Kol was angry, very angry. Richon was meek most of the time, apologetic. even if a bit overconfident she couldn't forgive a friend who'd done something so terrible. He didn't know her fear, but no good male would do such a thing. He'd been talking with the wrong crowd
She realized there weren't many good males down here, Kol was beginning to wonder if there was any at all. Hewn was a terrible city of nightmares and fear-fueled everyone. Fear of failure, fear of loneliness, fear of the fate they'd be in without constant compliance.
They acted tough, but they were afraid to dream farther than their next drink Kol thought tapping her fingers on a map she'd found.
Kol had been alone all week, trained alone, ate, slept. No one bothered her much she was pushed around a bit more but Kol had thick skin by now if something like that bothered her she wouldn't have survived the week. She went through much worse when she arrived in this dreadful country.
She found a place to get away from the others, a tavern in the sketchy parts most of the patrons were blacksmiths and criminals. She went with Richon once upon a time, he didn't like it much. Kol found it almost calming. Of course, crime was rampant around her while she was there, but when she wasn't on duty she didn't care much. They could do whatever the fuck they wanted. Thieves, if they were with Reimand kept away from off duty guards, too much trouble.
Kol drank a lot these days, it was depressing down here, she suspected that no one here got enough vitamin D. Children got sick often and the elderly didn't live long after illness struck despite healers.
Dressing down here, just a tunic and pants and her sword was better than full leathers that were surprisingly comfortable after the leather molded to the skin. It was warm in here, there was a fire carved in the stone, beautifully crafted serpents ornately wrapped the fireplace shaped to resemble a mountain. It was funny that they never mentioned the style difference from here and Velaris, it was very mundane down here not much art, but if there was it was gothic or old. It was beautiful in its own way.
The corner booth was uncomfortably big for one person the lighting was dark so candles were placed on each table, only for necessity stake, Kol knew the owner wouldn't bother unless the customers couldn't see the drink in front of them.
The owner, Varis some sort of old fae owned the place for hundreds of years and had the tavern since before most were born. He didn't take anyone's shit, Kol and most other patrons liked that. He didn't ask meaningless questions on a whim. The only problem I had with him is that he was the ultimate cheapskate. Nothing had ever really been completely replaced.
"Hi Soot." he wiped a glass looking up giving a yellow toothy smile. His face looked like he was scratched by some dreadful creature, it was mangled and torn and ran up and down his face to his neck and maybe further underneath his clothes Kol wasn't sure. With that kind of wound, Kol reckoned hers didn't look as bad, still bad though.
She was undeniably scared for anyone to see the full extent of the injury, she hated it. She was ugly.
Varis hated her for hating it fo the longest time.
"If I hated my scars I'd wear a mask you wear cloth, but it's still their boy. You just try to hide it. You're a coward," He had said and she knew he was undeniably correct. With her shorter hair and boyish appearance, no one thought any different about her being anything but male. There was no point after the first bandana went down the river she'd bought a new one, but she didn't were it.
He warmed up to her after that.
"Varis another drink please," Kol grunted, glass was placed in front she leaned over it tired. The place went quiet as new patron walked in Varis narrowed his eyes sharply. The gold trimming on the man's cloak clinked. He came to her seat and set down some coins paying her bill. She looked up.
"Ah, Kol, Friend," Reimand said clicking his tongue and shimmied his cloak off handing it to his lackey on his right patting it before turning his bright ochre eyes toward her, "Let's have a talk, hm?"
Varis had wandered off, he knew how these things worked and left to nag a customer about their bill. Reimand sat down he wore a silver snake necklace that seemed to almost be alive and a fine tunic holding a belt with an ornate dagger, his friends held the swords. Kol gripped the table.
"What do you want from me?" She hadn't given him the time of day other than the day she'd met him.
"Well, I know you're out of sorts with Mr. Greenes, but I can't help telling you, I know your secret," His eyes hardened to steel before smiling, "Let's make a deal."
The training grounds were always quiet in the small hours of the morning, dummies and wooden practice swords lined the side, but without Richon it felt empty but the feeling of anger welling in Kol's stomach she found she couldn't find it in herself to willingly forgive him. After the stunt, he pulled it wasn't easy to forgive and forget the rushing watery abyss that now crawled beneath her skin. He also found her secret, which became an avoidance to talk about the issue than to confront it as she'd normally.
She questioned why he hadn't turned her into the superiors. Maybe it was only a matter of time before he did.
When Kol's passed Richon in the halls he gave a look of regret eyes looking for forgiveness and in bursting questions, Kol thought it best to ignore him for a while. It was harder as they shared rooms, so instead of sleeping a the time she' normally she found her self training into the late hours and showing late for shifts, Richon didn't say anything. Richon and Kol were the only ones that they knew with a shift in long stretching hours of the night so they weren't bothered much and they found they were used to it, but the screams and crime seemed not to rest for the fighting friends.
