{1x1} Somewhere in the Dark {Sam x Silent} {O}

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Savanna felt the first raindrops on her face as she looked up. She was standing below the dark sky, looking entirely lost in thought. Any feelings she might have had about her conversation with Kaleb were lost in her anger and surprise from the phone call.

Like any good assassin clan, they had their spies. And they had people to keep an eye on goings-on within the clan. Savanna slipped in there all the time and found out anything they had. As far as she knew, there was no one in particular gunning for her at the moment. Sometimes there was. Savanna had no trouble dealing with them. But at the moment, there shouldn't have been any trouble.

And yet.

They'd found someone in her quarters - at least so Curacio had said. A dead someone, obviously; they'd discovered him because he had very unwisely left the door open a crack. Something Savanna never did. It was assumed that one of her snakes had gotten him, but they took their time in striking, much like their mistress.

In the meantime, that man could have been doing anything in there. When she found out who had been so sloppy as to allow him to follow them Home, she'd be ripping them to pieces verbally at the very least. She told herself it was only because security had been compromised, that it was possible someone now knew where Home was. Secretly, she knew there was more to it than that; her quarters were the only place she considered private. And a stranger had been through it. Though she would never have admitted it - not a proper emotion for someone like her - she felt...violated.

She shook it off. Those thoughts would have to wait. In the meantime, she would have to search everything, see what had been done. Luckily she kept no files, nothing of any importance in that room. Was that all? Had he been searching for something she didn't even have?

There must have been more to it.

Resigned to having a long day ahead of her, Savanna brushed back her ponytail and turned back towards Home.

Crossing backyards, slipping into side alleys, and taking a very long and wandering course, she ended up losing herself in thought again. She had no way of knowing why anyone would want to go into her room - she kept nothing important in there. Her weapons were stored elsewhere when they were not kept on her person, her snakes were pets but easily replaced, and she had no incriminating files there. Nothing at all worth stealing.

The only thing she could think of was some sort of trap laid for when she returned, but again it did not fit. There were easier ways to get to her - the customs of Silens Nex ensured that she always searched the place thoroughly when she got home, even if she had only left it for a few minutes.

She was young, after all; she was not ready to die.

And she was not going to. Whatever he had been up to, she would discover it and deal with it. Satisfied, she at last reached Home - an unassuming building amidst various other unassuming buildings. The very last spot one would expect an assassin clan to live.

She slipped in through a side door and wound her way up to Curacio's office. Before going into her room, she needed to speak with him.  

[yummeh-applesauces]

((Sorry for this taking so long. >w<))

Kaleb parked his motorbike where it usually went, which was an old storage house across the street from headquarters. His instrument case was hanging on his shoulder as he patted his pocket, where the man's payment had been stored for the moment until he could return to Mairead. As he crossed the street toward the building where headquarters was located, which was actually a large store, he felt the rain that he'd been anticipating, and waited a moment in order to actually enjoy this weather once he'd stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the large parking lot. After a moment of letting himself enjoy the rain, he continued forward, crossing through the lot and making his way indoors.

As the doors shut behind him, Kaleb ran a hand through his damp hair and wiped his feet on the rug placed on the floor, before making his way to the back of the store. He waved to a few of the employees as he passed by-- fellow assassins, but they were more like spies that were currently off-duty than anything. Kaleb continued toward the back of the store, until he reached a door with a sign on it reading, "Employee's Only." Without second though, Kaleb pushed open the door and entered the room, taking a quick turn before approaching an office door. This was Mairead's office, where earlier's contract had been assigned to him. Kaleb knocked on the door and waited before Mairead's strong voice allowed him in.

When Kaleb entered, he pulled out the pouch of money he'd been given and placed it on his boss's desk. "Count it. Every cent is there," he assured Mairead with a grin, leaning back against the wall he'd leant on earlier before he'd left about an hour ago, more or less. Mairead spilled the pouch out onto his desk to see all of the cash, but didn't bother counting any of it. He trusted Kaleb well enough. "Indeed. Well done," he responded with his own warm smile and a simple nod.

"Will that be all?" Kaleb questioned with a slight trace of curiosity in his voice, crossing his arms and pushing himself away from the wall, preparing to leave. "Not yet. I'll be sure to contact you when you are needed again," responded his boss, waving him out of the room. Kaleb nodded his head and left the room just as he was gestured to do, and continued down the hall after, until he arrived in a one of the larger rooms. There were assassins of all ranks lounging around. This was what they called the living room, and it was where they all hung out whenever they had nothing to do. Kaleb would soon join these assassins, but he had to put his instrument case into another storage room first.

