True to his word, whenever Aulix had spare time, he taught Arya the language spoken by hand gestures. In exchange, she had to answer questions about her life before coming to Braavos. She didn't know what Aulix was after, with all his questions. Taron didn't know either, but trusted his friend's methods. Thankfully Arya picked up the secret language quickly, so the questions stopped sooner than later. But Taron knew that it wasn't just Aulix's curiosity that made her uncomfortable, it was his friend's sexual aura that truly bothered Arya. Eventually, without Taron asking him to, Aulix gave her space and backed off. But Taron knew that Aulix did use his gift to keep tabs on her.
Sarra asked the question they all wanted the answer to, one evening. "Ari, why do you like to sleep on the roof?"
Arya smiled, "that's easy to answer. The town I grew up in is much colder than Braavos, even during harvest time. When I'm inside it's too hot and I can't sleep. But on the roof there is always a breeze that gets pulled in off the water. I do come inside when it rains though."
"True I've notice that and I never gave it any thought about where you might have come from. So then how did you get here?"
"Things that happened completely out of my control, circumstance and luck." Arya said after a few moments. "What about you Sarra, have you always lived in Braavos?"
"No, but I guess still in the same weather area. I've never experienced true cold, like the snow beyond the wall. I've heard of it, but I don't like to think about it," Sarra confessed.
Mention of the wall, made Arya think about her brother John Snow. He probably thought she was dead like everyone else. One day she would find him too. Some of the others nearby talked about their home towns and even fewer explained why they'd come to Braavos. Arya left to work the pubs, her pick pocket skills put to the test. She did well and gave a portion of the coin to Taron, when she returned. It was late, so she went to the roof. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.
In the morning she woke with a start. She'd been dreaming so vividly, as if she'd been seeing through the eyes of a cat. Arya wonder if that's how it was for Aulix. Remembering what she'd seen, made her want to go check it out at street level. Was it real or all a dream. Not knowing disturbed her. She jumped down to the ground and went inside to grab an apple. Today she had enough money to go to the bath house, so after her investigation she'd go there. An eagle screamed above her and she looked up, giving it a wave.
"That's not me, I think that bird is just hunting," Aulix said falling into step beside her.
She hadn't heard his footsteps and was a little surprised by his sudden appearance. "Damn, I didn't even feel your presence. I thought for sure that was you up there, saying hello."
"Where are you off to so early in the morning?" He asked.
"Just checking something out, to confirm if it was real or just dream."
He gave her a look, that she didn't see. "Tell me more, sounds interesting."
"Well, it was like I was a cat. I was low to the ground, looking at things from that level and up."
"Did you hear and smell things like the cat?"
Arya thought about her dream and slowly nodded her head. "I woke up when the mouse I had caught, became my meal. The warm blood in my mouth, it tasted like iron." She looked at him, "it was a dream right?"
Aulix shrugged, even though he did know the answer. Arya need to discover the truth for herself. Stopping suddenly she bent down, examining the ground like the hunter she was. Her eyes landed on cat paw prints. Standing back up, they continued on their walk. She ducked into another street, sniffing the air. Up onto a roof and she found the scent of her dream. Fish hung, drying in the sun. Aulix waited for her on the street, when she came down, Arya took off her shoe and put a bare foot on the dirt.
"I was the cat last night, but how is that possible? Seeing, feeling, hearing, being a cat and yet not?"
He kept a straight face, "that's what I do, but just not as a dream."
She stopped walking and looked at him. "So I have the same sight as you do?"
"Maybe not as strong as I am, but a little bit. We could test how strong it is, but I need you to do something else for me first."
Arya raised an eyebrow, "okay what?"
"Keep an eye on Taron today and tonight."
"What?"
Aulix answered, "just watch his back. I trust you more than anyone else in this street guild."
"Even more than Sarra and Byt?" Arya asked in amazement. When he gave her a nod in confirmation, she inquired why.