A training sword was in her hand. Kol drew it close to herself, remembering the last time she had a similar weapon. While she started to slash at air perfecting forms she'd learned, fighting style for the Ilrayians was a mix between being light on one foot and brute strength and endurance. Being able to keep the fight going was viewed much better than just one strike.
"You're Kol?" the tall lanky guard gawked three others followed, before giving a warm smile.
"Would you like to spar?" He was taller than her by more than a foot and just knew he was going to squash her. But despite that, there was a gentleness about him underneath his hulking exterior.
Kol nodded once.
Kol glared at the guard, took a breath, then attacked with such sudden swiftness it caught him off-guard. Kol managed to parry two, three times clumsily before she sidestepped and mercilessly hit him in the side with the flat of the training sword. He cried out and collapsed like a sack of potatoes. Knocking her down with him. They laid for a second, then began to chuckle getting up.
The others began to laugh too as Kol beat the larger man. Some were even cheering, it made her happy to be apart of the laughter and not the brunt of it. Before he punched her in the gut to make up for it.
Kol's mouth remained in a tight line other than a wince and she doubled over. She watched as he staggered upright. "So not a pushover, then," he smiled with a slight wince. He held his arm out to grasp. After staring at it for a moment, Kol took it. She felt warmth bleeding through his heavy garments, he punched her softly on the shoulder.
"Calum,"
"The lad looks like he can handle himself," One of the others chuckled moving to clap her on the back. He had a loose and lazy good-natured smile grazing his lips.
She didn't smile back.
"You don' smile much do you," Calum elbowed the other in the gut. He glared at Calum.
"Well I wouldn't if I suppose if I had a scar like that on my face," another said, Kol had stopped wearing the bandanna after it washed down the river.
"Oi, that's not nice, " He glared at his friend "Sorry they don't think before they speak,"
She distantly heard before she was pulling into her memories
The house shook on its frame as flames licked a spluttered, the smell was haunting in itself how it seemed to attach to her lungs and make them burn. Charlotte was lost in what was once her home as flames blinded her, she heard the fire brigade outside, fighting their way in. She choked on smoke and collapsing finally to her knees before a pipe, burning hot, crashed on to her face, it had her skin once smooth boiled and angered, she screamed arching her back. Before the second floor collapsed.
"Hey, are you there? Come on we're going for food, would you like to come?" Kol hadn't anything else to be doing so she followed suit, passing by Richon who looked toward her sad and regretful leaned against the archway.
"So, so then she said: why don't you come down here and fight me first after that we fought the night away boys she was great," Calum said sighing "Really great."
Kol snorted she was sure he didn't mean actual fighting with the woman as he recounted his tale of the before the night to the others on the edge of their seats.
"What of her.. You know" Tyrion's eyebrows wiggled as her motion for Calum to tell them more about the apparently big breasted woman. Calum roared with laughter Hewn was a weird city Kol thought, especially its guard who regularly left their posts early and drunk their wings off their back.
Kol had been hanging out with Calums' friends who slowly made their way into her heart they weren't Richon but they were nice enough to invite her out to the hall for food. They were laid back, spared once in a while, drank a lot they were a nice lot.
"Kol we're gonna do something really fun later get Pyper to cover your post or something ."
Later she found her self about the city on a flat rooftop the light from fire and candles lights was mesmerizing from above. Callum walked to meet her he had a loose and lazy good-natured smile grazing his lips throwing an arm around her shoulders. She tensed but relaxed after a minute he leaned closer to her ear before turning around behind him and yelling.
"I think he's a good one," Calum took a swig of alcohol "he came, so these are the rest of the boys."
One stepped up in front, older looking but definitely still in his younger years he was easy on the eyes, muscled and had an air of leadership grazing his face.
"Kjell," he introduced himself, "I heard of you from Calum, also that you're a shit swordsman," he looked down, "As the far as we go, we're the only decent males you'll meet in this damned place if you want sunshine and blue sky you should've gone to Velaris," He breathed in grinned a wolfy smile "We definitely have more fun down here in this shit-hole anyway," He gave her a look that said he'd tortured men before but really didn't care.
"Anyways that's Kjell, the guy with the fancy drinks is Ernstead, " Ernstead grimaced at the description from Kjell, "and the twins Teryion and Tiwren, you know them" Two black hair males looked over nodding both had a drink in hand she'd met the briefly at mealtimes they were very dirty-minded, it was quite funny after a while.
"Can we stop talking and drink?" Tyrion spit.
