When Nyx awoke the next morning he winced as the sunlight hit him, as if with a fist, quite forcefully in the eyes.
"Briar why do you insist on doing this?" he asked pulling the blankets over his head.
Briar, who had indeed opened the curtains, didn't answer, as she was immersed in one of his books that he'd picked up in someone's house in Witchwood and brought back with him. The Guild of Zeros.
"That book is banned by the guild you know." he said grumpily.
Briar let our a small snort to show that she didn't care but took a glance at him none the less and couldn't contain the small gasp of terror that escaped her when she saw his glowing red eyes in the shadows underneath the blankets.
Nyx noticed and huffed before turning over.
"Well what do you expect," briar said. "It's your fault for letting them get that way in the first place."
Nyx didn't answer but after a few seconds of contending with the sunlight that still came through the blankets he threw them off and walked past Briar, who carefully reviewed his physique, to where he kept his assortments of clothing he'd picked up all over Albion. Deciding upon dark leathers today to reduce the running-and-hiding-in-the-nearest-haystack effect he seemed to have on people he came back out a few moments later.
"Where are you going today?" Briar asked.
"Baths in Bowerstone north." he replied.
"I'll come, I like taking a bath when there aren't other people in there."
Nyx glared at her from the doorway but the power of his flesh-stripping gaze had worn off the scholar quite a long time ago. She walked past him and down the stairs trying to take the book with her but Nyx pulled it from her grip returning it back to it's shelf.
"Why did you put it next to Windbreakers rule book and your not bad person?" Briar asked.
"That's the funny shelf." Nyx said defensively.
"The funny shelf?" she looked along the titles. "The Eyes Of a Killer and Making Friends are funny to you?"
Nyx shrugged. "Lets go; I want to get my hair clean."
Briar looked at him for a moment, an unbelieving look on her face. "You sound like a woman."
He glared again, more out of habit than anything, and gestured to the door.
She grinned and walked through the archway and he closed the oak door behind him bolting the door and completing the spell that Maze had left behind to lock his chambers when he was gone.
Going down the stone steps behind Briar he glanced at his armour that still lay in a pile in the middle of the floor. He picked up a bucket and plunged a small fireball into it boiling the water and threw it over the pile of metal.
"What did that do?" she asked folding her arms.
"Keeps it from sticking." Nyx replied. "Can't be asked cleaning it now."
"Don't really go for plate armour." Briar said. "To damn heavy."
Nyx didn't remark and they simply made their way towards the Guildhall, preferring to walk to Bowerstone rather than teleport.
Making their way into the eating hall Nyx ignored the usual cowering and trembling walking quickly around the table and up the stairs towards the quest table by which the Guildmaster was standing.
"Thanks for the other day Nyx. I know you don't do kidnappings anymore," he said.
"I do, usually the kidnapper however instead of the rescuer." Nyx said airily knowing that the Guildmaster had never quite got used to the idea of him being evil.
He smiled slightly not knowing if Nyx was playing with him or not (he'd heard enough rumours to prove that Nyx could just be stating a fact) "In any case thank you."
Nyx didn't reply with a 'that's alright' seeking to keep the Guildmaster ever so slightly on his toes so to speak.
Looking back to Briar he saw that she had stopped and was waiting for someone who was running down the stairs.
"Sorry about not getting this back to you earlier."
It was the girl.
Nyx noticed, now that she was moving, that she was small. Really small.
She handed over a book that seemed to be bound in human skin.
"Not a problem. What happened to your hair?"
Her hair that had, the previous day, been blond was now a glossy black that set off her bright blue eyes.
"Balverine saliva, Nyx didn't quite get it all out." she ran her hand through it. "When I woke up this morning it was like this."
Briar glared at Nyx who raised his eyebrows. "What?"
"You should apologise," she said.
Nyx laughed. "I'll see you at the baths."
Briar glared at his back but pulled Danijella along with her. "Come on, you wont get that mud out of your hair for weeks otherwise."