"I trust Byt, but not with Taron's life. Not to say that I think it'll be in danger, but I'd rather be cautions than anything else. I trust you, because of the secret you shared with us and your plans for the future. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. And I don't know if I should feel honoured or what. I owe Taron a lot," Arya admitted.
"He doesn't expect anything more than you already give back," Aulix reassured.
"I know, but I pay my debts…."
"I suspect you do. Tell me what you know about the game of thrones?" He asked.
"The game of thrones?"
Aulix clarified, "yes who's in power, their family history, who wants the power, who you think should be on the throne, etc. It's all a game of power and strategy; whether in war or politically speaking."
"Oh I get it, that's a good way of summing it all up." Arya replied. She thought about it carefully and then as they walked, she gave her thoughts on what he wanted.
They were in deep discussion, when two short piercing whistles interrupted. Immediately Aulix stopped and looked at that hawk, his eyes going white. Arya held him as his body slumped. She watched the bird pan to the right and dive down, then back flap to the point of almost hovering. It stayed that way a few minutes and then caught an updraft. Aulix returned his mind to his body.
"We need to get back now," Aulix said already beginning to jog.
"What's wrong," Arya asked alarmed. "Is Taron in danger?"
"No, but there is a problem…. race you back."
Arya broke into a sprint, "deal."
Neither were out of breath by the time they got back to the street guild's headquarters. Aulix won, but Arya wasn't far behind. Taron immediately began to talk to Aulix by hand signals. Arya caught some of it, but their hands moved too quickly. She understood that a poison that Byt had made last night had been stolen. What the poison did exactly, Arya had no clue, but from Taron's reaction to the theft, it was bad.
"Show me where it happened," Aulix said out loud and motioned Arya to follow them.
They found Byt crying, Aulix hugged her before Arya could. "It's not your fault. We'll find the thief."
Taron watch Arya inspect the ground and then use the secret hand language to ask Aulix to get a dog. To Byt she asked, "anyone other then us come in this area?"
"No. I haven't left here since the theft."
"That's good." To Taron she signed, 'there are foot prints here and here. Maybe Aulix can smell the scent.'
A dog appeared and Arya pointed to the ground where the foot prints were. The dog wagged it's tail and sat down. Arya said out loud, "I'll be back in a minute, I want my bow and arrows."
When she returned, the dog barked once and then she followed it. Arya hoped the scent was strong, as she jogged behind the dog. Whomever had taken the poison, had used back streets, but never left the ground. That meant it wasn't a pro or spy. But danger was still a strong factor, because they didn't know who they were dealing with. Suddenly the dog stopped and looked up. She nodded and proceeded to the roof. The dog barked and then lifted it's leg. That meant Aulix would return in some other animal, as the dog couldn't go further. She crouched on the roof top waiting. A black cat with a tip of white on it's tail joined her. Arya scratched behind it's ears. It put a paw on her bow and then turned to lead her on. She recognized the area, as it was close to where the Guild of the Faceless Men were. But they didn't go into the guild, instead they went into an area, she wasn't familiar with. Even though it was afternoon and easy to see, Arya was anxious. Instinct told her to be careful, but she figured the cat would alert her to danger first. So when the arrow zoomed past her face, so close that the blade nicked her, Arya was a little slow to react.
"What the hell!" She scanned the area from the direction the arrow had come and saw nothing.
Quickly she sought some kind of protection from attack. The cat had taken off, but she knew Aulix wouldn't abandon her. Either he was coming on foot or via another animal. She wondered if he could control more than one animal at a time. When no further attack came, she returned to where the arrow had landed and looked at it. The blade looked well made, but the feathers of the tail were amateurish. Maybe the thief was just a hired street person, not a kid, but an adult. The foot prints had been too big for a kid. That increased the risk of hand on hand combat, but Arya was confident in her skills. Not waiting for Aulix, she continued on into the unknown cautiously.