... How did things end up like this?

--A grossly-timed cough, blood hacked from his throat and sprayed all over; even over the other's face. His skin tone paling as the red liquid rolled down from the corners of his mouth, dirtying his teeth and chin, subsequently his hair too. The wound pulsing with pain, a hand moved over to check for its severity. Right in his left side, too! Glazed over his skin with his fingertips to feel the dampness, blood cascading down his hip as it stained his pants gradually.

This, is a first.

Never before was Jan Ren outright stabbed before, nor could he recall he sustained damage to that degree. He's always been rather fine, and believed wholeheartedly he didn't give anyone in his life up to now a solid reason to assault him out of the blue, discounting NPCs in quests that nobody reads anyway. Eyes-widened, time seemed to slow down as the Sinese could feel his conscious fading, his mind racing. Panicking internally, but not externally. How would one go about cloaking their inner state? In the first place, how does one even react when stabbed? Do they stab back? "(I, I don't have a means to stab back...)" --would be his prevalent thought.

Somehow, he held on. Still awake, still standing. It hurt like all hell, and in a dark alley like this, no one was coming to help neither was anyone going to find him. The perfect spot to assassinate someone, Jan Ren would eventually come to consider himself a lucky man for not having his throat slit, instead simply stabbed in the side! Though as of the immediate moment, he couldn't view it as anything other than the life-threatening hardship it was. On the other hand, the foe, per se, was cute, and he wasn't going to discount that fact in the slightest.

So through all those thoughts, through every possible option he ran in his mind in those 6 seconds of idleness -- turned into 6 minutes in his pace-rushed head, Jan Ren eventually came up with,

"P-Pardon me, miss..." He started weakly, forcing a benevolent yet clearly threatened smile; "Could you please, c-... Call a medic...? And possibly, remove t-that, dagger there..." How polite ~

Amidst all the blood, the human’s pale skin carried a sheen of sweat. The Voidling reached forward to twirl a lock of his sleek, black hair around her fingers and throughout every lasting moment, her eyes never betrayed her intentions. “Oh dear,” she whispered, and her lips curved into a wicked smile. “No, don’t speak–,” she warned softly, but every word the rogue spoke was laced with poison. The contract had been simple: assassinate the frivolous, wife-stealing sinese. She usually didn’t operate on this level of mortal pettiness, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Nuala Nazari was stuck in Marigold Town with only the Captain’s mediocre sex drive to satisfy and after a few weeks of playtime, the woman had gotten bored.

Much to Nuala’s delight the mortal she had stabbed mere moments ago was utterly enchanting. He was unsuspecting, and caught entirely off-guard by her assault and hadn’t it been for the hefty sum she had been paid by the husband of the woman he had (allegedly) screwed, the rogue might have let this one go just to watch him waddle around and ruin a few more marriages. “You are making a mess of your pretty outfit,” she chirped sweetly, and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth. Nuala’s amethyst eyes glared intensely at the young human, and with anticipation she waited to hear his last words.

And once he spoke them, the Voidling broke into laughter.

He slumped over and Nuala swiftly dodged the falling body by sidestepping. The deed was done, and she would return to her chambers and finally take a shower – or so she thought. When the Voidling kneeled down to remove her weapon, her gaze fell onto the tattoo on his back hidden beneath blood-soaked layers of clothing and once she recognized its meaning, she almost choked.

Oh no, she thought to herself, her own complexion now visibly paler than before, no, no, no, no, no! Kaiser Bo had only recently surprised them with the successful formation of an alliance between Daeva Eye and Blue Pegasus and even the antisocial assassin had been pleased by the news. To say that murdering one of their members was bad for business was probably an understatement. Without wasting any more time, Nuala scooped the poor thing up and sped through the darkened alleys of Marigold Town until she arrived at what appeared to be a sparsely furnished apartment in a fairly remote location. She dumped the cold body onto the bed and spent the next few hours fixing up what she’d broken and while Nuala was by no means a wizard, she was able to work some magic and the boy lived – for now.

The hours went by and he soundly slept through all of them. In the meantime, the antsy woman had prepared everything for his return to the living – even a speech. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Nuala reminded herself that it’s ‘okay to stab people’ and that ‘people stab each other by accident all the time’. But regardless of how their first conversation would go, she would stab him again before admitting her mistake to her guild’s mistress, that much was certain.

