(no subject)
Title: Escape
Story: The Dragonfire Chronicles
Characters: Kitra, Aldan
Flavours: Mango #6 [You Go First]; Strawberry #29 [Rope]
Toppings: N/A
Extras: N/A
Word count: 1,475
Rating: G
Summary: In which Kitra attempts to complete her mission.
Notes: Wow, I've been gone for a while. I don't really know what happened there, either... I moved to Uni and then time just flew! I do plan on being back here a bit more often now, though, honest!
Kitra rounded the corner and, seeing the men who were standing in the shadows around Aldan's house, felt her heart sink firmly into the pit of her stomach. There was one upside, though, and that was that Lana, at least, had been right about the whole getting here at twilight thing. The shadows were on her side, and she skirted around to the back of the house without incident, though not before she judged the height of the walls and eye lines of the men; just in case.
There wasn't one at the back, and she could immediately see why. There were no doors to the backs of these buildings, just a long, narrow alleyway - the kind that lent itself to the trapping of people you were after. Kitra looked up at the wall again and smirked. Clearly, they had not been expecting anyone who could climb.
She grasped the first two hand holds she could see, mapping a quick path up with her eyes before she got her legs into position and started pushing up. The burn in her muscles was something Kitra was glad of. It was managing to drown out the feeling of the magic rising in her chest; and seeing as she couldn't be sure of her freedom until at least tomorrow (and even then, Lana was likely to have someone following her), she was going to have to try to hold it at bay for as long as was possible.
Kitra pulled herself up a little further and paused with an angry exhale. Those two guys! If she ever saw them again, she was going to... She would...
Well, she wasn't quite sure. But still. It was the intention behind it that was important - and so far, that intention seemed to involve causing pain. Lots of it, too.
The curtains were closed, but the shutters open, meaning that Kitra could pull herself up and into the room easily, without making a noise. The man was sitting at a desk in the corner, poring over a book. Kitra rolled her eyes. She wasn't even an assassin, and she'd made it in easy. If she'd been sent to kill him, it wouldn't have been a particularly difficult job.
She cleared her throat and the man started and turned, snapping the book shut.
"Who are you?" he demanded when his throat started working again. Kitra could still see his pulse hammering in his throat.
"My name is Kitra," she replied, pausing and smirking at the worried look that appeared in his eyes. "Lana sent me to get you out of here."
The worry vanished; was replaced with relief, but he still had one more question to ask. "What's the password?"
"Sorcerer," Kitra said, the word still tying a worried knot in her stomach. Aldan nodded and picked up his bag finally, pushing the book he'd been reading inside.
"So how are we getting out of here?" he asked, acting as though this was just a regular, everyday activity. Kitra bit her tongue, unsurprised if it was, considering the people he knew. She crossed back over to the window she'd come in through and looked out. Unless this guy could climb (which, looking at him, didn't seem likely), then they were a bit stuck.
A plan began to take hold and finally she asked, "Have you got any rope?"
"Yes, sure," Aldan replied, the tone of his voice a little puzzled. He rummaged around, and all of a sudden, a length of rope was thrust at her. She took it and gave Aldan a long, assessing look that made him take a step back. The plan seemed feasible, at least.
The house across from them, at the back, had a slightly lower roof. It was a little further than Kitra was comfortable with, but she didn't figure she had much choice; it was this, or they'd both die (because she didn't think for a second that the guys after him would let her go, if they caught her). She turned and looked at the desk; it seemed like it would be heavy enough, if she rammed it up against the window.
She pushed it across and felt Aldan's eyes on her. He still hadn't asked but she knew he was dying to.
When one end of the rope was firmly tied around the desk leg, his face dawned in comprehension. "You're not going to..."
"Yes. I'll jump, and then you can use one of these curtains to slide across. It'll work, I've done it before." Well, had seen it done. It was almost the same thing.
"It won't work!" he exclaimed, apparently hysterical. "Why can't we just use the rope to climb down-"
"Because, for one thing, it's not long enough," Kitra replied. It was true; even if they did use the rope, there'd still be a pretty large drop, and she didn't fancy testing the strength of her ankle again after the abuse it had taken climbing up there in the first place. "And, if we do get down there, they'll see us coming out the back of yours for sure. If we get across, we can go through that house and out the back of there - where no one will see us."
"But they'll still see us!" he argued, apparently ignoring her now, too. "They'll catch us! You can't honestly expect..."
"It. Will. Work," Kitra replied, punctuating each word with a deliberate step towards the scholar. He swallowed visibly when he met her gaze, but finally nodded. Kitra turned and walked back over to the window, pulling herself up onto the ledge, picking up the other end of the rope as she did so.