Sparing the assassins within the room a mere wave and a gentle smile, Kaleb continued even further down the hall until taking a right, opening a door and entering a room with a bunch of lockers in it. Everyone kept their weapons within these lockers, and everyone had their own key, specifically made for the locks so that they couldn't be copied easily or unlocked by any other key. Kaleb pulled off his necklace, where a key almost in the shape of a ribbon dangled from, and opened his locker, one of the larger ones because of his ranking in the clan, simply putting his entire instrument case in it and closing it again. He'd worry about organisation later, he decided, locking the locker, putting his necklace back on, and hiding most of the necklace under his shirt like he always did.

With this, Kaleb left the storage room and stopped into the kitchen that they had, preparing a warm cup of tea and grabbing a package of cookies. Once his tea was all set, he returned to the living room and took a seat in a rather comfy chair, watching as his fellow assassins conversed with one another. Sure, he acted like he was interested in them, but truly he wasn't. Or, at least, not entirely. They were a little boring to him, after talking to them every day. They weren't like Savanna, at least. Maybe it was because she was of another clan? He didn't know, but if she'd been in his clan, he doubted he'd ever grow tired of speaking to her. Mocking her was too much fun, but he was willing to bet they could have intelligent conversations if they actually liked each other enough to be friendly towards one another. Well, Kaleb was rather friendly, but a lot of the time it was in a mocking manner-- either that, or Savanna turned it into him mocking her whether it was his intention or not. Oh well. Nobody had ever been able to keep their cool enough to actually respond to his remarks.

Kaleb drank his tea and ate his cookies in silence, watching one young assassin get into an argument with another about something that wasn't interesting to him in the slightest. There were two others who were extremely focused on quite an intense chess game, and his attention was briefly brought to them. If he enjoyed watching anything, it was watching two intelligent minds play a good game of sorts, be it chess or even a board game like Monopoly. Sometimes Kaleb would even join in on a game, but only if the opportunity presented itself to him. And when it was a game where brains were needed, Kaleb never lost.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

He must have expected her arrival. Savanna took the precaution of entering by a side window, but Curacio didn't seem in the least surprised to see her. She would have been disappointed in him if he had been. It had been on his information that she had come back so soon, after all. "Nightingale, my dear," he greeted, giving her that once-over with his eyes that always made her skin crawl.

She kept repeating to herself that she didn't have to like Curacio to appreciate the fact that he was useful to the clan. But whenever he put that eye on her, she had to fight the instinctive urge to put a dagger to his throat. "Curacio," she stated instead, her voice cool and steady. "You called me Home. What did you find in there?"

"Well, of course we would never dream of searching your quarters," the man said smoothly. Of course they both knew that was a lie. Savanna was not stupid, and was quite sure he'd taken the opportunity to go through everything she kept in that room. Luckily, again, she kept nothing personal in there. Curacio was the kind who would use anything to get ahead - hence his attempts at seduction while he looked for the opportunity to stab her in the back.

A pity there hadn't been a trap there that might have killed him, she thought a bit wistfully. She would have to look into setting one. Or several.

"I'd like to see the intruder," she stated quietly. Not much emotion one way or the other. Curacio shrugged apologetically almost before she said it - after so long of him trying to use her for his own ends, they knew one another quite well.

"We disposed of the body immediately. You know the customs as well as I do."

Savanna didn't roll her eyes, but only years of training prevented it. "Of course," she said instead. "I'll go down to look into this myself."

As she moved back towards the door, Curacio rose and stepped towards her. All friendly concern, he reached to lay a hand on her shoulder. Savanna skipped backwards - she never allowed another assassin to touch her, even if they might possibly mean well. And Curacio never meant well.

He didn't seem to notice, only saying, "If there's anything I can do to help..."

She gave him a bright, insincere smile. "You've already done so much," she replied. "I'm sure I can take it from here." Walking to his window, she swung out and climbed smoothly down. To go through the door would have required turning her back on him - something she never did.

Climbing up the wall to return to her own room was an impossibility - she had worn down the wall so smoothly that not even she could get up there. So she took a wandering course through Home until she reached her quarters.

Taking a breath, she entered. It took her ten minutes to thoroughly scour the room, and determine that yes, a very neat and tidy search had indeed been done in here. And there were no traps. More disturbed than she wanted to admit, she sat down on her bed and heard soft hissing approaching her from the pillow. She laughed, reaching out and scooping up a long black snake carelessly, draping it around her shoulders. "Hello, baby," she cooed softly, as another woman might to a puppy. "Did you miss me, precious?"

The snake still slung around her shoulders, she got to her feet again. She hunted the room once more, assuring herself that all her pets were still here - if one of them had slipped out the open door to roam freely, she'd never hear the end of it. They were.

Satisfied, but still a little ill at ease, she turned back to her bed - and paused, frowning. Her snake had been coiled up on what appeared to be a piece of paper.

Picking a pair of gloves meant for this purpose from inside a drawer, Savanna slid them on, then picked up the paper and opened it, holding her breath.