When he began to stir, Nuala hurried to his bedside and took a seat. He had been cleaned, properly bandaged and would be offered food and whatever other services he required to keep his mouth shut – in hindsight, he might even be grateful for her assault and all the doors it would open for him. The Voidling’s attire was different from the previous night and Nuala now wore a simple, black dress whereas her purple hair fell loosely beyond her shoulders. Once Jan Ren opened his eyes, she flashed him a genuine smile.

“Rise and shine, my dear.”

It didn't take long before the Sinese had fainted, falling down as he lost all consciousness; blood dripping from his wound threatening to end his life, with the young man powerless to do anything on the matter. That, was probably it. Alas. ...

...
...
...
...?

"NGUH--!!!"

Nguh.

Snapping up awake with a weird sound, Jan Ren raised up almost instantly, sitting up in his bed without even comprehending where he was, what has happened or whoever was around him. He aggressively exhaled from his nose, taking a deep yet hastened breath as his body turned erect, recently reopened eyes quickly gaining vision as he started piecing where he was. Still, somehow, oblivious to the wound at his side which should have stung a lot with that man-- "MMMMF---!!!"

Ah. There it is.

Almost instantly upon his sharp jerk, the Sinese' body trembled as his left side jolted unbearably painful sensations through his body. Eyes shut strongly as he bit at his lip, hands moving to hold at the recently patched wound, hidden under a multitude of bandages. By some miracle, it hadn't opened up from his recent charade. For someone so near-death moments ago, he was awfully energetic it appears. "Ow...!!!" He hissed, slowly regaining proper mental posture as the pain snapped his mind into activity. Now, ready to face reality, in a sense. If we were allowed to curse, he'd have used a different, much more vulgar word to express his pain.

Head turning towards the Jezebel, one eye opened as he stared at her face from up-close, a good moment taken to examine her charming features. And that, would be all the painkiller he needed. That, and her bold figure. "...O-Oh." He let out, unintentionally; "Hey there~." He let out, intentionally. Play it cool. The Sinese flashed a well-practiced smile at the woman, masking his pain (futilely as cold sweat rolled down his forehead) as he made a short bow, still seated on the bed. Hands removed from his aching side and placed by the sides of his body for the gesture alone. "('My Dear'? What is this...?)"

A quick look around him told that the young man was transported, from the dark alleyway he took as a shortcut, to this half-dump of an apartment, barely decorated but hosting most needs. He was, in bed. While he wouldn't see it right away, his pants were awfully dirtied with his own blood; though instead he'd lay his eyes on the white blanket neatly covering everything below his waist. Though the furniture wasn't much of an attraction, the lady by his bedside certainly was. A real looker, rarely-seen purple hair and stunning features as well as a figure that just happened to be his type. The bandages around his waist were certainly not there before, which suggested that this friendly woman tended to him, for he was injured.

Truth be told, Jan Ren couldn't recall what had happened hours ago. Simply accepting reality at face value for the moment, shifting in bed to properly face the other with a smile. "Pardon me, miss." The young man opened up, once more (ironically with the same words previously used); "Where exactly are we?" In light of the jolting pain he'd experienced, a part of him feared the question was taboo and could knock him out cold should it have gone wrong. Though, the immediacy present in his lack of knowledge was ever-pressing. Much as Jan Ren would have liked to leave his fate in the hands of a beautiful woman like this, even he couldn't ignore the elephant in the room.

Seriously, what happened last night...?

When Jan Ren jolted awake, the Voidling was taken aback by the suddenness of his movements, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh–” she whispered in mild shock after a gasp escaped her lips, but regained her composure with relative ease–and almost immediately. His confusion became apparent when he disregarded any pain, and Nuala could see the exact moment in which his senses returned to him. A part of her felt sorry for the human, and she reflected those emotions with a crooked, half-hearted smile.

“Hey there,” the dark-haired female responded, and the markings on her skin gave off a faint, purple glow.  “We are in a safe place, in Marigold. You are injured, so I brought you here.” Her hand reached out and with gentle motions the woman patted the sweat from his forehead and eased him back into the sheets.

Jan Ren showed no signs of hostility, nor did he seem to remember her evil deed. Good, the Voidling thought to herself–she could work with that. “Amidst all the chaos, I think I missed your name?” Her lips curved into a smirk, and Nuala moved to pour the Blue Pegasus mage a glass of water. In her obsidian gown, the woman appeared more otherworldly than ever; the long, wide sleeves, a slash at the side of its long skirt and the exposure of both her decollete and her back revealing a toned physique and more strange markings all over her body added to the mystique of her persona. “Here,” she offered, her voice as soft and sweet as could be. “Have some water.” If he was in need of assistance, Nuala would bring the glass up to his lips.

