"Are you sure this is the place?" Leo asked as he stood cloaked with his companions in the dead of night within a village, looking out towards a large inn.
"Our last lead said that someone was seen wearing the amulet as we described it at this inn a few days ago. Surely the thief can't elude us this time." Miles replied.
"This better not be another dead end, Scarlet. We've been searching for over a month now, you better not let me down." Dakota said impatiently.
"Relax darling, like I said I have a good feeling about this. And my intuition never leads me astray." Miles reassured her.
"We'll see." She replied before they began to head inside the building. The group walked past a large fireplace with benches placed around it towards the counter. There were a couple of customers sitting at the benches and the tables but the large room was mostly silent as the night grew ever later. removing the hoods covering their faces they walked over towards the counter where a young woman was tending to her duties. Turning at the sound of approaching footsteps, the innkeeper gave a polite smile as she went to greet them.
"Good evening, how can I help you tonight?" She asked.
"Instead of helping us, maybe it's you who could use some help. A fine young lady such as yourself shouldn't be over-working yourself this late into the night. Why don't we go somewhere and I can help you relax and take the stress of work away?" Miles asked, butting in front of the group with a sly grin at the embarrassed innkeeper. Dakota grabbed Miles by the back of his collar and flung him backwards to the ground before Leo stepped forward to take over while N'athys snickered to himself.
"Pardon us but we were supposed to meet a friend of ours here. With our late arrival I presume they've already checked in. Their name is Alex Hawke are they accounted for?" Leo inquired.
"Hmm let me see..." The young woman replied as she opened the log books and ran her finger down the pages looking for the name. "I'm sorry but it doesn't appear to be in here."
"It's likely they used an alias. You might have seen them yourself, they wear a golden amulet with a large ruby in the centre and sapphires around it, does that sound familiar? It does stand out quite a bit." Leo asked.
"I think I may know what you're talking about, one moment please." She replied as she inspected the book again. "We did have a woman with an amulet as you described named Alexia Wilder arrive yesterday." The innkeeper answered as Miles' eyes suddenly grew wide.
"That's the one, would you please tell us what room she's in?" He asked.
"I apologize but without proof that you are acquainted I cannot give you that information, all you've told me is her supposed real name and the jewelry she wore." The innkeeper explained.
"You need only ask, she's a beautiful Hyur woman with snow white skin, dark black hair and gorgeous green eyes. She would have arrived on a Chocobo with white-tipped wings and a black barding, correct?" Miles asked.
"Well it does seem like you know her after all, okay if you head up stairs her room is down the hallway to the right, second door on the left." She explained.
"Thank you, darling." Miles gave a final wink before the group turned to head towards the staircase. They followed the directions, approaching the door silently before looking at Miles expectantly. He carefully knelt down in front of the door and peered into the keyhole as the others tried to huddle around him in case anyone came by. Gazing into the small gap intently, Miles noticed a woman as he had previously described sitting on a bed, brushing her hair back behind her shoulders and revealing a hint of glimmering gold from her collar. Miles looked up at the group and nodded in confirmation. Standing upright he took a step back before bashing the door open with his shoulder as the others poured into the room behind him.
"What in the Seven Hells do you think you're doing?!" The woman growled as she looked towards the direction of the disturbance before her face filled with shock at the sight of the man in front of her.
"Sorry love, but I just couldn't bare to let you go." Miles grinned. "Actually that's a lie, I just wanted to know how you managed to come across that jewel resting on that supple chest of yours."
"I stole it from some half-baked thief." Alexia chuckled tauntingly.
"You strike my heart sharper than an arrow. Tell me, you were never interested in me at all were you? " Miles asked.
"Of course not, why would I waste my time on a dirty scoundrel like you? No I just used you to find this amulet I had been searching for. I had originally intended on getting you to help me track it down, but I didn't imagine that you would've had it in your possession yourself. Your infatuation made you an easy target." Alexia explained boldly.
"You know had you waited a day I would have given it to you on my own accord, but unfortunately this little circumstance has turned our relationship into a serious mess, I don't think we'll work after all, gorgeous." Miles replied as Alexia rolled her eyes. "In any case that gift is now promised to another beautiful woman so if you'd be so kind as to hand it over I'd be very appreciative."
"Hah! This jewel is finally in its rightful place. You may not realize it but this is an heirloom belonging to my ancestors that was stolen decades ago. I've finally got it back and I am not letting go of it." Alexia growled, now standing towards the group in a threatening manner.
"Is this some kind of joke? You must be out of your mind to think we'd believe a story like that. This fool originally stole it from my family's vault, it belongs to my ancestors, not yours. Now, hand it over before I redecorate this room with your blood." Dakota threatened.
"I'd like to see you try." Alexia muttered before she swiftly ran to the side of the room, leaping out of the window.