No poison powders, no apparent dangers. Just a simple, one-word message that left her white and shaking a little.

Traitor.

Holding it in both hands, she stared at it for a few seconds. The snake nuzzled her ear lightly, jolting her back to herself. Trembling a bit, she found a match, lit it, and set the paper on fire, watching it burn.

Once it was reduced to ashes, she set herself on the bed, head in her now degloved hands. "Why now?" she whispered to the snake that lay contentedly around her neck. "What is this - after so long?"  

[yummeh-applesauces]

Cookies and tea. It was the nicest thing in the world right now, to Kaleb. Sitting in a comfortable chair by a window where he'd be able to view the rain showers, whilst eating cookies and drinking warm tea. Sure, he was a merciless assassin. In any case, even the littlest things were extremely nice and peaceful and wonderful to him. Sometimes, Kaleb could say that he enjoyed his time off of work just as much as his time whilst working, which was hard to be able to admit, for him, since he absolutely loved his job. Briefly, Kaleb turned his attention from the rain to two male assassins chatting conversationally with a bottle of beer in their hands. Kaleb grimaced. He hated beer, and he hated alcohol. Kaleb refused to drink it, even if it was important for him to blend in. He'd stick to water and nothing more, at a tavern.

The two assassins' conversation turned into a bit of an argument, inevitably distracting the two chess players next to Kaleb and causing them to grow agitated. Kaleb sighed. Of course, the peace couldn't last for that long. They seemed to be arguing over methods of assassination, a typical conversation for two typical assassins in Woodbaine. Many assassins enjoyed trading off techniques and methods, and they also tried to better each other with their own style as well. These two assassins happened to be discussing whose style of assassination was better. Once assassin preferred taking them out from afar, going to a higher distance such as a rooftop or a tall building and aiming a throwing knife or poison needle out the window and directly at their target. The other was convinced that remaining on the ground and stabbing them from there was the way to go.

Kaleb rolled his eyes and blocked out the rest of their pointless argument. Clearly, a good assassin knows to switch up their techniques and methods and not use the same boring method all the time. Which ever worked for the benefit at the time would be the method to use. If you could only see the target from a nearby building, then you kill from above. If the security around the target was lax or you were able to sneak around the security, then you could stay to the ground and kill from there. It all depended on the target and how aware or tightly guarded he was. Of course, they'd learn that some day. Both were new, but Kaleb didn't feel like explaining such a simple thing to them. Another experienced assassin would go and scold them about it. Kaleb wasn't in the mood to waste such time.

One of the assassins playing chess seemed to agree, but he still would have none of their bickering. After scolding for the both of them to shut up and discuss their issues elsewhere, which seemed to work effectively on the two because they had immediately filed out as soon as they were yelled at by a more experienced assassin, the two assassins returned to their game of chess, and Kaleb sighed once again in relief. Thank god, those two had been so annoying. Contentedly, Kaleb took another sip of his tea and finished off his last cookie, leaning back into his seat to get himself more comfortable as he placed his tea on the table next to him. His interest had only briefly been on the chess game, but soon enough, he'd grown bored of that as well. Boring as it might have seemed, Kaleb really was enjoying himself. Rest and relaxation, no matter how little he got, was also important for an assassin to stay focused.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: I'mma gonna borrow a nameless assassin from your guild for the plan we discussed. I promise to give him back unharmed. :3
Also, short post to lay groundwork for the coolness to follow. biggrin ))

Savanna remained in her room for a long time, still and thoughtful. Eventually, she tenderly lifted the snake from where it lay around her neck and resettled it on her pillow. The others were coiled up somewhere or other, and would show themselves when they were hungry. This one was the most affectionate. Giving it a light stroke along the long body, she got up and went out, locking her doors behind her.

Though she walked restlessly through the guild halls for some time, she found nothing to distract her thoughts from the paper left on her bed. She wondered if Curacio had found it. Had read it. If he knew what it meant.

Certainly not. She was getting paranoid. Not always a bad thing for an assassin, but still. It wasn't what she wanted to be. One of her snakes had been lying on the note. He wouldn't have dared go near any of them for fear of being bitten. The man was like her in one respect - he clutched at life like a drowning man did a floatation device. He would not be so idiotic as to toss it out just to read a note, even if he could have seen it.

Besides, even if he had read it, he wouldn't understand it. Savanna alone understood what the message meant. She just didn't know why. Why, after all this time?

She pushed it aside and walked out of Home through a side door. There were no more assignments on tap for her, at least not right now, and she needed something to do. Maybe she'd just wander, maybe she'd get into some trouble. It didn't matter.

She just needed to get away.

