Stealth and Retrieval: Azu and Maurice

[Azunara]

((Azunara is my little Nesingwary hunter. She managed to get a nightstalker, Maurice. Maurice is a talking, street-smart ragged feline that got his unusual skill due to a mishap with a mage's trash. Figured out the reference yet?))

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Azunara crouched beside the signpost, shielding herself in the darkness. The sentry walked by, not noticing. The blood elf quickly fitted an arrow to her bow and shot him, the blunt arrow head smacking him in the head and sending him unconscience.

“Nice shot!” A voice praised Azunara. A ragged nightstalker prowled out of the dark, quickly shoveling dirt over the lamp to extinguish the light. “Thanks, Maurice.” Azunara replied, getting up. It was dark, Falconwing Square quiet and still. Nothing moved besides the guards, and if she was right, the next guard would return in fifteen minutes. “Right, Mar. Go scout it out, I’ll wait here. We have to be fast if we want to succeed.” The cat flashed a wicked grin at the blood elf before evaporating into the shadows, like a ghost giving itself up to the wind.

Azunara contented herself with reading the Bounty board she was next too. The darkness wasn’t too much a bother; years of training gave her cat-like vision when it came to darkness. She could see clearly. The first poster was for a blood elf warlock then was wanted for thievery and murder. The next two posters were similar, a pair of orcs, rogue and druid, wanted for thievery, murder, and torture of justice officials. The fourth was a blood elf rogue. She had black hair, sharp, distrustful green eyes, and was wanted for thievery, murder, criminal mercenary work, and torture and killing of justice officials. There was a reward of 500 for her head, 1000 gold if she was captured alive.

The criminal’s name was Azunara Sunclaw.

The pair stared at each other, the living counterpart and the inanimate shadow, gauging each other coolly. “I thought it was over, too.” The living Azunara said, running a hand through her now fire red hair. There were still streaks of black, subtle, running through the strands. The huntress grabbed her bow, stiffening.

“Relax, chicken. Just me.” Maurice said, chuckling softly. “We have seven minutes, and I did a look by at the Oak; Kerberos is restless. He’ll give us away.” Azunara, in spite of herself, grinned. “That corehound pup. I never understood why I rescued him, he’s loud and obnoxious, and he makes missions difficult…But I couldn’t leave him with that undead. He was torturing, experimenting on Kerberos. Kerberos used to be a normal wolf pup, Mar.” Azunara said, slightly distressed.

Maurice nuzzled the former rogue. “I know, Az. You don’t need to explain yourself. You made the right choice. Now come on, we have an artifact to retrieve.” The pair stalked off into the shadows towards the inn. They slipped in silently, like twin ghosts. The dozing innkeeper heard a hiss of wind, felt it rustle in the building, but saw nothing.

The pair stalked up towards the farthest room to the right, where a blood elf was sleeping. Judging by the staff and multitude of books, she was a mage. Maurice scanned the room. “There.” He hissed, softly. Azunara quietly padded forth, grabbing a book off a table. It was bound in pale red leather, and spidery, darker red, almost black writing was on the surface. Azunara knew the substance well; blood.

Suddenly, there was a scream of an alarm. “Dammit. Move it, Azu. The guard is coming fast!” Maurice shouted over the blare of alarm. The magi shot awake, bolts of flame scorching the air. Azunara yelped as one got her in the arm, igniting her cloak and sleeve. She gripped the book tighter, and crashed into the mage, sending her flying. The flame spat, dampened. “Move, move, move!” Azunara hissed, and desperately, leaped out the window.

Glass fell like frost, sharp snowflakes that bit. Azunara landed, and allowed the momentum to carry her on in a somersault, landing disoriented on her back. The guard had sprinted into the inn, and the mage was peering out the window. She didn’t notice Maurice, and the nightstalker leaped from behind, pushing her down through the window, and landed neatly by Azunara. The mage frantically cast a spell, and her fall was slowed. The mage snarled, cursing. Azunara and Maurice ran to the tree, fleeing the Square and evaporating into the thicket, where the pair went to collect the shrieking, drooling Kerberos.

[Bubbleme]

Sounds great! Continue.

[Azunara]

((Part two. Rawr.))

Dawn was approaching rapidly, dragonhawks rousing themselves and greeting the day with sharp cries. Azunara snarled. The roads were dangerous, more guards than usual were patrolling. “Well, Maurice. We’re special. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this many guards after my head.” Azunara remarked softly. Maurice flashed a grin at the huntress. “Just makes escape more fun, kid.” He said. There was a muffled bark from Azunara’s pack, Kerberos trying desperately to get more than just his muzzles out of the bag. Azunara shook her head, and then stiffened.

A guard was a few yards away, and he paused. The guard’s companion also stood a distance away, watching his partner’s reaction. The first guard, the one close to Azunara, shook his head and continued on. “Nothing. Just a dragonhawk or lynx or something.” He stated, and the pair marched on. Azunara and Maurice darted across the road, fleeing into the bushes. The guards wheeled around, seeing only a flicker of a black tail.

“Just a lynx-Wait. Since when did lynxes have black tails?” Guard Number One asked to his companion. Guard Number Two shook his head. “Ms. Dawnripper did report being attacked by a black feline.” The pair charged into the shrubbery, and did see the nightstalker. He leaped out, knocking one guard down and pinning him. Before the other guard could react, a blood elf tackled him, sending him to the ground, holding a dagger to his throat. “Listen. You want to live, right? Right. Don’t say anything, just nod. You’ll go, and forget you ever saw us, and we won’t kill you. How’s that?” She asked. The guard grunted.

“Good enough. Alright Maurice, let ‘em up.” Azunara said, and the nightstalker prowled to her side, hissing and cursing the guards out. The guards were shocked, and slowly backed away before running as fast as they could to Farstrider Retreat to inform the Rangers of their find.

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Azunara looked at the journal she was hired to steal. It was written in blood, the dark red ink glaring at her fiercely. She couldn’t tell in what language it was written in, either. Evil emanated off of it, she got a bad feeling just holding onto it. She got dizzy, tired, confused. Kerberos had sniffed it, and had wheeled away, whining and yelping, irritated.

“Soon as we’re rid of it, the better…I don’t like or trust this thing, Az.” Maurice remarked, flipping the pages with a claw. “Something wrong with it. Come on, we’ve only got a bit to go till Ghostlands.” The pair continued on, Kerberos at their heels. The guards had increased, though they still managed to elude them.

Finally, they reached the still, stagnant river that separated the Ghostlands and Eversong Woods.

[Nevar]

/applaud - I likes this story :3

[Azunara]

/applaud - I likes this story :3

Thanks! It was funny. I created Azu, and BAM! Instantly knew she'd have Maurice and she'd be a former criminal. It's moments like that where you realize you should run with that, if it's THAT clear in your head. xD

[Nevar]

I has a story about Congalily and Hecuba buuut Idk bout sharing that :3 lol

[Azunara]

Go for it!