For a moment there, the Voidling couldn’t help but wonder – was he worth all the effort, all the trouble? Of course Nuala was grateful for a change of scenery and events, but the assassin wasn’t used to hanging onto every word of a target she was meant to kill – just to see if he remembered the failed attack. But regardless, perhaps something good would come out of this situation. He seemed likeable enough, somewhat polite and absolutely clueless. Basically, her favourite type of human.

Nuala wasn’t the type to beat around the bush and once she had given the human some water she seated herself again, this time onto the right side of the bed, and crossed her legs. Her hands rested in her lap, and her hip long hair covered the entirety of her backside, with a few loose strands of purple framing her pale face. “After suffering such trauma, it must be hard for you to remember what happened, but perhaps you can give it a try anyways?” Her right hand found its way to his shoulder and she gave him a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Now Jan Ren was quite biased, and he wouldn't do much to deny that fact. However, at the stunning woman's greeting and her literal glow, the markings on her face unnoticed in particular until they too showed prominence, the Sinese couldn't help but gulp down. Complying with her gentle push as he was nudged back to laying down, soon granted a glass of water to recoop. He'd naturally examined her figure, up and down as his slightly widened eyes hadn't moved a stray away from the woman. The gown complimented her features well, revealing in the appropriately suggestive areas to create an air of hospitality, yet adventurousness at the same time. In short, sexy. Her toned appearance hadn't been missed on him either, and the young man took note of her near-perfect physique.

"Thank you." He said, almost sheepishly as he was taken aback, gulping down the glass of water a bit too quickly. "(It's a Goddess.)" He mentally declared; "(I am in the presence of an actual Goddess!! There is no other explanation!!)" --No, there are many other explanations, Jan Ren. However, his mind was set. And he had to resist the urge to praise the woman for her excellence, in light of simply waking up to the scene alone. He knew nothing of her, besides her kindness and overly appealing appearance.

"...Hmmmm..." A perplexed expression plastered over his previously stunned face, as the young man pushed himself up once more, closing his eyes some as slowly the memory resurfaced (I think?). "What happened... I was, uhhh..."

...
...

...Let's turn the clock back a bit.

"Thank you for tonight, miss." The weasel had certainly tried working his charms upon the woman, though upon hearing of certain circumstances revolving her situation, was quickly discouraged and with a disheartened expression, shoulders slumped and an uncharacteristically pessimistic outlook, the Sinese was quick to lay off. He'd hated the idea of the woman frolicking around with others whilst still in a committed relationship, one set with the boundaries ever-present in your standard 'ownership'.

Drat. If only she wasn't married, he may have actually gotten something! --Though truth is, the young man had supposed blocking himself rather than dealing with the later consequences would be wiser, despite a big part of him tempted to act upon the atmosphere created regardless. He saw her back not too far away from her home, per her words, after a pleasant night of meet-and-greet and an intimate conversation (some touching involved, shamefully) by a detached piece of heaven (read: some garden).

With a sigh, Jan Ren had turned tail and looked up to the night sky. It was already far too late, and while he enjoyed himself on his makeshift accident-of-a-date, it ended with an oddly bitter note and by this hour, he'd much rather return home to his inn. "Well. Small wins!" Psyching himself out of the bummed state, the Sinese would give props to himself for today's flow, if anything.

With the hour being so late, he'd decided to take a couple shortcuts on the way back to his inn. He'd been paying there for a while and the innkeeper had already learned his name and profession well enough to display familiarity with his routine. He'd easily notice and comment about Jan Ren's late return. Shortcuts would also lead him back to bed the quickest way, and with the time he'd spent in this city, was also confident enough in his knowledge of the alleyway outline. Though as he nonchalantly took the stroll back, some looming presence seemed to bother him. Two times, the Sinese had stopped to look back, only to see nothing behind him.

"Hmmm... Odd." He'd comment, out loud, on purpose.

Until finally, on one assertive turn...