~

A young assassin - new to Woodbaine - stuck his head around the side of the door. "Hey, is--" He paused, spotting Kaleb. "Oh, good. Caine," he used the assassin's alias as much out of respect as uncertainty of the man's real name, "there's a guy who wants to talk to you. On the phone. You want me to tell him you're not around? He says he's a potential client, and I know we're supposed to send them through the boss, but he wants you. Won't talk to anyone else."  

[yummeh-applesauces]

((Haha, sweet. I'll prolly kill him off later anyway. A scratch or two won't hurt.. xDD
Awesomesauce!! -nod nod-

Alright, now this was growing boring. Kaleb was alright with sitting down, drinking tea, eating cookies, and watching the rain and anything of some interest in silence for a few minutes. However, once the cookies were gone, the tea was cold, and everyone seemed to get boring, Kaleb would soon grow bored. And, when he was bored, he was close to falling asleep. That normally how it worked. When Kaleb was bored, he'd fall asleep. He often struggled during boring meetings he'd be forced to attend to, or if he'd hit some boring snag on the job, but he'd gotten used to it and stayed awake just fine. However, when he was sitting somewhere comfortable and was already soothed by the tea; that was when he was extremely tempted to doze off.

This happened even when Kaleb didn't want it to happen. Kaleb disliked falling asleep before he actually went to bed. If he did fall asleep before then, that only meant his chances of sleeping well during the night would decrease. He didn't know if this applied to anyone else, but it sure did apply to him. Kaleb groaned quietly to himself as his head rolled back a little bit, getting very comfortable in his chair and causing one of the assassins to look up in surprise at the groan coming from the almost-always cheerful Kaleb. Not very many people saw him like this; very close to falling asleep and being unhappy because of it. Kaleb didn't consider it too big of a weakness anymore because he could control it when he wasn't within the safety of his clan's headquarters, but he still didn't enjoy others seeing the littlest of weaknesses.

Kaleb yawned quietly and his eyes were drooping. He rubbed at them, trying to stay awake, and had almost been unsuccessful, had a certain new assassin of Woodbaine not appeared to call him out. As Kaleb heard his alias being called out, his eyes snapped open and he turned his head to face the young assassin, reacting to his alias name as though it was his original name being called out. Kaleb was very used to his other name, Caine. He liked it a lot. It sounded cool. Kaleb shook off any previous feeling of exhaustion in that easy and smiled gently as the new assassin spoke to him, looking rather intrigued by the new information. Well, this certainly was interesting. A man wanting to talk to him? How did he even know he was there?

Kaleb considered this for a moment. Well, this man might have gone through plenty of trouble to contact him. And if he had managed to find him, then he must have had some expertise at whatever it was he did. Kaleb might have walked around as though he were an employee at the store they hid in, but none of the customers knew who he was, nor did they ever see him actually working. Still, nobody ever thought much of it. This all did sound intriguing enough, and who was Kaleb to deny the man his attention? Yes, Kaleb would play along and listen to what the man had to say. Standing up, he approached the assassin.

"No, there's no need. I'll talk to him and see what he wants," he responded finally to the young assassin with a smile, looking rather eager to hear what the guy asking for him had to say. People rarely ever called to ask to speak to a certain assassin, mainly because most didn't know who the assassins were. They only knew of the leader of the clan, Kaleb's boss. This was because his boss was the only one they would ever talk to. You rarely ever requested to talk to anyone else unless the boss was out. This only interested Kaleb even more...

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: O.o *pats nameless kid on head* Sorry, little guy. Looks like I just screwed you over.))

The young assassin seemed to relax a little bit under Kaleb's grin. It looked like he might have been somewhat afraid of their celebrated assassin - or at the very least, intimidated. While he walked back towards where the boy had left the phone unhooked and waiting, he babbled a little bit. "I don't know how he got your name, or anything. He just called and asked to talk to you. I should probably have made him wait, or called the boss first, or something, but I don't know...It's my first week here and I just got confused, so I figured I'd go get you, like maybe you knew him or something."

However unlikely this was, it was evident that this was one of the few things keeping this boy from jumping out a window or something due to his anxiety about possibly making a mistake. He really was brand-new - bright and shiny as a newly-minted coin, and quite malleable still. Though he might easily become a good assassin in time, at the moment he was probably confined to bookwork.

Eagerly, he dashed forward and picked up the receiver. "Here you go, sir," he said deferentially into the phone, and then handed it off to Kaleb before scooping up the file on the nearby table and hurrying off to whatever task he should have been on. He was out of hearing within seconds.

The voice on the other side was a smooth, smoky baritone. Though obviously a man's voice, there was something oddly sexless in the way it spoke - the voice of someone who had practiced obscurity for so long that they had even trained their voice to be unidentifiable. However, there was also a slightly foreign intonation to the way it - he - spoke. "Ah, hello," the voice murmured. "Kaleb, is it?" Without seeming to wait for a reply, he went straight to the point.