Oh, it looked even more difficult from up here, from where she could see the ground was so far below. The desk and the ledge meant she couldn't get a proper run up, either - and that other roof was pretty far away... The magic curled around her chest, and she wondered, for one, fleeting moment-
No. She'd do this on her own. She was perfectly capable. Lana wouldn't have sent her, otherwise.
Kitra leaned back and took a deep breath before she jumped, figuring she was betting doing than thinking. With nothing but air beneath her feet, there was a moment of exhilaration, before she realised - she was falling far too short of the roof, far too quickly. She wasn't going to make it.
She pushed her hands outwards, not sure whether she was trying to grab hold of something or if it was just a feeble attempt to break her fall, but felt the flare and snap in her chest and the minute lift that had her close enough to the building's wall to grab and hold on.
Heart in her mouth, Kitra climbed the few feet up onto the roof, wondering if Aldan would recognise and know what she'd just done. The magic curled back around again, not asleep, merely... resting. Kitra curled her hands into fists, feeling her nails dig into her palms; now wasn't the time to focus on that!
Aldan had, in the meantime, ripped one of the curtains from the window and Kitra tied the rope around her waist, bracing herself as he slid down the rope, almost knocking her over in his landing.
"That... that was-"
Kitra slapped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet," she hissed. "We're not out of here yet!"
He nodded, and Kitra unfastened the rope from around her waist as she looked around. Satisfied that no one was watching, she lifted the trapdoor and motioned for Aldan to follow as she descended into the inky blackness of the house. She heard Aldan stifle a curse as he followed and rolled her eyes. If he couldn't even navigate stairs...
The house was, blessedly, empty, and Kitra managed to coax the door open without leaving any obvious signs on the lock. Aldan spent the whole time looking at her as if she'd grown another head and stayed silent until she told him she was sure they weren't being followed.
"So, Lana just decided you'd be the best choice?" were the first words out of his mouth.
Kitra felt herself scowl. "Yes," she replied tersely. "I'm good at escaping."
"Well, you're good at jumping," Aldan muttered. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Back to the House. Lana's there."
"Hm."
"What does she want with you, anyway?" Kitra asked, before the silence could become uncomfortable. "I mean, I know you asked for help - but why is anyone after you? Aren't you just a scholar?"
"I found something out."
"What? What can you find out that they'd wanna kill you over?"
Aldan glanced at the bag he'd thrown over his shoulder, the one Kitra had noticed he'd never let go of. "I found out about magic," he whispered.
Story: The Dragonfire Chronicles
Characters: Kitra, Aldan
Flavours: Mango #6 [You Go First]; Strawberry #29 [Rope]
Toppings: N/A
Extras: N/A
Word count: 1,475
Rating: G
Summary: In which Kitra attempts to complete her mission.
Notes: Wow, I've been gone for a while. I don't really know what happened there, either... I moved to Uni and then time just flew! I do plan on being back here a bit more often now, though, honest!
Kitra rounded the corner and, seeing the men who were standing in the shadows around Aldan's house, felt her heart sink firmly into the pit of her stomach. There was one upside, though, and that was that Lana, at least, had been right about the whole getting here at twilight thing. The shadows were on her side, and she skirted around to the back of the house without incident, though not before she judged the height of the walls and eye lines of the men; just in case.
There wasn't one at the back, and she could immediately see why. There were no doors to the backs of these buildings, just a long, narrow alleyway - the kind that lent itself to the trapping of people you were after. Kitra looked up at the wall again and smirked. Clearly, they had not been expecting anyone who could climb.
She grasped the first two hand holds she could see, mapping a quick path up with her eyes before she got her legs into position and started pushing up. The burn in her muscles was something Kitra was glad of. It was managing to drown out the feeling of the magic rising in her chest; and seeing as she couldn't be sure of her freedom until at least tomorrow (and even then, Lana was likely to have someone following her), she was going to have to try to hold it at bay for as long as was possible.
Kitra pulled herself up a little further and paused with an angry exhale. Those two guys! If she ever saw them again, she was going to... She would...
Well, she wasn't quite sure. But still. It was the intention behind it that was important - and so far, that intention seemed to involve causing pain. Lots of it, too.
The curtains were closed, but the shutters open, meaning that Kitra could pull herself up and into the room easily, without making a noise. The man was sitting at a desk in the corner, poring over a book. Kitra rolled her eyes. She wasn't even an assassin, and she'd made it in easy. If she'd been sent to kill him, it wouldn't have been a particularly difficult job.
She cleared her throat and the man started and turned, snapping the book shut.
"Who are you?" he demanded when his throat started working again. Kitra could still see his pulse hammering in his throat.
"My name is Kitra," she replied, pausing and smirking at the worried look that appeared in his eyes. "Lana sent me to get you out of here."
The worry vanished; was replaced with relief, but he still had one more question to ask. "What's the password?"