It appeared that all of Nuala’s efforts had come to naught. The boyish-looking human remembered her and she watched with keen interest as his memories returned to him, and his mind sprung to life – his expression changed from cluelessness to shock and when their eyes met, the well-trained rogue gave him a half-hearted smile. “In my defense, I was paid a decent sum for a simple job. You probably would have done the same,” she sighed wearily and shrugged her shoulders. Still, he couldn’t die and she wasn’t going to return the money – after all, that is not the kind of business this was. Nuala gave the Blue Pegasus associate a pat on the shoulder and stood up.

“I think it worked out in our favour,” she continued and walked across the room to fetch him a warm bowl of rice porridge with some vegetables and chicken. The tone of Nuala’s voice was calm and nonchalant, as if the rogue was talking about the weather. If he had the nerve to pay attention to it, he would take notice of her unusual accent and the way in which she carried herself: a seasoned soldier with an otherworldly mystique.

“I get to keep my money, and you get to keep your life–,” she smiled again and placed the tablet carrying his meal in front of him. “If you keep quiet about this incident, of course, which I’m sure you will. We’re allies after all.” And with that, the Voidling had once again seated herself by the bed and whisked her long hair away to reveal the tattoo on her lower back. Whether or not the young man was aware of the alliance yet wasn’t known to her, but it was her best bet.

If he chose to eat something, then Nuala would simply keep quiet and stare at him for a while. There was nothing particularly interesting about the human male; his instincts were feeble, his physique average at best and his defenselessness a major weak point to his worth as member of a more or less recognizable guild – but from what she had heard, Blue Pegasus didn’t seem to care much about their members fighting qualities anyways. Their motives were oddly superficial and ‘looking good’ was what defined them. It was shallow, but at least it was something that this one could keep up with. He had a pretty face and Nuala liked that.

The Voidling hoped for a quick recovery–not for the humans sake, but her own. Nuala could think of better places to be and better people to be with, but she supposed she owed him at least some company while he licked his wounds. “I’m Nuala of Daeva Eye, and our guilds recently formed an alliance.” The woman finally decided to formally introduce herself and while she spoke their eyes locked. “Consider our meeting a lucky coincidence, because someone else would have no reason to save you,” said Nuala and arched a brow. She had pulled out her dagger from underneath her dress and began to play with it–not in a threatening manner, of course. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t judge you for what you did," she went on and her words were followed by a wink.

"Monogamy is quite the overrated concept after all.”

The realization hit him like a truck. Face paling as he couldn't remove his eyes from the woman, now not just in charm but in some fear too, the young man couldn't begin to wonder why she would stab him, then tend to his wounds so attentively. The wound throbbed, sending a paining sensation through his body as chills ran down his spine. What is this? Excuses?? Money?? He almost screamed when she then pat his shoulder. Her status changed awfully quickly at the revelation, as much as the Sinese would have liked to deny this obvious truth, it was impossible with all the signs hinting (read: telling of) it.

"(A Goddess?? Goddess of Death, maybe!!)" He would mark this day as the day in which he'd met face-to-face with the Reaper.

Unpleasantly, the Reaper was really cute. A nice consolation prize if anything.

"Keep quiet--??" How was he supposed to keep quiet about almost dying!? "Allies...? Is this because you sa--" Oh, that's what this is is. Bribery! The woman had already received her money from whoever it was that hired her to make the hit on Jan Ren, and with the opportunity observed, she saw to it that he'd look dead, but kept alive in order to extort money from him directly! What a bit-- vixen!! Unbelievable!!

--As if. Much as the Sinese would have liked to jump to such conclusion, it soon turned to be false in her own testimony. Even with the food tray placed in-front of him, the young man had refused to eat for now, trying to piece together for his personal comfort, what kind of trouble did he get himself into. He hadn't recognized her guild tattoo -- and truth be told, if it wasn't for the awful lot of stress forced upon him, he normally wouldn't have attributed it to anything, especially considering its choice of placement and, honestly, the lady's figure around it. Naturally the latter is a lot more eye-catching than the former.

...Wait. Why would anyone order to kill him anyway? Monogamy?

"---Wait, wait wait wait. No." As soon as she finished talking, Jan Ren had violently shook his head in disapproval, sighing out as he failed to gather all necessary pieces for a proper reaction. He also removed himself from the bed, crawling from under the tray (mindful as to not spill any of it) and sitting down, facing her fully with his entire body. Hunched some as he was mentally defeated, opposed to his usually erect stature. "I don't get any of this!" He admitted, perhaps shamefully.