"No Briar Rose I forbid it." The Guildmaster said as he saw her leaving with Danijella.
"Why's that?" she asked one arm around the petite girls shoulders.
"Because, one; she's not supposed to leave the guild. Two; Bowerstone North wont let her in and three; well its just not right." he said, running out of reasons.
Briar took one look at him and pushed the girl in front of her. They ran out of the guild with the protests of The Guildmaster following them out.
When they were safely away Danijella turned to Briar. "Why was he so set against it anyway, I've been out with you before."
"Well its 'cause of Nyx." Briar said as they made their way past the boasting platform and up the hill. "He isn't too happy with how he turned out."
"He thinks he's going to corrupt me or something." Danijella said.
Briar shrugged. "Probably, he's good at corrupting things, Nyx."
As they got to the top of the hill and the water feature that stood there the two stoners wandered over waylaying them.
"Hey man? You're from the guild." he slurred slowly.
Briar pulled a giggling Danijella past the two of them who just stared after the two women saying something about them not staying still enough.
"My skeleton's deformed anyway." Danijella shouted back.
Briar shook her head. "You shouldn't encourage them."
"Why not?"
"It's irresponsible." she replied.
"Irresponsible? They're the ones constantly stoned."
Briar couldn't help but laugh; as always around Danijella, she felt light hearted and her humour was no less on form despite her kidnapping the day before.
"I don't know how they manage it though, having lost their mushroom of truth."
"Something about Albion, not everything gets explained." Briar said.
"That much I know, I mean just look at The Chapel of Skorm."
Briar stopped. "How do you know anything about The Chapel of Skorm?"
Danijella forced a nervous smile. "Books?"
"Danijela?" she growled.
The girl bit her lip. "Skorm's tongue, look at that!" she pointed behind Briars head and she looked around already knowing that there was nothing there when she had her head halfway turned. When she looked back the small girl was halfway down the hill her hair flying behind her. She was also catching up Nyx who looked around when she passed him seeing Briar following at full speed, or what she considered as full speed.
Nyx let an evil grin spread across his face and tripped her up as she ran past sending her flying headfirst into a Bowerstone South guard.
"Oi, Watch it!" he said shaking her off.
"Nyx!" she got up and stood on her tiptoes glaring at him.
He laughed, not bitterly or scarily, but nicely. Briar frowned and stepped backwards taken off guard.
"Nyx?"
He pushed her shoulder and walked through the arch not getting stopped by the guards who feared to ask for his sword should he kill them, very painfully.
Briar, who still had to give over her weapons, was held up and it gave Nyx enough time to catch up with Danijella and she looked up at him with a smirk.
"You're not even remotely scared of me are you?" Nyx asked.
She simply grinned again. "You should have washed your hair last night, Darkwood mud can make it fall out."
Nyx looked at her not knowing if she was simply saying that to scare him but ran a hand self-consciously through his locks seeing if any came out.
"What's the difference between Darkwood mud and the normal stuff?"
She finally met his eyes and he saw a wickedly devious gleam in them indicating that she'd been joking.
"Are you part Pixy?" Nyx asked. "You're troublesome enough and you're small."
She made an outraged face and glared at him. "I'm not small."
"Yes you are Danijella, and for all you know you could be part pixy." Briar said. "Now tell me when and with whom you went to The Chapel of Skorm?"
Danijella looked from Briar to Nyx and then suddenly a nearby stall collapsed on its owner and she was running up the steps.
"Oi!" A guard had come over. "That's destruction of property!"
Nyx looked around to see two guards pointing at him.
"Briar?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not paying a fine so…" he looked around again as they climbed the stairs to the massive oak doors and the guards of Bowerstone North.
"Run?"
They took off up the stairs amidst the sudden shouting of Guard's and the stall keeper and Nyx picked up Danijella over one shoulder, who had been flirting with the guard so he would let her in. She let out a yelp as he ran past the guard who waved him past, knowing that he was friendly with the mayor, and stopped the other guards out of the rivalry between the slums and town proper.
