beside him, who had just arrived but moments ago, she whispered to a waitress whom she seemed to be acquianted with. "Y'know, there're some of those there bad lookin' people on the street. Some say they be lookin' for a man, I wonder where that man be?" Kit frowned at this. How big was the situation in which the customer was in? Bad looking people? That didn't sound good.

- - - - -

"Split up you rats, you're going to find Jarrah if it's the last thing you weaklings will do, or else it's all of our heads on the line! Ask everyone on this bloody street if you must, but find me a d**n lead to him! I'm not letting him go this time!" Barking orders to the others, having them scurry off in a hurry in all directions, she let out a sigh. Having the head choose her to find Jarrah put a lot of stress on her part. It was her head, or his. Plus, having let him away several times before, it had started to piss her off. He was a sneaky little rat, and she wanted to wring his little neck with her own hands. Stamping off, she began to ask a few frightened people if they had seen him. They all replied no. Useless.

After a half an hour, one of the younger men ran up, pausing to bend down on his knees to force oxygen in his burning lungs. Not pleased with the hold up, she barked again, speaking in such a tone that the man regained his breath incase she decided to kill him with the sword which laid slung on her hip.

"In.....in the tavern miss! One said they saw him enter the tavern!" A bloodthirsty smile curled up on her lips as she told the man to find the rest of the men. At last, a lead. Once they were all gathered again, she walked back and forth, her knife bouncing on her hip as she said with fierce determination, her eyes glowing with a burning flame.

"In the tavern, in this pathetic town, lays the man we have searched for years. We must capture him, failure is not an option. I want that tavern surrounded, and anyone who tries to escape, kill them. I will not let him get away. Now go, surround every known exit in that tavern, I will not have him escape!" With a salute, the men all ran towards the tavern, weapons in hand.

[Kilaray]

"I'm not as weak as you think, y'know. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm useless!"

That wasn’t quite the answer he was expecting. “What…?” His smile disappeared, replaced with a look that was a mixture of surprise and confusion at the outburst for a brief moment. An instant later the smile was back, though it was an apologetic one with a touch of unease. “No no no no, that’s not what I meant. I just – ”

He cut himself off upon hearing of the “bad looking people” outside. When he overheard they were looking for someone, he knew immediately it was Alaron’s mercenaries. No more time to dawdle. He’d better get out of here before they figured out exactly where he was. The woman in this group was smart and ruthless – it wouldn’t take her long to pick out his hiding place.

Making sure to not appear rushed, he dropped a few coins on the table to pay for the drink and stood up, tossing his bag over his shoulder in such a way to cover his injury. If the hunters were out in the street, it would be suicidal to use the front entrance. He'd have to sneak out the back.

He paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to say anything more to the lad. After a few seconds he decided against it and instead headed for the back of the tavern. Perhaps his behavior would be perceived as rude, but for the moment it was the least of his worries. If he stuck around any longer, Jarrah had a feeling he would have a hard time getting away from not only the mercenaries, but the boy as well. He couldn't afford having a tail right now.

He hated to admit it, but over the years the medic had developed a knack for sneaking around without being noticed. It came in handy in getting past the tavern staff, and it seemed most of them were out in the main room participating in the chatter about what was going on outside. Safe now from prying eyes, Jarrah picked up the pace towards the back exit.

His hand was already on the door when he happened to glance out the window. Catching a glimpse of one of the mercenaries, he dropped down to kneel next to the wall and stay out of sight. Why was there a hunter by the back door? The only reason Jarrah could think of was that the group already knew he was here and had surrounded the place.

"Kydas air," he cursed under his breath. He stayed here too long.

Wonderful. Now there was no way of getting out of here without a confrontation. For a moment or two he stayed where he was, trying to assess the situation and think of a way he could quietly get rid of the hunter and not attract any unwanted attention...

[boomdeboom]

Being deep in thought for a few seconds, wondering of what trouble he was actually in, when he looked towards the customer he found that he was missing. With a few coins scattered on the table where he was sitting, Kit accessed that he must have already left. How did he get past Kit's sigh without him noticing? Oh wait, he wasn't focusing for a few seconds, he must have gone away. With a sigh, slightly hurt as he thought he had finally found someone whom he was interested in getting to know, he finished off his drink and meal, and throwing down a few coins along with a tip for the waitress, picked up his rucksack and made towards the entrance. However, whispers stopped him. "They be here alright! They've gone 'n surrounded this darn place! The boy they be lookin' for must b' in d'here!" The people who were after him, they were here? Walking over towards a nearby window, it appeared that the customers were right. Outside, many armored men, swords in hand had the whole place surrounded. Seeing the swords which they held sparkle from the rays of the sun, an old anger and fear fumed up in his body, making his hands clench. They were planning to kill him weren't they? With swords. He wasn't going to let that happen, no. If it wasn't for him talking to that man, he could have escaped. It was Kit's fault. He had to help him get out, as he knew that he couldn't have gotten away yet, as then the men were still here and not running off. It was only a matter of time before they barged in here, probably killing all of these people. But, of course, they would have to kill him first before he could watch anyone die. So, licking his lips and folding out his arms, he prepared a spell under his breath and readied himself.

