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[Phyra Venture]

Phyra waited on the wall, wearing red. She had spent most of the afternoon on her hair; bleaching it, dyeing it, curling it. It was red as the sun, and matched the soft supple suede of the small vest and shorts she wore. Or rather, the vest and shorts matched her hair. Underneath she had a dark green shirt that left her midriff bare, tied in the front to expose generous cleavage. Her vambraces were of the same soft suede. Her mistcloak was cut short and had no strips of fabric at her front, no hood. She wore a green mask to match the shirt.

She waited silently as the night grew longer, as the stars, surprisingly visible tonight, glittered.

Maybe he didn't figure it out. Maybe he's on the other side of the river. Maybe he's at the garrison. Maybe he's not coming Her mind wouldn't stop wandering.

She burned copper, a garment to hide her. She burned zinc, fear, envy, and lust her accessories. She burned steel, iron, tin, and bronze, the better to see the night.

He would come, wouldn't he?

She hadn't decided what she would do if he did come. Let alone what she would do if he didn't.

[Kaylen Hasting]

Kaylen had stayed too long in the skaa slums with that boy. Racing towards the docks, Kaylen checked to see that the throwing knife Phyra had given him last night was still safely tucked away in its sheath. He wasn't really sure why he brought it, but it seemed like a good idea. His shoulder was still bound by her shirt, as Kaylen hadn't had a chance to see the healers at Keep Hasting. Burning iron, steel, tin and pewter, Kaylen soon arrived at the docks, for he was sure that was where Phyra's cryptic clue was to lead him. And he was right.

Despite the mists covering the night, Kaylen's tin helped him see Phyra clearly. And what a sight. Dressed in red shorts, a rather exposing green shirt and red vest, topped off with a short mistcloak and green mask matching her shirt, Phyra looked even more beautiful than she normally did. What really struck Kaylen, though, was the hair. Gone was her usual dark hair; in its place sat curls of firey red. He was stunned by her appearance. He thought for a second she could well be Rioting these emotions, but then he remembered something from their previous conversation; it didn't matter much whether she did or not, he was already feeling these things.

Stepping forward, he greeted her with a smile. "Wow. I'm grateful you didn't look as stunning as this last night; I would have ended up with lots more of these." He pointed to his shoulder. Coming closer, a quick burn of pewter gave him the dexterity he needed to hop lightly up onto the wall next to her.

[Phyra Venture]

She hopped off the crenelations, blew him a kiss for his compliment, and back flipped off the wall with a flare of pewter, catching his eye and smiling before she disappeared from view.

She had waited for him long enough. If he wanted to talk, he would have to catch her.

She threw a few coins as she fell, pushing on them to slow her descent, then tossed one against the wall and pushed.

She arced over the river, dropping a coin onto a midnight barge to reach the ground on the other side.

She flared her pewter, running as fast as she could.

[Kaylen Hasting]

"Oh, so it's a chase you want, is it? Well, I guess that's preferable to you trying to riddle me with coins and knives." Kaylen muttered to himself, not worried if Phyra heard it with her tin, as she blew him a kiss, then leapt off the city wall, landing on the other side of the river. Kaylen gave chase, burning his pewter in a dead run until he reached the river. Using the coin that Phyra threw onto the boat to slow his descent, he flew over the river, but miscalculated, and hurtled towards the ground outside of the city walls.

Throwing down a coin, Kaylen flared steel, sending himself soaring up into the air. Throwing down more coins, Kaylen was able to match and improve on Phyra's speed, although she was still a short distance from him. Soon, he was level with her, and he hit the ground running, travelling now by pewter instead of steel. He could see no destination in sight, so he allowed himself to drop behind her by a couple of seconds, and kept pace. watching her carefully for signs of slowing.

[Phyra Venture]

Phyra stopped suddenly, sidestepping primly, waiting for Kaylen to blow past her or trip and fall as he tried to stop. Either would amuse her to no end.

[Kaylen Hasting]

Kaylen saw Phyra suddenly come to a halt, and, as much as he wanted to, his momentum was carrying him far too fast to stop neatly like that. Crouching down to the ground, Kaylen skidded about ten feet away from Phyra. It seemed as if he was coming to a clean finish, but a rock jutting out of the ground had other ideas, catching Kaylen's foot and sending him rolling messily along.

He ended up in a heap about fifteen feet away from Phyra, mistcloak covered in ash. Standing up and walking over to her as if nothing had happened, Kaylen tried to casually brush off ash from his clothes. He had a feeling that Phyra had planned that for her amusement. For some reason, that fact didn't seem to annoy Kaylen.

She was fast growing on him, and he felt like he wanted to make a good impression on her too, and if that meant he was made to fall over his feet and make a fool of himself, well, he had endured worse.

[Phyra Venture]

She giggled and tittered as she covered her mouth. He fell like a man, and he got up like a man. Shamelessly.

He stood, walking confidently, futilely brushing off ash. Boys, she thought fondly.

His eyes were about the only part of him not dusted in ash now. Like a young boy after playing in ashwater. It was endearing. She rioted his self-confidence and soothed his embarrassment. She leaned toward him as he drew near, red lips parting, tempting. She placed a hand against his chest.