Locking his eyes dead-serious into the woman's, he took a short moment to think before opening up. "What's this about an alliance?? What is Daeva Eye?? Monogamy??" She'd been talking as if it was normal, but this was his life in danger here! She winked, spun her dagger playfully, tended to his injuries and even served him some food. He'd be grateful for each on its own right (yes, even the intimidating dagger spinning maneuver), but ultimately there was a specific question he had to get answered. He raised a brow;

"Are you hitting on me??"

---Wait, that's not it. He once again shook his head violently, black locks swung here and there in his denial of his immediate needs. "No! ...What exactly did I do to get stabbed??"

When Nuala motioned to pat the young man’s shoulder, she was taken aback by the look of shock and fear on his face. The Voidling knew that Blue Pegasus was most likely a guild of vastly different standards, but even if she expected their members to be soft and strangers to combat and danger–his reaction was surprising. He was terrified of her, and she couldn’t even understand why. Nuala Nazari was blissfully unaware of her own lack of empathy and from the rogue’s perspective there really wasn’t any reason for him to panic just because she had tried to assassinate him. “You are overreacting,” the woman finally said, almost looking a bit offended as she pulled her hand away.

He struggled to find footing in their conversation and the usually patient creature noticed herself growing more and more aggravated by the minute–he was quite irritating once he’d opened his mouth. The human refused the meal–rejection, but she could live with it–and sat up in an attempt to face her properly, but his posture remained inferior. She didn’t think it smart for him to move around so much with such a major injury, but Nuala figured that there would be no point in lecturing him any further – it didn’t seem as though he was paying much attention to what she was saying anyways.

Instead, the purple-haired woman remained silent and watched Jan Ren’s rant of confusion with a mixture of both amusement and annoyance. With all that talking and gesturing around, at least she knew that he was going to survive the night – and therefor his injuries. Once he’d healed, she’d owe him nothing and could finally forget about this. Even if Kaiser were to find out about this incident, she doubted the vampire would mind it very much so long as there were no casualties. The emotions and expressions on the human’s face switched like a flipchart and she almost felt the need to laugh at some point, for this was getting fairly ridiculous. Nuala had lowered her guard and almost considered appreciating the comic nature of the situation, when he blurted out that he hadn’t heard of Daeva Eye, nor their alliance.

Jan Ren rambled on before Nuala could say much, and his following question–or perhaps it was an accusation?–made the Voidling break away into laughter. The sound of her light, alien voice echoed through the room and before he could say another thing, her arm had lashed forward and the rogue tightened her grip around his throat. She squeezed it a bit, just enough to make him stop talking, before her fingers climbed up, cupped his jaw and squeezed his face into a position that would force him to look directly at her. “I’m gay,” were the first words she said before tilting his face to the side. “But sometimes I make an exception.” For a split second there, the Voidling’s mind trailed off to her Captain, but his memory was of no relevance right now. Instead, she flashed the man before her a harrowing grin.

“I was hired by a man, whose wife you allegedly seduced, to kill you. I intended to do as much, when I recognized your guild as an ally to my own and therefor I decided to nurse your pitiful ass back to health. To protect our bond, not you. Apparently this is all news to you, and it really doesn’t surprise me. Was that clear enough now?”

The boy would lie to claim a chill didn't run down his spine when suddenly his throat was clasped in the woman's palm. Assured now entirely, throughout her series of reactions, that she was nothing short of a lunatic, who had just so happened to fall into bad circumstances with him; the Sinese naturally gulped down in fear, eyes-widened as his eyebrows furrowed some. He really was clueless to all of this, and her deragatory approach wasn't helping him at all! So that 'nice' act from before was just a facade after all!?

And to think he'd be targetted for chasing a woman... When did so, Jan Ren wasn't even aware the lady was taken, and upon learning so, let it go! He wasn't guilty at all! He didn't do anything! Why would that get him in so much trouble!? If he knew that would be the case, he might as well would have went all the way with her too! Talk about terrible luck...

When she finally let him off, face forced to the side (a bit painfully), the Sinese complied. "...Hmph. I see." He said, half-complaining; still taking in all that's happened. He would fend for himself, that is to say, protest as to this accusation, if he felt like doing so wasn't endangering him further. But around this woman, he couldn't tell. A moment of silence dawned as the young man shifted himself, back into the bed; hiding his legs under the blanket once more (still mindful of the food he was served). This nut-of-a-woman could very well decide if he lived or died, and seemed not to care for human life at all. If it wasn't for his ties to Blue Pegasus, he actually would have died. Dejected, body slumped and head dropped some as he realized, this was far out of his control.