- - - - -

"Madam! We have the place surrounded! He can't get away without someone seeing him!" The man who said this to her looked proud, as they certainly thought they had him. However, it wasn't over yet. Jarrah would have been caught already if it were this ready, no, he was going to run for it. He always did. Looking towards the old tavern, seeing the faces of the frightened people looking out towards them, a sly grin came upon her lips as an idea came up on her head. She didn't want to play the waiting game, if he wasn't going to move first, she was. So, placing a hand on her sword and talking it out with a swift movement of her wrist, she said.

"Go in that tavern. Leave no one alive." Not caring if the people in there died, innocent they may be, as long as she got her hands on him, she didn't care what the cost was. With a salute, he then ordered the men to break down the front door and kill everyone until they found Jarrah. Letting out a laugh, as she saw the faces from the people inside turn to fear as they knew they were dead, she began to walk towards the tavern as the men began to break down the door and flood into the tavern.

- - - - -

Hearing the order from someone outside to kill everyone, Kit stood up and placed his rucksack on the ground by his feet. Having already faced armies of men, due to them not liking the way he controlled the precious elements, he wasn't scared. The only thing he was slightly afraid of was that he might injure some of the innocent people in here, but until he died, he wasn't letting anyone die besides the men who held their swords out there with pride. So, sliding through the crowds of people who were beginning to back away, Kit announced with a confident voice, as to not scare anymore of them.

"Please go towards the back of the tavern! Do not let these guys scare you, just because they hold swords doesn't mean you'll die! Grab whatever you can find, tables, chairs, and throw it at them from the windows before they can get in!" Of course, people looked at him with confusion, as they usually did. What was a over confident boy going to do? He knew that's what they thought. He wished he was older and a lot more powerful looking, but he couldn't help it. Even if these people didn't believe in him, he was still going to protect them.
BANG, BANG, BANG, SMASH!
The sound of the door falling the pieces as the men from the outside broke it with their weapons, Kit spread out his hands as far as he could, twisting his fingers to ready them for the coming battle. When the first man ran in, he threw his hands up to the air, and with a deep breath murmured ancient words of summoning and within seconds had a growing fire surround the blonde. Then, twisting his hands, in which the fire followed, he threw it towards the man. With the screams that he released as the fire burned his skin, Kit didn't flinch. In battle, he was usually very calm, so it didn't make him flinch as the yells of a dying man echoed through the tavern.

[Kilaray]

Somehow, he knew this just wasn't going to end well.

In the couple of moments he contemplated the situation, Jarrah couldn't help feeling something was off. If the mercenaries were surrounding the place, he would have expected them to have barged inside by now...

Oh well. Guess he'd better take advantage of this while he could. One hunter was a lot easier to take on than half a dozen.

The medic had drawn one of his daggers and his hand was resting on the door. But he hesitated to go after the one outside. After ten years of this and knowing what Alaron's mercenaries were, he still had his compunctions about having to kill them.

Still...if he didn't, then his time spent on the run will have been wasted. He hadn't yet figured out a way to -

A commotion back in the tavern's main hall diverted his attention. Unsure what to make of it, Jarrah abandoned his current objective and backtracked to see what was going on. He hovered in the doorway a short while, peeking around the corner as the lad who had been watching him earlier tried to get the tavern-goers to keep it together. A moment later the front door was broken down and the front-most hunter was caught up in the boy's flames.

Pulling back, he muttered a few curses. This wasn't the first time mercenaries had involved innocents, and he hated it every time they did. They knew Jarrah's conscience wouldn't allow him to just leave. And now, of course, the woman was expecting to flush him out by threatening those around him.

All right. Two could play at that game.

Making a couple hand gestures, he muttered a few words in Elvish. He was erecting a barrier of light around the tavern that would hold back those with hostile intentions. Alaron's hunters were created of the shadows themselves and had a terrible aversion to light magic, so if they were smart they wouldn't try to advance as long as it was up. It would keep them at bay for a couple of minutes - but that was about it. A barrier this size couldn't hold much longer than that. Hopefully that would give him enough time to figure something out...