"Thanks." Nyx said to him and he nodded, the hero tended to sponsor his break every now and again.
Danijella was so light that he almost forgot she was on her shoulder but then she started squirming and he dumped her back on the ground.
"I should have let you die yesterday." He said. "your more trouble than you're worth."
Briar snorted. "You'll find that any gift you give to her comes back to you."
"Thanks Briar." Danijella said as they walked into the shop that had a cave underneath it that the town bathed in.
"It's true, I helped you out with a spell and you discovered a new, if unpredictable, variation that got me out a tricky spot." Briar said.
Nyx looked from the Pixy girl to his friend and realised they had a deeper friendship than he realised.
"How long have you two known each other?" he asked tossing a few gold coins across the counter to the lady who gulped and took them slowly as if scared to make any sudden movements.
"When she came to the guild, I saw her and laughed and she…"
"Briar!" Danijella stopped her and she laughed.
"What?" Nyx asked but then they were at the fork that separated the men and women's changing rooms.
"Nothing." Danijella said puling Briar away. "Nothing at all."
Nyx frowned and took his entrance walking into the small room where he changed into the shorts provided and picking up his sword went through into the baths.
Inside it was lit by candles that were stuck on every available surface, that and the glowing mushrooms that grew by the side of the many pools. Still it was dim and the incense in the air made everything dusky and mellow. The many people who were in there took one look at Nyx's tattooed body, glowing red eyes and the sword before making their way out. Within minuets the three pools were empty and, sighing, Nyx made his way over to the washing one and got in scrubbing his head until it ached slightly. Then he got in the hottest pool and soaked closing his eyes.
"Nice tattoo's." It was Danijella and from the sound of it she was washing her hair.
Nyx didn't answer, he liked his body art even it other people disagreed with his choices.
"I'm not getting any until I finish growing."
Nyx laughed. "You have finished growing Pixy girl."
"Haven't."
There was a lot more splashing and someone slipped into his pool. It turned out to be Briar.
"As I was saying, I laughed at her and…" Briar started again but Danijella seemed to fly across the barrier between the pools and shove her underneath the water.
There was a brief struggle underwater before Nyx pulled Danijella off Briar who surfaced laughing. He restrained her putting a hand over her mouth.
"Please do go on." He said softly.
Briar caught her breath while Danijella licked Nyx's hand. He laughed.
"Doesn't work on me." He said. "And if you bite me I'll drown you."
Danijella stopped struggling and glowered at Briar who took a deep breath.
"Well, I laughed at her for being small and she threw a fireball at me but…" she paused to laugh. "She knocked herself backwards into the river with the force of it and then I had to go pull her out."
Nyx laughed again and let the small girl go who went over to the other side of the pool and glared at the both of them murderously.
"That must have been one hell of a fireball." Nyx said.
"As I said yesterday, she's the most powerful I've seen in years." Briar said. "Don't go underestimating her."
"So when do you pass the tests?" Nyx asked.
A blush had crept up on Danijella when Briar had complimented her. She coughed. "I could take them now but the Guildmaster wont let me."
"You didn't tell me that." Briar said outraged. "What the hell is he doing keeping you back?"
Danijella shrugged. "Say's I'm not ready."
Briar looked at Nyx who could guess what she was going to ask.
"You know I don't interfere with apprentices." He said putting up his hands. "Besides she is small."
Danijella sighed. "Whatever." She got out. "I'm tired of arguing with people about my height."
Nyx raised an eyebrow, had the Pixy just given in?
Briar glared at Nyx, this time with real venom. "Do you know how hard she's worked to overcome her natural boundaries." She hissed shaking her head. She got out also leaving Nyx quite confused and unsure as to what exactly he did to make Briar so annoyed. There was only one thing he could do, and Briar said any gifts he gave her would come back to him eventually. He'd saved the girl's life and now he was going to seriously threaten someone for her.
"It can wait a few more hours though." Nyx said sinking down into the water once more.