...Unless.

"AAAAAH-- My side--...!!"

The Sinese suddenly screamed out, an excrutiated expression plastered over his face as his posture slumped down further, body going limp as he conveniently laid his head against the pillow he was so generously granted.

"It hurts, it hurts...!! It feels like... I'm going to die..." Some high time working in the theater has granted him this flawless new skill: Acting (read: Bullshitting). It also helped that the wound had began throbbing just as his breathing had picked up (just a moment ago when his face was grabbed), bleeding lightly through the bandages. Nice timing, blood! Jan Ren laid himself down on the bed to find relief, closing his eyes slowly as his face muscles slowly loosening as he 'drifted out of conscious'. "If only... Someone could, help me..."

Yes, it was lowly. Yes, it was cowardly. But it was also, very convincing (he'd self-proclaim). To be fair... She had just acted out for his favor just now, right? Well, two can play this game. Ironically, she could decide if he lived or died instantly; but, he had one card to hold against her. And that, as it turns out, was in her honesty. If she had decided to nurse him back from the wound, that meant he could use that to his advantage; as the only tool he held to his power. He was already supposed to be helpless in this situation, what more could he possibly lose??

"Ahh, Mother... I'm leaving you..."

When Jan Ren started screaming in agony, the Voidling exhaled a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose–she was exhausted, annoyed and clueless as to how she wanted to continue. Nuala’s shoulders slumped and she let go of him at once, paying little attention to his complaints at first. His body went limp, he appeared to be in a lot of pain and while it was below her to feel pity, the rogue would rather help him ease his discomfort than to listen to his yelping and whining for any longer. “You’re not going to die,” the woman muttered under her breath, clearly defeated by the sound of her voice.

The Voidling walked over to a table positioned under a window, on the other side of the room. It was past sundown now, and a quick glance beyond the curtains revealed to her that the streets had already emptied. Good, she thought to herself. This will do. Nuala retrieved a clean set of medical supplies and returned to the Blue Pegasus mage’s side. “I’ll clean your wound and change the compress, so stay still.” If she’d known that he would be such a hassle to deal with, she would have just let him die. He was nothing like the humans she’d met in the recent year, and as her mind went to a very particular, blue-haired mercenary a genuine smile had found its way to her lips. Humans certainly weren’t the issue here, it was just this one’s personality that was so unbearable.

Nuala carefully removed the bandages and began cleaning the wound. It was healing well, but was without a doubt still fresh. His lungs weren’t injured, which was the main reason why he still lived–if she’d punctured those, he would have died shortly after her attack. The woman remained silent throughout the entire procedure, since her voice seemed to frighten him; with delicate, skilled fingers she disinfected the cut and gently placed a new compress underneath a new bandage. It took some time to finish, since Nuala was in no hurry, and once it was done she cleaned up the used utensils and proceeded to disregard his existence. If anything, he seemed to be better off on his own anyways.

“Is there anything else you need? If not then I’ll take my leave.”

Much to Jan Ren's pleasure, this lie worked like a charm. While his injury did start bleeding he didn't feel actual pain, and faked the entire act just to cause more trouble for the woman. A part of him figured she'd be on to his antic and flat out stab him again or at least threaten him. It appears he did learn a thing or two from fellow actors in Marigold, and a specific imp from Penumbral Guard. This is going to come in handy!

...It took some while and considerable consciousness on his part as to how he was carrying himself, but it appears that treatment was complete in a short while. "(Huh.)" He thought to himself as he abstained from moving much as his wound was being treated; "(I definitely thought she'd say something, but she's being awfully quiet.)" Wonder what's that about. Her dismissive attitude aside, Jan Ren would come to grant her some point in respect for taking the task seriously enough. Maybe he was just that convincing that she had no choice but to! Vanity at work. "(I'll have to thank her later for this.)"

Shortly after, the young man opted to sit up once again, cold sweat still rolling down his upper body. He wasn't at his best, but could still ignore the wound enough to move as he pleased (probably). And such, would conclude this streak of misfortune with women. From a devious, married woman that got him in trouble, to this murderous Goddess he so happened to be in an alliance with.

...Psyche. "Yes, actually."