- - - - -

She took a few steps backwards when she saw the barrier. With a fierce scowl she signaled for the others to back off a moment. She'd seen this trick before and knew the effect it would have on the men. She also knew it would only last two to three minutes at best. He couldn't hold it forever.

Just in case their target was planning some elaborate getaway, she ordered another of the men to go around back to join the other. That damn boy was not getting away from her this time. She hated waiting but supposed she wasn't left with any choice for now.

No matter. The medic was as good as dead either way.

- - - - -

It didn't pay to stalk around anymore. The hunters were making their move and the people here would learn soon enough he was the one they were after. That he was the reason they were all being threatened.

Entering the front room - no longer bothering to hide the fact that he was the target - Jarrah stopped next to the teenager and glanced down at the burnt mercenary. "You still insist on helping?" he asked quietly, almost flatly.

[boomdeboom]

Another one, probably a friend on the person whom he had just burned alive, attempted to shot an arrow, but because he was so blinded by rage, missed Kit as he lamely dodged, a small scratch on his left cheek. Even though he would feel mad if anyone killed the people whom he was friends with, now wasn't the time to feel pity. Or mercy. So, again, he raised his hands and with swirling motions created a large dragon like flame and threw it on the man, hearing the near identical screams of pain as the fire hungrily licked off their flesh from their bones. And, like before, he felt no guilt. It was better that evil thingyy bastards who thought that with weapons they could defeat any foe for them to die instead of any innocent people who wasn't involved in this. He technically wasn't involved either, but it seemed as if Kit has just got thrown into the wave of chaos that was unraveling.

Reading himself as another group began to come forwards, he was surprised to see that they suddenly stopped, fear in their eyes. The hair on his arms tingled as a mysterious force suddenly protected the tavern. Not even knowing whom it was, he guessed that it was the man from before. It looked like he was right, he was as trapped as any of them were in this small building. Straightening himself, brushing off some dust that had gathered on his sleeves from the fire, he began to think of some plan to deal with all of these men. Quickly. He knew that his energy wouldn't last for so long, he was hardly invincible. This was confirmed as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. It was only a matter of time before he became helpless, and dead.

Hearing a familiar voice by his side, Kit turned his emerald orbs towards him. With a laugh, although it was dripping with sorrow, he said.
"Yeah, not like I have much of a choice anyway, I don't think they'll let anyone out of here alive." It made a jolt of pure anger shoot in his veins as he thought of how those evil beings outside planned to kill every single one of them. And just for that guy. Who was he? He must be a pretty big deal if they were going through this much trouble just to get their hands on him. And from the looks of their action to block off every exit, he guessed that this wasn't the first time.

Crackling his knuckles, emitting a soft sigh, Kit closed his eyes as he said.
"Before I help you, I want to know something. Why are they going through so much trouble to get you? Who are you?" Opening his orbs, staring at the mysterious man, he knew he had to know. He couldn't help someone live if he didn't know why they were being captured. It was his curiosity that got the better of him.

[Kilaray]

Unfortunately, the lad couldn't have been more right. These mercenaries wouldn't let anyone out of here alive. Not until they got to Jarrah. And he couldn't even be sure then that they would leave innocents alone. Most of the hunters were no different than the others that had come after him in the past - the medic could have been able to predict their behavior if it wasn't for the woman leading them. She was the one who had him most concerned. She was unusually intelligent and merciless for one of Alaron's creations...

Well, no time to dwell on that. This barrier could only hold for so long. The enemy's numbers had to be cut down as much as possible before it fell apart. If he went after the ones out front, he should be able to take most of them out before any guarding the back of the tavern caught on to what was happening and joined the fight.

Reaching into his bag, he brought out his pair of daggers to place them on his belt for easy access, then started for the front door. But he paused upon hearing the other ask who he was. Jarrah was hoping he would wait to ask that until after this was finished... It wasn't so much that he didn't want to answer - he certainly owed that much now that things had gotten this far. And he could just about imagine what the people here were thinking. However, a proper explanation would take too long.

Keeping his gaze locked ahead of him, he said, "I'm just a medic...with an insanely jealous and angry brother. I'm not on the run for committing any crime." Unless simply surviving is a sin these days, he thought bitterly.

Finally turning to face the lad, Jarrah worked up a hint of a smile. His tone and expression, though, were apologetic. "I'm sorry you got pulled into this. Be careful, okay?" Without another word he turned away and sprinted out the front door.

