Disclaimer: You know this by now, I know this by now, we all know.
A/N: A word of advice, Pasco lovers beware, for I am mean.
Dami was finishing her last dance when the couple came once more. They requested her presence for a walk and Dami readily accepted. After all they had done to help her already and how kind they had been towards her she could hardly find it in herself to refuse. She still had plenty of time left before sunset to get home and there were plenty of merchants still out.
They talked mostly about where she had learned to dance and how much better she had gotten over the years. As they wandered, the conversation wandered to other topics until the couple told her the real reason why they had taken such an interest in her.
"We realize that your parents are no longer living," the man said quietly as they turned onto Harbor street. "We can give you a family again."
"We also know about your magical talent," the woman added. "We can help you learn to control it better and make it even stronger."
"But Lady Sandry has already found a teacher for me," Dami protested. She realized now that they had been out too long and that the sun was sinking over the horizon, she could not safely go home now. "Rina Silversight is going to teach me."
"A Lightsbridge mage?" the man asked critically. "This Rina will not let you do anything. You will have to stop dancing and study all day. Most of them also detest pets, so your cat will be out on the street. You will probably spend the next few years cooped up at a desk and doing her chores. With us, you can be free and become fore powerful."
"We have a small present for you," the woman added, seeing that they had nearly won her over. She placed a small pouch in her small hand.
Carefully, Dami opened it to find it full of a white powder. She took a small whiff of it and her eyes grew very wide. "This is dragonsalt!" she cried loudly, hoping someone would hear her. "It's illegal!" She closed the pouch tightly and threw it back at them as she tried to make a run for it as a strong slender hand gripped her arm.
Having lived on Quilter's street all of her ten years of life, she had learned better than to leave the house without a weapon on her. Her free hand went to the small of her back and drew out a dagger that she kept on her. Turning quickly, she lunged at the woman, though the tip of her blade only caught a bit of her shirt as she dodged.
Pasco, who had been visiting Osa on Harbor street, heard someone cry "illegal" and his harrier instinct made him go and investigate. From an alleyway, he watched at Dami drew out a dagger and missed her attacker, then got hit by the man in the back of the head with the butt of his knife.
Pasco did a turn he had been working on, going up on one toe while the other leg was held out parallel to the ground. His arms were also out to their full span as he did a single rotation on his toe, casting a shield around himself. Taking up a piece of firewood as a baton, he rushed towards them.
The woman was escaping with Dami draped over her shoulder as the man engaged Pasco, his dagger striking Pasco's shield as Pasco got the gist of the man's fighting style. Seeing that the woman was getting away, Pasco lowered the shield and allowed the man's dagger to become stuck in the firewood.
As he tried to wrestle the hilt of the dagger out of the man's hand, he began to remember his harrier training but looked to the man's torso too late. The man's hard kick collided squarely with his left side, tossing him limply to the side four feet. The man broke into a run to catch up with the woman.
Pasco got to his feet, clutching his side tightly with the intent of pursuing them. The woman caught his action from the corner of her eye and her hand went quickly to a throwing knife at her belt. In one swift motion she threw it at him. Slowed by the pain in his side, he dodged too late and it plunged into his right side.
Osa ran out a couple minutes later, hoping to catch Pasco who he was sure was long gone by now. Instead, he nearly tripped over Pasco's limp form in the street. Panicked, he tried desperately to awaken him, seeing that he was still breathing shallowly, until he spotted a couple harriers on patrol.
"Halmeady," Osa said desperately after running up to them, recognizing one of them as Pasco's sister. "Pasco's been-"
"Pasco?" she asked worriedly. Since her brother had left home and moved to festival street to become a dance mage, she had heard little of him. From the tone of Osa's voice, however, this was not likely to be a happy reunion. "What's happened to him?"
Osa showed them to Pasco's limp form, only the hilt of a knife showing from one bloody side and the other turning a deep purple. "We have to get him to the Duke's Citadel," she said to Osa. "Lady Sandraline can arrange for healers." She turned to her partner. "Can you cover for me?"
He agreed. Within an hour, Osa and Halmeady had managed to get him to the Duke's citadel in a cart and into the healers care. Sandry was there an hour later, helping in any way she could and asking as many questions as the harriers to try and figure out what happened.