"Oh no you don't!" Dakota shouted as she swung her arm out, a light emitted from her palm with a magical chain extending out of it rapidly, flying down towards Alexia and latching around her ankle as she descended. As the light faded, Dakota quickly grabbed onto the end of the chain and let it pull her out the window before landing with a roll on the ground. Alexia was on her knees, the chain throwing off her landing, causing a rough fall. As she got to her feet the men had made their way out towards the front of the inn where the two stood ready for battle.
"Should we intervene? It would be far easier to restrain her and take the amulet back rather than shed any blood." N'athys questioned but Leo simple shook his head softly.
"This is something Dakota should deal with, we should let her confront her past on her own as she sees fit." He explained.
"Very well." N'athys replied. Dakota gripped the chain tightly and gave a mighty tug as it pulled back, sweeping Alexia off her feet and into the air. Lashing the chain down towards the ground, Dakota forced Alexia's legs downwards, her feet beginning to skid along the ground several inches away from the Roegadyn as her body began to straighten up at the shift of weight. Rapidly losing momentum, Alexia came to a stop right before the woman as she gripped her by the collar with one hand and grabbed her ax with the other, resting its head on the ground beside her threateningly.
"This is your last chance, hand over my amulet and I'll let you walk away with your life." Dakota warned her, glaring into the Hyur's eyes menacingly.
"You're daft. Your family name must be Dawn, correct?" Alexia asked.
"That's right, what's your point?" She answered.
"How exactly do you think that amulet came into your family's possession anyway?" Alexia continued to pry.
"My ancestor earned the gil to buy it through their life's work. Our family's tradition is to work hard in life and add something valuable to the family collection to prove your worth and achievements as an example for our future generations." Dakota explained proudly. "And that's why I won't let some thief get away with taking all of what one of my ancestors worked for!"
"Ahahahahaha! That is precious. Is that the story your parents told you? You're more of a fool then I thought." Alexia mocked in laughter.
"In case you've forgotten I hold your life in my hands!" Dakota growled.
"Sorry, the irony in your tale was just too much for me. What if I were to tell you that was all a load of rubbish, that the Dawn line is nothing but a group of thieves? They didn't work their lives to earn what they had, they stole it from others." Alexia explained.
"I'd say you're full of it." Dakota replied impatiently.
"Is that so? And Miles, what do you think of this?" Alexia asked, turning her head towards the man. Miles looked away scratching the back of his head awkwardly trying to avoid the question.
"Scarlet?" Dakota asked expectantly as she looked over to him as well.
"How else do you think the story of your family vault got around?" Miles let out. "Every no good scoundrel from here to Vylbrand's heard tales of the desert thieves and their hidden vault in some form or another. Whether they believe the tale or not matters little, it pains me to say but she's telling the truth."
"That impossible!" Dakota yelled, her grip on the woman growing subconsciously tighter.
"It's true." Alexia managed to grunt in discomfort. "I heard tales from my father about our family heirloom that was stolen from us several decades ago. I traveled here to search for it and eventually found it in Miles' possession." She explained. Dakota's hands began to shake. Gritting her teeth she summoned the strength to lift her great-axe into the air with one hand alone. Alexia flinched as she saw her arm begin to descend until the clanging of metal rang as the axe crashed and buried part of the blade into the ground.
"Go." Dakota muttered, her head bowed down as she clenched her fists to her side tightly while shaking violently. The magical chain had vanished and Alexia was set free of her bonds. "Get out of here now!" She roared at the Hyur who took a step back in shock at the outburst before turning around and running off into the shadows of the night, whistling for her stabled Chocobo to follow.
"Dakota, are you alright?" N'athys asked softly as he slowly approached her, raising an arm up high, almost resorting to standing on his toes to be able to gently place his hand on her shoulder.
"Everything I've known about my family was a lie, everything I've worked for has been for nothing..." She replied quietly in an unsettled tone.
"It may not have been for what it was originally intended but it was not for nothing. You have no need to live for your family anymore, you can achieve your own goals in life and leave your own example for others to follow." N'athys reassured her. Dakota tilted her head up slightly and looked over to the Miqo'te next to her.
"Thank you, N'athys. You're right. My family history might be nothing more than a lie but that doesn't matter. I'll live out my own life from here on out." Dakota explained with renewed confidence.
"So what is it you plan to do?" He asked.
"I'm not sure yet. But it was through battle that my life has prospered so far, I'm sure tagging along with you lot will lead me to where I want to go." She turned to smile at the group as Leo and Miles walked up to the two.
"Are you sure? As threatening as you look in battle you always seem reluctant to kill anyone. If I didn't know better I'd say you're a big softy." Miles chuckled before Dakota promptly elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a loud grunt as he fell winded to his knees.
"Don't test me, Scarlet." She replied.
"My mistake love, you're as fierce as a mighty behemoth." He wheezed as Leo helped him back to his feet.
"We should move on, it's likely that this commotion would have caught others' attention. it would be best to leave in case any Imperials show up." Leo cautioned the group. They nodded in agreement as they headed for the nearby wilderness.