Chapter 3 - Withered Rose

Legat hobbles into a pub, blood racing in a steady stream down his right arm, only to find Suki stuffing her face with food. Suki chews on a rib and after seeing him out of the corner of her eye, she waves, and hops off the barstool to walk over to him with a concerned look.

"Don't worry, I'll live. It's just a minor setback… anyways it was well deserved." He says before looking to an open table and motioning an invite to Suki as he walks toward it. Suki follows him and Legat sits carefully. He then looks across the table as she sits, "So you found anything out or have you been eating the whole time?" He says with a slight chuckle and a grin.
Suki smiles, "Oh, I found enough out to start another blood war and had some fun while I was at it… Mostly torturing a neko family. But then I decided to come here and finish my appetite."
"War you say – hmm," Legat says, his eyes gleaming with interest.

Suki picks a bone from between her teeth with a claw and smiles afterwards, "Yes the Kitsune and Dragoon clans may be at it again from what I've heard."
"Sounds like it could be fun."
"Yeah… and hearing that some assassinations have already taken place, it's not going to be too long before it begins."
"So what do you plan to do with this information?"
Suki stares into midair in thought for a moment and focuses back on Legat. "I'm not quite sure yet. I suppose I'll figure that out as I go."
"So what's known about the assassin?"

Suki stretches and peers around the room noticing more than a few eavesdroppers. Pointing out a particular demon with her elbow as she stretches. "Well, he sure has an attitude to say one thing but give me a second and I'll pay for my meal and we'll be out of here." She walks up to the front and pays for her meal; the tip of her tail wagging in an annoyed manner before walking back to Legat. "Let's go."
"Ok.," He replies and follows her tail through the crowd as she exits the pub and walks across the street into an alleyway, jumping onto a low building and sitting on a balcony. When she sees him enter the alleyway, Suki gestures with her hand for Legat to come on up. He jumps up with a bit of confusion and Suki smiles at his unstated question.
"I can hear everything below us better from up here."
He looks around at the emptiness, "If you say so…"

"Besides, I'm really not up for fighting at the moment, I'm stuffed." After a moment of silence she sighs and says, "Well, the thing is I've heard some news about that slithering worm of an assassin. He killed my older brother, Josiah and I'm not too pleased to hear he's looking for me as well."
Legat looks around, "So you want revenge?" Suki nods, growling softly. "Well any idea as to where or who he might be, and would you like some company if you're going to go after him?"
Suki grins at the last question. "I'd enjoy having the company. As for where this guy is, he was last seen in the Kyokusha area, a couple weeks traveling from my homestead, and he uses the alias of Kado mostly."
"Well, is that where you're headed? And when do WE leave?" He says while looking judgingly into her eyes. Her fangs shine in the dim light of the evening as she smiles.
"Yep, we leave as soon as you get that wound fixed up a bit more." Legat puts his good hand to the wound; the light of the town and everything around it fades for a brief second as if everyone blinked at the same time. Before he lowers his hand a dark glow remains over the wound as it heals.

"So how are we getting there?"
"By foot for a while and quite possibly with the aid of a winged friend after that, so I estimate we'll be there in three days at most if we keep up a good pace."

"A winged friend you say?" he asks with a sly look on his face just waiting to hear what kind of 'winged friend' it could be.
"It's an Amdusias, a cousin to the Pegasus."
"Hmm, well that's interesting. I wasn't thinking it would be that." Suki runs her thumb over the hilt of her sword subconsciously.
"You ready to go?" He takes a step, then staggers. "Whoa! Wasn't expecting it to take that much out of me," he says while looking about in a dizzy mess. She laughs lightly and quickly grasps his shoulder before he falls off the balcony.
"You need to rest a bit or at least let me transfer some energy to you because you look awful."
"I'll be fine. I just need a few hours rest." He gathers his balance, "You can go ahead if you wish, I'll catch up later."

"Na, I couldn't leave you behind like that but I will hunt for you if you'd like for the time being. This place is crawling with yummy morsels."

"That would be very kind of you but you don't have to go out of your way." He says as he starts looking for a place to sleep, walking past building after building as if he's trying to remember something. He finally stops at a run down house with the gate locked. He slices the lock and chain, then makes his way inside. Softly whispering memories to his self as he walks. Suki pauses at the gate's entrance and follows him into the building.
"I find it crucial you remain at your finest lest the mission prove itself uneventful." Suki says as she stands in the entryway. Legat remains in his dreamlike state and continues his walk through the house to pause abruptly at the middle of the living room away from a table with a withered rose on it. Suki notices this and quietly makes her way towards the table to take a look at the rose and picks it up gently, reviving it with her touch. "Its such a lovely flower—" she says before the firm grip of Legat's hand finds her shoulder.
"Put it down… Put it down," he whispers in a pained yet commanding voice.

Suki's ears lower slightly and she returns the rose to its resting place on the table. Its petals withering back as they were before.

"I'm so sorry. I—"

Legat sighs and removes his hand from her shoulder to comb it through his unruly hair. "You didn't know but it's the rose I gave my lover the week before she passed away—She was so beautiful…" he says before laughing, "I'm dreaming again."

Suki smiles with an uneasy look on her face, "You really should get some rest." She says before walking towards the door, "I'll be back in a bit," and exits. Pausing at the gate's entrance to sigh and whispers, "I didn't mean to revive such a sad memory… I'm sorry." And continues walking towards the outskirts of town. Legat remains standing where he was minutes earlier, grinning slightly at her words and nods, his smile leaving as quickly as it came.