[Kaylen Hasting]

Kaylen noticed her laughing at him as he walked over to him, but he felt no malice in the laughter, but the genuine laughter of finding something funny. He smiled, feeling confident that it was him that had made her laugh, rather than him falling over. As they got close, she leaned into him, lips parted as if she wanted to kiss him, one hand lightly on his chest.

The sight of her standing close to Kaylen, expectant look on her face - as well as memories of last night, her kissing his cheek and neck, nibbling on his ear - stirred in Kaylen an overpowering romantic urge. Seemingly moving of their own will, he found one of his hands lightly resting on Phyra's waist, the other cupping her chin. He leaned in slowly, moving to complete the kiss.

"Phyra..." he murmured quietly.

Phyra Venture. Woah, if word of this gets out, it'll certainly cause a stir.

[Phyra Venture]

He smiled slowly. He was cute, she'd give him that. His eyes, red and blue shone in the night. He leaned closer, going in for the kiss.

Poor gullible boy.

She smiled and closed her eyes, then flared steel, pushing against the coin she had concealed in her palm.

She flew backward, laughing genuinely as he stumbled. He would chase, she was sure. She threw down a coin and jumped, flaring steel until she reached the top of the wall. She landed lightly, running along the wall.

Let him chase. She enjoyed a good chase.

[Kaylen Hasting]

As he leaned towards Phyra, she put her hand lightly on his chest. Unfortunately, Kaylen had stopped burning steel, and so had no way of knowing that she hid a coin inside her closed hand. A second before their lips touched, Phyra flew backwards, and Kaylen found himself staggering backwards as she Pushed against the coin on his chest, racing back towards Luthadel. Simultaneously laughing at and cursing his own gullibility, he stood, watching her move swiftly towards the city walls. Downing a vial of metals, Kaylen gave chase.

With his pewter burning, it wasn't long until Kaylen reached the city wall. Tall and imposing, it presented a sheer face to Kaylen, and climbing it would have been impossible. However, with iron and steel, Kaylen didn't have to climb it. Throwing down a coin, Kaylen noticed a stationary blue line stretching to the top of the wall, close to where Phyra was. Perfect.

Pushing off of the coin and pulling on the source of metal - which turned out to be a torch bracket - Kaylen soon reached the top of the wall, slowing himself near the top to avoid flying far higher than it. Landing with a soft thump, Kaylen turned and sprited after Phyra, pewter burning like a fire inside him, giving him balance, giving him speed.

[Brand]

Brand stared into the mist, his visor lowered. He glared at it with his one eye, daring it to intrude further into Luthadel.

Apperently, it dared. Bloody Mists.

He stood on the wall, nearly opposite the main garrison. He rarely knew which section of the wall his company would be assigned to until the night he was to be there. It was frustrating, but it wasn't his place to question his superiors.

All was quiet in the night. He stood with his halberd at a perfect 60 degree angle. His heels were locked together and his back straight. A few of his comrades were less attentive, but that would never be an excuse for him to slack.

he heard a noise to his right, and turned to see someone running along the top of the wall. Who would--

He was trying to ascertain who or what was approaching so quickly when he was pulled over, his armor tugged visciously. As his helmet rolled off and he hit the top of the wall, he saw a feminine figure in red and a mistcloak, laughing as she danced through the air above him.

Oh, was all he could think.

He knew to look out for mistcloaks but he had never seen such a daring and reckless display of acrobatics. He started to rise when he saw another figure approaching. He was running just as fast as the first.

Interesting habits these high lords and ladies had...

[Kaylen Hasting]

The soldier stood in a prefectly rigid stance, which hinted at his veterancy and expertise. As did the shock of white hair and large scar running down his face. He faced away from the city, scanning the outlying lands for any sign of intruders. Not that the mist was going to let him do much of that. Regardless, he kept up his vigil, waiting until an enemy struck. Suddenly, the guard turned, hearing someone running towards him.

Without warning, the guard crumpled as Phyra Pulled on his armour, then Pushed off it, catapulting herself further along the wall, and further away from Kaylen. As Kaylen approached the man, he decided to be a little kinder to him than his companion had been. Throwing his body forward, Kaylen dived over the guard, rolling along the wall as he landed. As he rolled, he placed a coin on the wall, and Pushed off of it with an almighty flare of steel as he sprung to his feet, closing the distance between himself and his quarry. A second coin made it so that he flew over her head as she ran, landing in front of her. He waited to see if she would stop, or simply breeze past him, continuing the chase.

[Phyra Venture]

Phyra slipped a small knife out of an inner pocket of the vest as she ran at Kaylen. She didn't slow, vaulting over his head with a flare of pewter, slicing the ties of his mistcloak as she flew upside down over him. Her left hand caught a tassel of the cloak and she dragged it behind her in the night, tearing it from Kaylen's shoulders.

She landed easily, and continued sprinting, then threw a coin to the side and pushed off the wall into the city. As she fell, she tied a few coins into the cloak and pushed it above her. A banner of conquest, displayed proudly in the night.