"You - your clan as well, but most specifically you - are highly spoken of among certain...friends of mine. They are men of taste and discrimination. I am told that you are intelligent, discreet, and that any job you undertake is almost certain to be successful. If you are interested, I have a certain task for you. One that would be quite simple for someone with your level of skill, I am certain."

He waited a beat, then added smoothly, "You know, of course, the clan of Silens Nex?"

~

Savanna walked through the pouring rain - the storm was well underway by now. It matched her own racing, whirling thoughts, and so she barely noticed the cold and the wet.

What should she do? There were so many routes that could be taken. But so few of them appealed to her. She did not want to disappear. She did not want to go underground or find another task well out of Sena. And she most certainly did not want to have to die to escape this.

That left her with only a few options. Ignore it, accept it and look for help, or face it down alone and tough it out.

She was inclined to either the first or the third. The second would show weakness, and that she could not afford. To ignore it could prove dangerous. But to face it down and just tough it out felt...

Well, she would weigh the options. Consider. And eventually, she'd have a plan.

So she walked through the rain, silent and unseen, while she searched for an answer.  

[yummeh-applesauces]

((-grins-))

Kaleb continued to follow the boy, rather amused with his babbling. He definitely was one of the newer assassins. The boy sounded so nervous all the time with his rambling, and he seemed so intimidated by Kaleb, one of the well-known and best assassins in the clan. Most assassins got used to being in his presence, much so that they sometimes didn't even acknowledge how great he was-- Kaleb didn't mind this one bit. He didn't exactly enjoy having a bunch of people get nervous around him, or view him as a feared killer rather than a normal human trying to make a living. Still, Kaleb didn't mind it when the newer assassins needed to adjust. They'd get used to him eventually.

"'s that right?" he mused as the boy explained everything to him and led him to the phone. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, eyeing the boy with some concern as he seemed extremely anxious about this. With a gentle smile he approached the phone with the boy and assured him, "Don't worry about it, I would have done the same had I been in your position and rank," he assured the lad cheerfully, taking the phone from him and putting it up to his ear as he watched the other boy dash off. He sure did move fast. Kaleb shook his head slightly with some amusement. The boy surely must have been nervous.

"Hello?" he spoke into the phone to signify that he was the one on the other end, before quieting down to listen to the male on the other end. His voice was strange and unrecognisable. Kaleb really wanted to know who he was. He decided against assuring the man that he was, in fact, Kaleb, as he continued. After all, the man would have waited for confirmation if he wasn't sure if this was actually Kaleb or not. Quietly, Kaleb listened to and digested the man's words with a slight, amused smile on his face. It made sense that the male knew of the clan, but he couldn't figure out how he knew of Kaleb himself. Perhaps it was a spy? There were plenty of possibilities, but on the other hand, many of them couldn't be possible at all.

Kaleb perked up a little as soon as he was informed that the man had a task to offer him. Of course, Kaleb loved his work more than anything, so he was more than willing to take on this task, whatever it might have been. The man was saying it was simple, but Kaleb didn't mind its simplicity. He enjoyed every bit of his jobs. There hadn't been one that he didn't enjoy completing, even if it was ridiculously simply. The thrill of taking another's life and escaping the consequences of the law was brilliant, to him. As long as someone had a reason to die and would help society, Kaleb would kill them.

He lifted an eyebrow as soon as his rival clan, Silens Nex, was mentioned. Perhaps this would be a little more interesting? Kaleb wasn't expecting this task to have anything to do with the other clan. Was he going to have to kill his target before they did? Or did he actually have to kill one of their assassins? There had better be a good reason to it, he decided. "Yes," he finally spoke after considering this, only seconds after the male had finished speaking. "I know of them. What about them?"

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

The voice on the other end didn't sound surprised in the least. "I believe you have acquaintanceship with a certain assassin of theirs, although perhaps acquaintance is not the proper word." He - yes, it must have been a he, there was no way this voice could belong to a woman - sounded a little bit amused, if anything. "She goes by many names, but the one you would know her under would be Savanna. Savanna Mason."

The man seemed to take Kaleb's knowledge of her for granted, as he continued, "As I told you, it will be a simple enough task. She need not die - at least, not yet," yes, undeniably amused, that voice, "though if you wish that contract as well when it comes, I will certainly recommend you based on your performance here."

At last, he seemed to be ready to come to the point. "I want her gone, Kaleb. Gone from her clan and from this city. If you can manage to leave her alive for now, that would be preferred, but if she must die for you to ensure that she does not return, that is fine as well." He didn't explain why he wanted Savanna gone - perhaps he didn't think he had to. If Kaleb asked, it was possible the man might tell him.

Instead, he asked, "Do you remain interested, or would you prefer I pass this on to another?"