Just before passing through the barrier, he conjured up two daggers of light and threw them at the nearest mercenary. Being creations of the shadows themselves, he knew the faint light emanating from the barrier would impair their ability to see him coming. One of the daggers struck the hunter in the leg while the other hit its mark and impaled him in the chest.

For most this would only create a lot of pain - but for Alaron's creations, their aversion to light magic was fatal. Jarrah was the only one who could remove the weapons, so it was just a matter of time before the mercenary succumbed to the light. The medic diverted his attention to the next hunter as the first dropped to the ground writing in pain.

Drawing his daggers, he locked blades with the man. But he kept part of his focus on the woman at all times. He knew she could only resist for so long before getting involved with the fight herself...

[boomdeboom]

Kit wasn't sure if he should trust this man or not. What if his explanation about himself was nothing but false information? What if he, just like those men outside, were bloodthirsty? A annoying voice at the back of his mind whispered this dangerously, but in the end he refused to believe it. He seemed to kind hearted to be a killer. Usually he could tell a killer apart from an innocent man usually at once, but he seemed to be in the middle. It was a strange problem that intrigued Kit somewhat, but he leaned towards the innocent man more then the cold hearted killer. Besides, right now, he had to save these people. All he knew that this man was on his side.

"I'm sorry you got pulled into this. Be carefu,l ok?" As if someone had just stun him, Kit's eyes widened as an unknown feeling took over his heart for a few moments. Everything stood still as he was faced with this strange feeling. He seemed so apologetic, but why? Kit was the one who did this to himself. He shouldn't be sorry, in fact he should be the one to apologize for butting into other people's business. Yet, he apologized. For the first time in his life so far, someone actually wanted him to be ok too. Hiding for all his life, to know that someone didn't want him to die, and wanted him to stay alive, made his heart clench. He said it to his face too, be ok. Tears sprung up into his eyes, and for the few moments he remained immobilized he could have been killed. Could have, not like he would. Because, as soon as his eyes set lock onto a slow moving man with a sword somewhat running towards him, adrenaline pumped themselves into his veins and soon he was casting a spell to easily knock him away. Seconds later, the sword wielder was on the ground, being eaten alive by his fire.

Looking towards the medic, surprised at how well he fought, he too followed pursuit and ran out of the tavern, fire dancing up his arm into a armor which soon leaped itself onto any enemy that got close, following with the silent whisper of Kit. Luckily he had spent so time on learning to tame the elements like a dog instead of learning them all then training. Each element he knew, he trusted with his heart and knew that without hesitation that whenever he commanded them to do something, that element would bend to his will. Soon, many men succumbed to the fire and laid on the ground, rolling about trying to stop the unstoppable flame from eating through their skin.

Then, something caught his keen eyes. A light, something that flew through the air. Following it, soon learning that it was a dagger that appeared to be glowing like the sun was caught into it, it pierced one of the mercenaries, and even though it wasn't a fatal shot, brought it down to the ground where it screamed with pain as it died. How did that make sense? Furrowing his eyebrows, gazing towards the medic who he assumed had shot the dagger, he gathered that light seemed to be a deadly weakness of these creatures, even though they appeared like men. Unfortunately, he had not gathered the power to control light, so he had to work with fire, which was what he was best at.

- - - -

"nuts." Although she should have guessed that this would happen, she hadn't guessed how strong Jarrah had gotten since she had last laid her eyes on him. So, seeing crowds of her men falling from just one hit from a light dagger, it was not surprise that soon she was biting her lip, getting pissed off more and more as the minutes dragged on. Tapping her long fingernails against the silver brim of her superb sword which was on her hip, she wanted to go join and do the job herself, but alas she needed him to be weak. Weak enough that she would be able to take him within a few moments when she engaged in battle. This was a job that needed to be done, and it needed to be done with as little fuss as possible. It was only a matter of time that Jarrah would become tired from the many men who would come up to him endlessly, as she brought quite a lot, something at the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A boy. No less then 16. And, from what she could gather, he was on Jarrah's side, and he was a controller of the elements. That messed up her plan completely, as the kid seemed to be rather strong, taking down her men nearly as quickly as Jarrah, with not even a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. Even though she couldn't fight her objective, she decided to finish off this one. It would make the plan a lot smoother, as that meant that more would be after Jarrah, and so would bring him down quicker. So, taking out her sword with a quick movement, she yelled to the others to back away as she advanced forward. She had a secret weapon with her today as well, that would make the coming battle easy. A charm which she had always kept with her incase she ran into a controller, which protected her from the basic elements of fire, water, earth and air. And from what she saw from the boy, his controlling went no further from these basics. Waving her hands towards her men to gather towards Jarrah, to make sure he didn't spring to the rescue of the lad, a sly grin made its way onto her lips as she dashed forward with incredible speed, her sword held tightly within her right hand.