He replied, expression neutral for once. He'd come to accept for the most part what kind of person he was dealing with, and how his reactions (besides apparent pain) wouldn't gear anything pleasant from her part. They wouldn't get along, ever. But if he could exploit his adversaries through her, such would be welcome. "You said you were hired by someone to kill me. But, believe it or not, I actually didn't do anything. Basically, you got the wrong person."

It was a longshot, and he didn't think she'd trust his word right away. But it was important to clear out his name, especially considering the two were now "allies". "I'd like to see a picture of the one you were intended to hit. And... I'd like to pay your client a visit."

Yes, actually.

The Voidling’s darkly tinted lips twisted into a most roguish smile; what an unexpected turn of events, she thought and masterfully contained the sudden shift of excitement she was experiencing–perhaps the evening wouldn’t be so bland after all? Nuala never met anyone from this guild, Blue Pegasus, that Kaiser decided to ally with and while the sneak thief didn’t question her mistress’ decision, she also wondered what exactly it was about them, that had caught the vampire’s interest. Yes, they were pretty to look at, but that could hardly be the reason for it all. The woman slowly turned around at his suggestions and smiled a bleak smile. The woman slowly turned around at his suggestions and smiled a bleak smile. Unfortunately she didn’t have an answer for him and even if she wanted to tell the young male the truth, she most certainly wouldn’t be able to.

“I don’t know,” she admitted and gave him a shrug.

Truth is, Nuala hadn’t been the most professional of assassins in the most recent of times; too much distraction had occurred for the Voidling to focus on the usual hit & kills and to be frank, at this rate she was straight up being sloppy. The woman fully turned towards the Blue Pegasus mage and inhaled deeply, searching for the words to explain something that’d come out the wrong way regardless of how delicate she was–and Nuala wasn’t one to be delicate, ever. “If I’m being honest, I never recieved a picture or a name to your contract, but I was being given a more or less detailed description of your appearance,” she paused for a bit and looked him up and down. “And..well,” in that moment, Nuala averted her stern glare and avoided his gaze to stare into the nearest corner. “I guess your landsmen all sorta kinda look the same, so I suppose it could have been anyone from that..area.” The Voidling finished off the last sentence by poorly gesturing towards the direction in which she believed Sin and Joya to be.

“Besides, sometimes all it takes for a person to become a target is to be incredibly annoying.”

She gave him a knowing look and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You still haven’t told me anything about yourself, so if you want to know more you’ll have to start talking or else I don’t see us getting anywhere with this.” Nuala usually didn’t do this, but he couldn’t be killed so she might as well play along with him–even if it was just to see where it would lead. The Rogue wasn’t one to mess with clients since it was obviously bad for business, but that one petty person met nothing to her. Still, the raven-haired human was injured and she doubted he’d get anywhere anytime soon looking like this.

At least not without her help.

... ... ... ... ... "...You're kidding, right?" Oh my god, she really wasn't kidding.

With her increasingly understood situation, listening to Nuala's input; Jan Ren's serious expression steadily grew more deadpan, shoulders slumping as he didn't really want to believe what was happening. He knew he didn't do anything wrong, but to hear he was mistaken with such a vague description was in a way, even worse. His luck was bad enough to get stabbed, but off the pool of Sinese or Joyans in Marigold, it had to be him? That's just silly.

His emerald eyes remained locked on her purple's, unmoving regardless of her apparent avoidance. He'd lie if he claimed it wasn't cute, in a very disturbing way. "Hmm." He brushed off, not giving her blatant hint at a threat any mind. No time for that, he already knew she found him annoying! Focus on what's important!! Calmly, the young man shook away his unimpressed feeling, acknowledging that the odd woman was his only lead to finding whoever got him in trouble.

He'd have to give Alisa some credit in aligning with this shady lady, and her guild. ...In a way.

"Right you are." The Sinese stated, taking his time shifting in bed and making conscious effort not to move his injured side too much. Last thing he'd need is to act out more pain than he'd already experienced, in light of the wound opening again. Plus... It'd mean more time wasted on having her, right now, patching him up. Much as the thought of torment could be pleasant, it wasn't in his usual style. "Very well. I am Jan Ren from Blue Pegasus." He started, introducing himself as he made a small bow, lifting his gaze up to look back to her eyes. "I'm actually a new member of the guild." Obviously; if he'd been a veteran, he'd never get struck like that out of the blue.