Kjel grinned barking out "Okay, Let's go man time to prove yourself" He took Kol collar and took her to the edge of the building "Calum and the boys here like to have fun once and a while, we get some ale and confiscate some exotic wines from some vendors. And we jump the buildings.'"
Parkour? Kol thought to look at her weak legs she doubted she could jump the distance in her last life and even here with so much training she wasnt the strongest. More of a book reader than a risk-taker. More like suicide.
"Don't look so worried, you have wings you bastard, How'd you pass the blood-rite" Calum clapped his hand on her back touching her wings, she shuttered as he touched the sensitive skin. Kol had forgotten that, good point and decided the idea didn't sound too bad. As the stoic male with black hair, Ersntead the man with black short-cropped hair and biceps the size of barrels handed her a big bottle of alcohol. "Liquid courage for the baby," he winked. Kol took the bottle smiled, she took a swig the alcohol burned the back of her throat, baby? Not quite, to her, twenty-two was far from being a baby, but to the rest, she might she assumed.
Kol wasn't one to say she liked Hewn city, it wasn't the best, it smelt awful and crime was blooming but as she sat drinking with the other males looking out onto a city of nightmares she knew she found honest people.
Not that they were that much better than the rest and they certainly weren't good people.
Drinking with them made her nostalgic for the times she'd snuck out to meet her friends in high school and that continued to university save for the sneaking. It was nice, while not the same and the screams in the streets bothered her. Listening to the stupid conversation of Calum trying to impress the others was more than amusing and help her block the sound out.
She found she was content, and definitely up to jump some buildings she stepped to the edge unfurling the membraneous wings stretching out she jumped.
Kol leaned back in her chair disgesting the information. Heart pounding
"You know my secret?"
Reimand smirked know he had her, "Listen to me, Kier is on to my business and the Highlord is on to his," He took out a parchment, " Everyone has a secret and you're going to find his or pay me a fee or two and I'll get you out of the city no trace not even the Highlord's spy will find you"
She assessed the man in front of her, she was happy here in the weirdest way.
All good things come to an end she supposed.
Morrigan wasn't fond of Hewn city, her family was horrible, especially her father and the people of Hewn City were a horrible company especially in her younger years, they were hardly more than tolerable. Routine checks and surveys were necessary to control the court of nightmares. Rhysand was never one to dwell down inside too long especially after Amarantha and meeting sweet Feyre.
Cassian followed behind her to keep guard though the number of siphons on his belt kept people's fear. Her blonde hair bounced radiantly against the back of her crimson dress with long slits up the side of her legs. She surveyed the street which was barren as any other time she visited, cleared away by the guards and nobles to keep her business elsewhere.
"M'lady it's this way to survey the guard barracks" Mor turn and gave a tight smile.
"Of course." they walked back up the stairs to the building built and caved in the rocks tiny slits for windows.
Apart from her tour was to interview the new trainee guards posted, it was routine. Simple questions like when they ate and slept and if the city as well, also if they were wanting to join Velaris' guard instead. Interviews were necessary to be held in private quarters as some information shared was less than pretty.
"Richon Grennes." Someone called out from a list and the tall hazel eyes male walked in, the door closed her sat quickly and sat straight.
"How is the city Mr. Grennes?"
"It's quite well M'lady," His eyes wandered around as he tried to stay clear of her very low neckline
Mor nodded "Have you surveyed anything strange?"
"Well M'lady, while it don' have a problem with the city, I-"
He shifted
"I'm worried for a friend of mine"
Kol was always cold here, and she wasn't sure if it was just the weather. Patrol did nothing to keep her warm as she walked through the street. Richon was whistling something, he didn't look like he minds the cold, growing up in the mountains did that to you she assumed. They still weren't talking she didn't hate him, but couldn't forgive either. She glanced over to him.
Richon was nice to look at. She could definitely say that, and she'd seen how others looked at him, mostly females. but some males too. She couldn't blame them his olive complexion was almost glowing in the dark and after a wash, his hair was silky smooth. He was built, like really built, Kol thought. She'd seen Cassian briefly but it was so dark she had had time to see him properly, maybe he'd come down here sometime after the war.
Shame she'd be leaving, in honesty, she wanted to fight with her brothers. The chance that she'd be found out and ostracized from the ground was enough to know that the large sum of money that she had given was worth it.
She'd seen Cassian briefly but it was so dark she had had time to see him properly, maybe he'd come down here sometime after the war. She knew it was going to happen, there were more and more rumors of Hybern. Down here there wasn't much news from the rest of the world so she took it as a sign to choose, to get out and lay low or fight with her new comrades sh had to go before the city was closed off.
And as if she jinxed it the next day they were put on high alert.