She pushed off a dropped coin, splashing in a puddle, and searched for a good hiding place.

Her giggling muffled, she drank a vial of metal to replace her rapidly diminishing pewter. She ducked down an alleyway, tossing the remaining metal she was wearing aside, and steelpushing it elsewhere.

He could follow, but could he find her?

[Brand]

Brand recovered quickly, grabbing his helmet and ramming it back onto his head. While he was readjusting the armor, a glint of metal caught his eye. He stepped forward and inspected the copper clip left on the wall.

For me? He tipped the brim of his helm at the now invisible nobleman. He had found coins on the wall before, and always added them to his own, but this was the first he had seen of where they came from.

Gifts for the soldiers from High Lords. The thought made him smile. Landra would love the story he told tonight. It would be about a great lord whose life had been saved by a soldier whose name the lord never learned. The lord would leave gifts of copper to the soldiers, in the hopes that he could repay the debt he owed.

There would also be a high lady, who the high lord wished to marry. She would fly through the night, laughing with joy, as her suitor gave chase.

Landra would giggle with delight when he brought out the slightly bent clip. He could see it now.

[Kaylen Hasting]

He had imagined she might stop and speak to him now he had caught up with her. He had imagined she might have ran past him, continuing the chase. What Kaylen hadn't imagined, however, was Phyra simply jumping over his head, cutting off his mistcloak and running off with it. Giving chase, Kaylen thought he could keep pace with her and get his cloak back, but she managed to lose him in the twists and turns of the streets.

He burned iron, trying to find the telltale metal lines that would give her away. He saw a few lines of metal moving, and followed, but then, unfortunately, they all spread out, and became stationary. Damn, she knows what I'll try. No doubt she'll either have copper burning, or not be burning at all, so bronze will be useless. He came to a stop at the point he had lost sight of her, and burned tin. Sounds from all around the night leapt towards him - the bored guard muttering to himself on the wall; the two people in the house next to him having a quiet conversation; the telltale signs of someone trying too hard to be quiet.

Someone trying to hide.

Moving towards the source, he saw Phyra in an alley, trying to stick as close to the shadows as possible. Flaring pewter, Kaylen reached her in a matter of seconds.

"You know, if you want to make yourself inconspicuous, you should try being less beautful."

[Phyra Venture]

She was surprised he had found her. She had considered herself well hidden in the alleyway. No, this one wasn't hopeless. He was a skilled allomancer, a decent tracker, and a perfect flatterer.

No this one would not merely be teased, he would be acquired. She would have him. She smiled at the flattery, giving him a quick peck on the lips, and a flare of zinc. He had earned it.

"I'll try to remember that, from now on."

[Kaylen Hasting]

The look on her face when he found her was quite satisfying. It was obvious she had thought herself so well hidden that Kaylen would not be able to find her. This proved that he wasn't as incompetent as Phyra might have thought. He half-expected her to congratulate him on his skill, but he totally did not expect her to do what she did.

The kiss, quick as it was, filled Kaylen with a strange warmth, which wasn't completely a product of the zinc. Could he be developing feelings for Phyra Venture? This was certainly an interesting development. Whilst it was true that he had felt feelings of physical attraction towards her, both before and after his journey south, this felt different, deeper. With the political tensions growing tighter every day, Kaylen would have to watch how these feelings influenced him.

Smiling, he held out his hand expectantly. "Now, I believe you have my mistcloak? Not that I'm adverse to you stealing my clothes, but there would certainly be a lot less questions if I returned home still fully dressed."

[Phyra Venture]

Phyra held out her hands, palm up. She crossed her legs and sat on the barrel she had previously been hiding behind. A mock guilty smile spread across her lips.

"I? Have your mistcloak? Search me, you will find no such thing on my person." Her smile grew mischievous, without losing the invitation printed on her face. His mistcloak was most certainly not with her.

"Have you misplaced yours somewhere in the city? What would your mother say about such reckless and irresponsible behavior.

"Perhaps I could help you find it, if you asked kindly."

[Kaylen Hasting]

A smile flashed across Kaylen's face at her offer. Whilst it sounded tempting, he doubted it would go down too well with Aaron. Whilst he was not overly worried about creating a rift between himself and Aaron, Kaylen got the feeling that damaging Phyra's relationship could end up with her being hurt, and that he did not want. For now, he would play it safe, and hoped that she did not take offence to him refusing to 'search' her.

Assuming a more formal stance, he bowed slightly, a humorous expression on his face. "Lady Phyra, I appear to have misplaced my mistcloak. I would consider it a great favour if you would kindly aid me in relocating it. Will you, please? I will believe that you do not have it; in that outfit, there are hardly any places to inconspicuously hide a mistcloak."

[Phyra Venture]

Phyra hopped lightly, perching on the edge of the barrel. "Of course, Lord Hasting. How could a lady refuse such a polite request?"

She hopped down from her perch and awaited Lord Hasting at the opening of the alley.

She had pushed the mistcloak rather high and it could be halfway to the Canal, at the wall, or anywhere in between. It may not even have landed yet. But more area to cover meant more time with Lord Hasting, and she was quickly coming to enjoy his company.