"Sorcerer," Kitra said, the word still tying a worried knot in her stomach. Aldan nodded and picked up his bag finally, pushing the book he'd been reading inside.
"So how are we getting out of here?" he asked, acting as though this was just a regular, everyday activity. Kitra bit her tongue, unsurprised if it was, considering the people he knew. She crossed back over to the window she'd come in through and looked out. Unless this guy could climb (which, looking at him, didn't seem likely), then they were a bit stuck.
A plan began to take hold and finally she asked, "Have you got any rope?"
"Yes, sure," Aldan replied, the tone of his voice a little puzzled. He rummaged around, and all of a sudden, a length of rope was thrust at her. She took it and gave Aldan a long, assessing look that made him take a step back. The plan seemed feasible, at least.
The house across from them, at the back, had a slightly lower roof. It was a little further than Kitra was comfortable with, but she didn't figure she had much choice; it was this, or they'd both die (because she didn't think for a second that the guys after him would let her go, if they caught her). She turned and looked at the desk; it seemed like it would be heavy enough, if she rammed it up against the window.
She pushed it across and felt Aldan's eyes on her. He still hadn't asked but she knew he was dying to.
When one end of the rope was firmly tied around the desk leg, his face dawned in comprehension. "You're not going to..."
"Yes. I'll jump, and then you can use one of these curtains to slide across. It'll work, I've done it before." Well, had seen it done. It was almost the same thing.
"It won't work!" he exclaimed, apparently hysterical. "Why can't we just use the rope to climb down-"
"Because, for one thing, it's not long enough," Kitra replied. It was true; even if they did use the rope, there'd still be a pretty large drop, and she didn't fancy testing the strength of her ankle again after the abuse it had taken climbing up there in the first place. "And, if we do get down there, they'll see us coming out the back of yours for sure. If we get across, we can go through that house and out the back of there - where no one will see us."
"But they'll still see us!" he argued, apparently ignoring her now, too. "They'll catch us! You can't honestly expect..."
"It. Will. Work," Kitra replied, punctuating each word with a deliberate step towards the scholar. He swallowed visibly when he met her gaze, but finally nodded. Kitra turned and walked back over to the window, pulling herself up onto the ledge, picking up the other end of the rope as she did so.
Oh, it looked even more difficult from up here, from where she could see the ground was so far below. The desk and the ledge meant she couldn't get a proper run up, either - and that other roof was pretty far away... The magic curled around her chest, and she wondered, for one, fleeting moment-
No. She'd do this on her own. She was perfectly capable. Lana wouldn't have sent her, otherwise.
Kitra leaned back and took a deep breath before she jumped, figuring she was betting doing than thinking. With nothing but air beneath her feet, there was a moment of exhilaration, before she realised - she was falling far too short of the roof, far too quickly. She wasn't going to make it.
She pushed her hands outwards, not sure whether she was trying to grab hold of something or if it was just a feeble attempt to break her fall, but felt the flare and snap in her chest and the minute lift that had her close enough to the building's wall to grab and hold on.
Heart in her mouth, Kitra climbed the few feet up onto the roof, wondering if Aldan would recognise and know what she'd just done. The magic curled back around again, not asleep, merely... resting. Kitra curled her hands into fists, feeling her nails dig into her palms; now wasn't the time to focus on that!
Aldan had, in the meantime, ripped one of the curtains from the window and Kitra tied the rope around her waist, bracing herself as he slid down the rope, almost knocking her over in his landing.
"That... that was-"
Kitra slapped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet," she hissed. "We're not out of here yet!"
He nodded, and Kitra unfastened the rope from around her waist as she looked around. Satisfied that no one was watching, she lifted the trapdoor and motioned for Aldan to follow as she descended into the inky blackness of the house. She heard Aldan stifle a curse as he followed and rolled her eyes. If he couldn't even navigate stairs...
The house was, blessedly, empty, and Kitra managed to coax the door open without leaving any obvious signs on the lock. Aldan spent the whole time looking at her as if she'd grown another head and stayed silent until she told him she was sure they weren't being followed.
"So, Lana just decided you'd be the best choice?" were the first words out of his mouth.
Kitra felt herself scowl. "Yes," she replied tersely. "I'm good at escaping."
"Well, you're good at jumping," Aldan muttered. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Back to the House. Lana's there."
"Hm."
"What does she want with you, anyway?" Kitra asked, before the silence could become uncomfortable. "I mean, I know you asked for help - but why is anyone after you? Aren't you just a scholar?"
"I found something out."
"What? What can you find out that they'd wanna kill you over?"
Aldan glanced at the bag he'd thrown over his shoulder, the one Kitra had noticed he'd never let go of. "I found out about magic," he whispered.