~

Savanna would never know what made her look up at precisely the right moment in time. The vehicle driving down the wet road was fishtailing, and even as she glanced up the brakes squealed wildly. With a curse, she flung herself back against the stone wall as the truck careened into a lightpost. That had been too close for comfort.

She winced in sympathy for the driver. That must have hurt.

Hands in her pockets, one resting lightly on one of her many hidden blades just in case, she walked around the side of the truck and knocked lightly on the window. "Driver? Hey, driver?"

She felt a little stupid. Killing people was her forte - she didn't know much about playing the Good Samaritan. Nevertheless, she gave it a shot. "You okay?"  

[yummeh-applesauces]

Kaleb blinked in surprise as soon as Savanna's name was spoken. How could he possibly know how he interacted with the girl? Though, acquaintance was not the word he'd used to describe it. They were far from acquaintances, more like rivals. Not exactly enemies, however. Kaleb cleared his throat and blinked away his surprise, nodding his head. "Yes, I know her," he responded simply, not bothering to go into detail about his rivalry with her. It was a story for some other rainy day. Aside from that, if this man knew so much about them already, he might have already known of their rivalry. Therefore, telling about it was unnecessary.

Making sure to keep quiet as the male spoke, Kaleb listened intently, nodding here and there despite the fact that the man on the other end of the line couldn't see it. Kaleb raised an eyebrow as the man assured that she needn't die, or at least not yet. What could she have done that would make someone go after her? Kaleb would definitely want to question the male. Despite the back-and-forths the two had, she didn't seem like a horrible person at all. Kaleb rubbed his temples slightly with one arm, frowning slightly at how amused this male seemed. It was perplexing, this entire situation was.

So, he wanted her out of the city. He didn't want him to drive the clan away, of course, that would have been too difficult. But, he wanted Savanna gone from the clan and gone from the city. Perhaps this man was also a member of the clan? Kaleb knew only a little about what went on in the clan, but he knew that if someone wanted Savanna's position in the clan, they needed her out of the way. Did this man simply want to claim her position? It didn't seem likely to Kaleb. Still, he figured it wouldn't hurt himself too much to inquire this.

Kaleb sighed internally after he took this all in, mulling over his thoughts for a moment, until the male asked him if he was still interested. "Yes, I am still interested," he responded simply, shaking off his previous thoughts-- all but one, at least. "However, if I may ask.. why is it that you want her gone?" If he was able to, Kaleb would have much rather confirmed that he was getting rid of her with good reason. A contract was a contract, but he did always prefer killing those who did deserve to die. It just didn't sit right in his conscience if the one he killed had no good reason to die.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line, and when the man spoke at last one might have thought he'd gone conveniently deaf - he didn't answer the question and gave no sign that he had even heard it. "Good. I leave the task up to your considerable ingenuity, and you may begin as soon as is convenient. I will contact you in two weeks' time, and you can then tell me how long you expect this problem to take you - if you are not already finished." He seemed a little cooler now, not as pleased with how simply it had gone.

After a moment, he spoke again. "I wasn't aware that assassins now required a reason. But this one should satisfy even you." Another brief pause, and then he said, quiet and clear, "Exile and death is the ancient punishment for betrayal, Kaleb." The phone clicked, and the line went dead.

The man, a few miles away, turned and spoke to his compatriots in the room. There was a dark amusement in his tone as he said, "He'll do it."

"Do you really believe this will work?" inquired one of them, sounding curious and a bit irritable.

"Of course." It was as he had explained to them earlier. Silens Nex and Woodbaine were already practically on the brink of war. A nudge here, a nudge there, and the two clans would tear each other apart. They wouldn't have to so much as lift a finger to destroy them. The first step had been taken now.

And he sincerely hoped that Kaleb found it necessary to kill Savanna. Not only would that make the first strike in the war they were staging that much stronger, but after what she'd done, he would find a personal satisfaction in it. Not quite so much as if he could have killed her himself, but after all, one could not have everything in this life.

~

Savanna peeped in the truck window, and nodded once, sadly. He'd never had a chance. The man slumped over the steering wheel had died probably right before the truck hit the lamppost.

Knowing there was nothing she could do, she slipped into a nearby alleyway. The last thing she needed was to be brought in as a witness.

The storm was growing worse, she thought, glancing up. She should go home.

But she was oddly reluctant to do so, and instead found herself continuing along the alley. She'd keep walking, and see where it led her.  

[yummeh-applesauces]

Kaleb frowned slightly when he found that his question was about to be gone unanswered. Still, it wasn't like he was going to hang up so suddenly... right? He nodded his head slowly as the male continued to speak to him, chewing on his lip out of a force of habit as he did so. "Understood," he uttered as he heard a pause. Kaleb wasn't quite sure how to go at this. He hadn't even expected this contract to be about Savanna. Figures, as soon as he allowed his mind to admit that he enjoyed messing with her and being her rival, she turned out to be his next target. Typical. All the boring ones are left alive. Kaleb silently clicked his tongue in disappointment, but didn't complain. He'd get this done. It wouldn't be easy, but at the very least, he'd drive her out of town. But, how was this to be done?