- - - -

Confused, seeing the men suddenly back away, Kit then saw why they did. It appeared that the leader of the masquerade was yelling them to back off. The reason, he was unsure, but he knew it wasn't good. Why would the woman want them to go away, surely she should say for more to go after him? Unless she decided to face him herself, in which case he knew he would easily win. She didn't seem to wear much armor that could protect her from his flames, and it seemed that she only wielded a sword, something that he could easily dodge and read the movements of. His thoughts were confirmed as he found her advancing forward. Summoning a large flame, which he formed into a large dragon whose wings spread out a few feet, he made it go towards her, wanting to finish her off quickly. However, once the dragon had leapt towards her, he knew something was wrong. Focusing his green irises only the movements of the female, and the grin which was plastered on his lips, a gasp broke through him as he saw his dragon suddenly disappear with a roar when it was just about to clasp its flames onto her. She had something. A charm perhaps. He knew he couldn't use his elements, and that itself sealed his fate. Without his techniques, he only had a dagger, which he was not the best at, and certainly wasn't good enough to defeat this swords woman. But, knowing this, he still took out his dagger, his body shifting into a attack mode as she ran forward.

[Kilaray]

Over the next several minutes, Jarrah was able to take down a fair number of the mercenaries. Although, by now, his energy was beginning to wane and he was having to rely more on his weapons than his light magic. A few superficial cuts were visible but they were the least of his worries.

This was why he tried so hard to stay away from large groups of hunters. He just wasn’t cut out for fighting, and all too often now – no matter how hard he tried to avoid it – the people around him were pulled into this stupid family feud.

Over the past few years he had noticed a gradual rise in the numbers coming after him, and they were becoming increasingly ruthless. Alaron knew it was only a matter of time before Jarrah’s luck failed…and the medic was beginning to wonder himself how much longer he could hold out.

At some point he noticed the mercenaries seemed to be converging mainly on him. It was getting much more difficult to stay ahead of them. He’d lost track of the woman, too. But that didn’t make sense – he was sure he heard the boy follow him out here. Was he...

His focus faltered for a moment as he tried to pick out where the boy was. Someone took advantage of this and struck him on the shoulder from behind with their blade. Perhaps it hadn’t been a direct hit and Jarrah escaped very serious injury – but it still hurt like hell.

The medic spun around and kicked that mercenary away, but two others came up on him at the same time and caught him by the arms. Next thing he knew he was being slammed up against a nearby tree and held there. The impact with the fresh injury caused a sharp spike in the pain and he lost his grip on his daggers. One of the men holding him captive grabbed his hair and yanked his head upwards, forcing him to look straight ahead.

The hunter who had attacked him from behind stood in front of him now, a smug grin plastered on his face. Very pointedly, he turned his attention behind him to where the woman was advancing on the teenage boy. It became clear rather quickly that the woman carried a charm of some kind and rendered the lad’s elemental abilities useless.

So that’s what she was up to. Take out the boy herself while she sent all the mercenaries after Jarrah to weaken him. Damn her.

At that moment, Jarrah was glad he had reserved some of his light magic. “Eirdae!” A burst of light erupted around him, taking out the three mercenaries closest to him and freeing him from their hold. Thankfully, it seemed to be enough to convince the remaining fighters to keep their distance. Though truth be told, if they had advanced on him, Jarrah wouldn’t have had enough energy to do it again. At least not effectively.

The medic caught a glimpse of a bow and a few arrows laying nearby, left over from one of the slain mercenaries. Granted, he had only fired an arrow a few times before and he was far from being a good shot – but right now it was his only option. He didn’t know how well the boy could fight without use of the elements, and he wasn’t going to risk finding out the hard way.

His left leg gave out on him when he knelt to pick up the weapon, so he was forced to sit as he took aim at the woman’s back. The arrowhead began to glow with some of what little light magic he had left. His mother once told him that light was naturally attracted to the darkness – perhaps that might explain why his magic daggers rarely missed their targets. Unfortunately he never had the chance to test that theory. He could only pray his mother’s words were true and the light would guide the arrow.

“Please don’t miss.” He took as long as he dared to aim before letting the arrow fly. If his mother spoke the truth, the arrow should at least strike the woman somewhere if he was at all close to hitting his target.