Despite the level of resentment he held, the Sinese capped his introduction off with a well-practiced smile; as if replying to her own constant elated expression. "Nice to meet you." Purely out of mannerisms. Who in their right mind would say that whole deal was a pleasure??

...Probably someone with some odd taste.

Jan Ren took to standing up, feigning weakness as he steadied his stature. He could stand, but not walk without hiding the pain. "In that case, we'd better get moving." He said, looking to the door. "If we're looking for someone who looks like me, fortunately there aren't many options to go over. We'll find the real target in no time..."

And as luck would have it, he'll have to look up the client by himself, much later.

“You seem to be new to many things, Jan Ren of Blue Pegasus,” said Nuala. The Voidling’s lips thinned into a bleak smile and she lazily gazed out of the window. His interest in investigating the situation further didn’t find Nuala’ support however, and when the human stood up she dismissively waved her hand. “I don’t think you will have much luck tonight,” she spoke quietly and walked over to the table, where she took a pen and wrote something down on a piece of paper. Nuala handed Jan Ren the note and move him back onto the bed. “This is all the necessary information you will need, if you truly wish to confront this man. I do believe this is a rather lenient matter, but the choice is yours.” The Voidling wasn’t going to assist him any further–she had other places to be, and it was getting late.

His sudden change of mannerisms and apparent personality had peaked her interest in him, but now was evidently a bad time to continue their conversation. The woman grabbed a long cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders; she pulled the hood deeply into her face, but the amethyst colour of her eyes shimmered through the darkness. “When I first heard of this alliance, I really wasn’t sure why she’d do something like that, with people of your kind,” Nuala whispered; the woman was referring to her guild’s matriarch, Kaiser Bo and the sometimes questionable decision the vampire made in order to bring their guild forward. “You and us, we’re not similar at all, but I think I can see why there is a potential overlap in how we do things,” she flashed him a grin and moved towards the door.

With her hand on the doorknob, the Voidling looked over her shoulder and at the raven-haired man. There was something about him she found rather attracting–in a visual, physical sense that is–but his weakness and skittish behavior put too much of a wall between them, at least for now. Perhaps things would be different if they met another time, under different circumstances. “This place will be your shelter for as long as you wish. Rest well, Jan Ren. I’m sure we’ll meet again, in this world or another.” And with that, the Voidling disappeared into the night. Her last words to him might have sounded ominous, with little sense or meaning behind them, but for the non-human immortal it was natural–and inevitable. She headed through the darkened alleys of Marigold Town until she arrived at the place she’d shared with the Captain for the past weeks and began planning her trip to her next location: Hosenka Town.

Once again, expectations unmet; Jan Ren's expression tightened some as he was once again pushed back to the bad, wincing visibly at the pain inflicted (read: feigned) when he was taken care of, once more. At the very least, the Sinese had to accept the bit of information granted to him by this odd criminal. Taking the piece of paper, briefly running his hands over it to make sure he wasn't being fooled; then shifting his gaze towards Nuala once more as she spoke, taking in every single word she said and giving it utmost importance. So despite taking responsibility for assassinating the target, she wouldn't go through with it, seeing how she got her pay. And with the insult in injury, she wouldn't stick around to see his antics go through? Makes sense, but annoying nonetheless.

Having to swallow down his pride before seeing that the alien had left him be, Jan Ren was now alone in the apartment. A moment passed, another. As he closed his eyes, trying to subdue his frustration in short-lived meditation. Coming to accept with himself, that such was a futile effort; he was not getting any calmer any time soon. Simply accepting his feeling, the young man promptly stood up from the bed again, looking out the window, sour-mood present in every inch of his body language.

"...Overlap? Not by a longshot. The likes of you? I can't begin to think why would Master decide to side with you lot." Though his words fell on deaf ears, seeing how there was nobody at the scene to hear. It was important for him at least to voice out his frustration. "Daeva Eye..." He recited, as if to keep the name closer to heart. He had many a thought regarding their guild, much in turmoil and solely out of spite, in his pride, respect and body harmed.

No longer having to feign proper act, Jan Ren hastened to step out the door, acknowledging such apartment he was to rest at, was not even belonging to Nuala in the first place. He was effectively trespassing the same way she was. And if he would get caught, he could simply feign the same weakness he had with the woman. Straightening his posture again, the Sinese marched into the night, resuming his pride.

He would not tell Alisa of the events that transpired there. This was his personal issue, and as it turns out, he alone held to it. Besides, he was taken care of at least.