He was going to formulate ideas in his head, but he remembered that he was still on the phone with someone, especially when the male began to speak. Kaleb rolled his eyes as the male began speaking. Assassins didn't require a reason, but they never promised to not ask, either. The male should have expected this. Clearly he knew of the rivalry between the two. What rival wouldn't want to know or at least be mildly curious about why their rival was being targeted? Betrayal, hm? he mused silently as his last words sunk in through his head. Kaleb said no more, and didn't have any intention on saying anything more. He had no complaints when the male hung up on him. Of course, Kaleb was curious to know more about Savanna's so-called betrayal, but the reason did satisfy him. It wasn't in his place to know much more than that.

Sighing quietly, Kaleb placed the phone back where it belonged and strode off without another word. How was he to go about this? Should he inform his boss? He would surely be displeased as soon as he heard about Kaleb's task, and even more so, considering that Kaleb never even informed him. Mairead wouldn't care too much, as long as he got a payment for it. The idea of the aftermath of this kill/exile never occurred to Kaleb at that point. This could lead to a war between the two, but he didn't consider it, of course. His lack of consideration could prove costly later on, but he'd need to see how this played out.

Should he set out immediately? As Kaleb entered his own personal room, he thought about this carefully. It was still raining outside, and the rain would be a disadvantage to him, surely. Still, he wanted more than anything to simply get this over with. Slipping off his t-shirt and long black underarmour shirt, he replaced the clothing with another black long-sleeved shirt, a little bit looser than the underarmour yet made with the same sort of fabric. He threw on a dark beige coat. It was a neutral colour, not bright and showy yet not dark and suspicious. He had an advantage if he kept his hood over his hair, making himself more unrecognisable. Kaleb wasn't sure if he really was going to chase Savanna out that night, but he decided that he'd take a walk anyway. Maybe this would help him decide.

Entering the storage room and taking out his instrument case, he pulled out his typical weapons; knives, cinquedea, and poison needles, attaching their sheaths and pouches onto his belt, which was carefully hidden under his coat. He left his sword in the case and returned it back into his locker, pulling out a navy blue umbrella and locking it up. Swiftly he left the storage room and snuck out of the area, leaving the store unnoticed and heading out into the rain. The storm was approaching, he observed with a small sigh, opening his umbrella and walking onto the sidewalk, making his way deeper into the city. He didn't know what he'd encounter, but hopefully it would help his decision making with this troublesome matter. Kaleb had two weeks before the male would call again. It was plenty of time for him, was it not?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Savanna couldn't remember how long she had been walking - probably half an hour at least, maybe longer. All she knew was that she was beginning to get cold - the rain was still kept out by her jacket, but the wind was beginning to seep through the cracks. And she had somehow wandered her way into the mercantile district, where most of the shops tended to be. She spent very little time here unless on assignment - Home itself was closer to the industrial area of town.

In defiance of all unspoken rules that an assassin should be inconspicuous, the thin jacket she was wearing over the same outfit as before was a dark, vivid red. It was a favoured colour of hers - she looked good in it, and besides, Savanna was not afraid to be noticed. Not on her own time, especially. Since the jacket had no hood, her long hair was falling straight and soaked by now. It made her look decidedly different, and was as much a disguise as many of the other things she would have done to change her appearance. People who didn't know her well might not even have recognized her.

It was something of a surprise to find that she was not the only one walking in the rain. A couple passed her across the street. The man raised a hand to her, smiled and called, "Greetings, fellow rain-walker!" Smiling back despite herself, she waved in return and gave a nod. Some people really were just nice, she thought. It was refreshing to be reminded of that now and then, when everything seemed so dark.

And with that thought in mind, she spotted a man walking alone in the rain. Dark blue umbrella, beige coat...and a way of walking that she recognized.

She felt her body tense. Kaleb. Again.

No, today was just really not her day.

Well, maybe if she ignored him, he wouldn't spot her. That in mind, she kept walking, not looking in his direction. She kept her eyes ahead of her and thought at him to do the same. Just keep walking. Just keep walking. You don't see me. You don't want to talk to me. Just keep going where you're going.  

[yummeh-applesauces]

The rain was coming down harder than it had been when he first entered base. Kaleb didn't mind this, though. He liked the rain, apart from making assassinations a little bit more difficult. Everything got a bit slippery. When Kaleb had still been an amateur, he'd fall into puddles and slip whilst chasing someone all the time in the rain. He'd still get the job done, but he had nearly messed things up countless times. Kaleb was better about it, though. He had experience that he didn't have before. The rain wouldn't be such a big problem.