A/N: A word of advice, Pasco lovers beware, for I am mean.
Dami was finishing her last dance when the couple came once more. They requested her presence for a walk and Dami readily accepted. After all they had done to help her already and how kind they had been towards her she could hardly find it in herself to refuse. She still had plenty of time left before sunset to get home and there were plenty of merchants still out.
They talked mostly about where she had learned to dance and how much better she had gotten over the years. As they wandered, the conversation wandered to other topics until the couple told her the real reason why they had taken such an interest in her.
"We realize that your parents are no longer living," the man said quietly as they turned onto Harbor street. "We can give you a family again."
"We also know about your magical talent," the woman added. "We can help you learn to control it better and make it even stronger."
"But Lady Sandry has already found a teacher for me," Dami protested. She realized now that they had been out too long and that the sun was sinking over the horizon, she could not safely go home now. "Rina Silversight is going to teach me."
"A Lightsbridge mage?" the man asked critically. "This Rina will not let you do anything. You will have to stop dancing and study all day. Most of them also detest pets, so your cat will be out on the street. You will probably spend the next few years cooped up at a desk and doing her chores. With us, you can be free and become fore powerful."
"We have a small present for you," the woman added, seeing that they had nearly won her over. She placed a small pouch in her small hand.
Carefully, Dami opened it to find it full of a white powder. She took a small whiff of it and her eyes grew very wide. "This is dragonsalt!" she cried loudly, hoping someone would hear her. "It's illegal!" She closed the pouch tightly and threw it back at them as she tried to make a run for it as a strong slender hand gripped her arm.
Having lived on Quilter's street all of her ten years of life, she had learned better than to leave the house without a weapon on her. Her free hand went to the small of her back and drew out a dagger that she kept on her. Turning quickly, she lunged at the woman, though the tip of her blade only caught a bit of her shirt as she dodged.
Pasco, who had been visiting Osa on Harbor street, heard someone cry "illegal" and his harrier instinct made him go and investigate. From an alleyway, he watched at Dami drew out a dagger and missed her attacker, then got hit by the man in the back of the head with the butt of his knife.
Pasco did a turn he had been working on, going up on one toe while the other leg was held out parallel to the ground. His arms were also out to their full span as he did a single rotation on his toe, casting a shield around himself. Taking up a piece of firewood as a baton, he rushed towards them.
The woman was escaping with Dami draped over her shoulder as the man engaged Pasco, his dagger striking Pasco's shield as Pasco got the gist of the man's fighting style. Seeing that the woman was getting away, Pasco lowered the shield and allowed the man's dagger to become stuck in the firewood.
As he tried to wrestle the hilt of the dagger out of the man's hand, he began to remember his harrier training but looked to the man's torso too late. The man's hard kick collided squarely with his left side, tossing him limply to the side four feet. The man broke into a run to catch up with the woman.
Pasco got to his feet, clutching his side tightly with the intent of pursuing them. The woman caught his action from the corner of her eye and her hand went quickly to a throwing knife at her belt. In one swift motion she threw it at him. Slowed by the pain in his side, he dodged too late and it plunged into his right side.
Osa ran out a couple minutes later, hoping to catch Pasco who he was sure was long gone by now. Instead, he nearly tripped over Pasco's limp form in the street. Panicked, he tried desperately to awaken him, seeing that he was still breathing shallowly, until he spotted a couple harriers on patrol.
"Halmeady," Osa said desperately after running up to them, recognizing one of them as Pasco's sister. "Pasco's been-"
"Pasco?" she asked worriedly. Since her brother had left home and moved to festival street to become a dance mage, she had heard little of him. From the tone of Osa's voice, however, this was not likely to be a happy reunion. "What's happened to him?"
Osa showed them to Pasco's limp form, only the hilt of a knife showing from one bloody side and the other turning a deep purple. "We have to get him to the Duke's Citadel," she said to Osa. "Lady Sandraline can arrange for healers." She turned to her partner. "Can you cover for me?"
He agreed. Within an hour, Osa and Halmeady had managed to get him to the Duke's citadel in a cart and into the healers care. Sandry was there an hour later, helping in any way she could and asking as many questions as the harriers to try and figure out what happened.