Apparently walking in the rain was popular. Kaleb could see several people out and about in the rain-- though, this district was where a majority of the shops were located. The rain couldn't stop every day people from shopping, he noted with a grin. Though, as he gazed at all the people and the pouring rain, it seemed everyone was just about eager to seek shelter. He honestly couldn't blame them. The rain was getting a little cold, too. Still, Kaleb wasn't going to stop what he was doing just because of the rain. He'd done this sort of thing before.

Now, if he were Savanna, where would he be? A part of him was willing to bet she had already gone back to her own headquarters, or "Home" as they seemed to call it. That would have been a waste of his time, because while he liked the rain, he didn't want to get soaked for nothing. Still, he had a good feeling that she was out and about somewhere. This city was large, though, and finding her could take forever. Kaleb could check one area and move on to another area; and during that time, the girl he was searching for could move into the area he'd previously checked. Kaleb did not want to be checking the entire city five million times. He should have thought this through better, but in his defence, he didn't expect to have come to the decision to hunt her down quite yet. Oh well, he'd figure something out.

From halfway down the street, he heard a male call out to someone. Despite knowing the male wasn't talking to him, Kaleb glanced up and paid a bit more attention to his surroundings, seeing a couple's attention directed towards a girl on the other side of the street. As the girl waved back to the couple, a small smile grew on Kaleb's face. She was a little hard to identify in the rain, but he knew who the girl was. He found Savanna.

As her attention drew away from the couple, his attention turned back to the street in an oblivious fashion. He'd keep walking as though he hadn't recognised her, for now, until he grew closer to her. Kaleb wasn't going to let her get away. Who knew when such an opportunity would present itself to him like this? He continued to walk, waving also to the couple as he grew closer, until he was close enough to Savanna. "Oh, hey!" he called, as though he hadn't noticed her before. Kaleb jogged the rest of the distance between them, having closed his umbrella so it didn't get caught while running. As he slowed to a stop, he opened it back up and held it out for her politely, taking note of how soaked she was.

"What brings you here?" he asked cheerfully. Of course he wasn't going to attempt anything. Not yet, at least. That would have been too quickly. He wanted to make this a little bit interesting for him, even if the girl wasn't quite yet aware of his intentions. Maybe he could find out some things along the way. Sure, he was an assassin and he should have been satisfied with the information he was given, but there was something about this that made him curious. Kaleb really wanted to know what it was Savanna had done, despite knowing it wasn't any of his business, even though he was the one who would either send her into exile, or even kill her. "Have you been out in this weather this whole time?" Kaleb continued to ask, smiling softly as though nothing was wrong.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

He had passed by, and Savanna was actually beginning to think she might have gotten past him. She hoped so, anyway. She was just so tired, and didn't have the energy to fight with him. Probably she should have gone home by now, but she didn't want to face Curacio again. She didn't want to see anyone she knew. All she wanted was to be alone and to just keep moving. The rain and the cold should have kept everyone else inside, but it didn't matter - aside from the friendly man who had called out to her, she hadn't had to speak to anyone and no one had spoken to her. Maybe she'd get out of this all right.

She stiffened, though, when she heard someone call out, "Oh, hey!"

Kaleb. He'd spotted her after all. She didn't buy that he'd just noticed her now, not for a second. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. "How bad can one person's luck be?" she muttered as she heard his footsteps approaching. She just wanted to be alone for a while, but it seemed like no matter what she did, there was someone who wanted to antagonize her. Knowing that ignoring him and continuing to walk would probably get her nowhere - and maybe if she tore his head off fast enough she would finally have a chance to be alone - she stopped and waited for him to catch up.

When he opened up the umbrella again and held it out for her, she scowled slightly and backed up until she was in the rain again. She liked the wet - it was oddly comforting. Irritably, she pushed away her soaken hair, turning and continuing to walk. If he wanted his answers, he would just have to keep up. "Nothing. I just wandered here," she replied. It was true enough, though he probably wouldn't believe it. She wouldn't, in his place.

She glanced back at him, looking annoyed. "Yes, I have been. Which is my business." Why had he phrased it that way? As though it actually mattered to him at all? God, someone walking along and overhearing him might actually think they were friends. And he was smiling, and he seemed to be honestly curious, and this whole thing was freaking her out just a little. Something was off. Really off. She didn't like things to be off so shortly after she'd been having problems of her own.

Her eyes narrowed a little. Much as she wanted to ask why he was being so bloody chipper all of a sudden, she resisted. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to be alone. "If your curiosity is satisfied, go away. I have better things to do with my time."

She knew Kaleb better than to assume that would get him off her back, but it was a start. And eventually she would probably duck into some really girly store to make him go away - one that most men wouldn't be caught dead even near.

In the meantime, she kept walking.