How long had he been stuck in this room? Not that he was a prisoner, but he was trying to hide from the men looking for him. It was Neru's goal to get out of the city at night through the one part of the wall that had yet to have its gate filled in, as per his father's orders before he was taken away. The young man readjusted his rather unique weapon set, a pair of clawed gloves with a miniature crossbow on top of each forearm, before leaning out the window to check the street, it was clear. He climbed out onto the roof and made a split-second decision, taking off back towards the square via the rooftops. He could make his escape later, now he had to at least attempt to free his father from his semi-public execution. The thought of what happened brought anger to the forefront of his mind, the noble they served had seen fit to accuse his father of treachery on the grounds that he had killed another noble. In truth, their lord had simply ordered a man to be assassinated and framed his father because of his rise in rank and popularity. Neru shook these memories away, as they would simply cloud his mind when he needed it.
-
A hundred feet above Neru's rooftop soared a dark form that also had death in mind. Though the dragonfly wings kept up a steady droning beat, the hour was not yet so late that the city below wouldn't drown out any errant noise with its hubbub. People still walked the streets, heading from work to home or out to various establishments for a late bite to eat or early intoxicant. The silhouetted flier was not, at the moment, pursuing her goals. Instead, she stalked the man simply because she took pleasure in hunting the hunter. For a few minutes now both she and the Macula that clung to her right foot had been watching him closely. Clotho wondered what exactly he was up to.. Initially, she assumed he was a thief, particularly when the radiance of a streetlamp illuminated pointed metal in the vicinity of his hands. Judging by his movement, there was definitely purpose to his antics; in his journey he displayed a certain determination and eagerness that set him apart from the common criminal. The real thieves and evildoers of Virens, as she foggily remembered from her days as Nona, were not out prowling the streets or cavorting across roofs but reclining in their office chairs and looking out from their high glinting windows across the city they ruled. Seeing as the night was still young, the Swarm Keeper decided that she could spare a little time to find out where this man was heading. Normally she wouldn't have paid the worm any mind -the concerns of people were beneath her now- but some urge at the back of her mind pushed her to follow him. Thus, the faintly buzzing black shadow descended from the open air to only a few hundred feet above and behind the vagabond called Neru.
-
He was almost there, just a few more roofs and he'd be at the square. A chill ran down his neck that caused him to pause and spin around, feeling as though he was being watched. After confirming that there was no one there, and unconsciously swiping at a bug he thought near his ear, he continued on his way over the last few roofs. Unfortunately, he was too late, as he arrived to see his father's body on the ground in a pool of blood, with a couple others lying near him. He had managed to get free, it seemed, and fought instead of just rolling over and dying. A couple men had just started disposing of the extra bodies, and nearby there stood several men in robes or other high quality clothes. Most of them were what he called 'untouchables', crime lords with enough power in the city to easily avoid the laws, but his eyes fixated on one alone. That one man had earned his father's loyalty since before Neru was born, subsequently gaining his own loyalty as well. They served as soldiers for the city, the father rising in ranks while Neru had planned to join them in the near future. Then this. Once he had separated from the group, escorted by four of his own guards, Neru stalked the men he would kill for their betrayal through the alleys until they were at a quiet location before getting down to street level. He wasn't quiet, as he was too angered to be so, and the rear guard spun and uttered a few words, only for the others to turn and see blood splatter from the man's torn throat. It was uncharacteristic of him to not think of a strategy before engaging a group, but this was a rare occasion. The lord, a fairly pudgy man with medium black hair, full beard, and usually kind look, had a twisted grin on his face as two more guards stepped out behind him, likely thinking it was just another would-be assassin. The grin turned into a scowl and the guards noticeably flinched in both surprise and shock as Neru stepped over the body and into the lamplight, revealing his light-brown hair, fit figure, and green eyes, which had a strange glow about them in the lighting. "Neru..." One of them murmured, to which he responded bluntly, "That name is already no more." They understood what this meant and drew their weapons, knowing that despite the advantage in numbers, he could still kill them all if they weren't careful enough.
-
The gathering of men in the square elicited hatred from the flying watcher as well. In years prior, those crime lords had formed the top rungs of a long, insidious chain that reached down to an urchin girl living in the streets of Virens. A pretty face backed by a quick wit and in desperate want of basic material needs was an inviting prospect for the underlings of the crime lords, and so for several years Nona had been an off-and-on finger of their great, invisible hand. Minor theft and facilitation, however infrequent, bothered the girl. Despite her low upbringing, she had drawn some pride out of her self-sufficiency to keep her going, but serving as a lowly minion for the mafia-esque criminal organization eroded that. For a time, she had dreamed of rising through the ranks to become a ringleader in her own right, but naturally there was zero chance for self-improvement in this underground economy. She had sought release by leaving the criminal life behind, for which the higher-ups could honestly care less, and seeking aid from Theo instead. The memory of the bosses, though, identifiable only by intimidating nicknames and their appearances as whispered top her by various toughs over the years, stuck with her. The murder of these masterminds was the objective of the Swarm Keeper tonight, and by sheer luck the man on the rooftops had led her straight to them.

Clotho landed softly across the square from Neru, confident that his fixation on the people on the ground would keep her out of his attention. Back to solid ground at last, the Macula attached to her released its grip and fell onto the roof beside her. After struggling to regain its feet briefly, the insect climbed onto a nearby chimney and was still, watching the square balefully with its grungy abdominal eye. The blood of the executed man below, dark and congealing on the cobblestones, heralded the end of the gathering, and the crime lords went their separate ways flanked by numerous bodyguards. Clotho identified three big fish she wanted dead, but one of them -the pudgy one- was apparently also on the hit list of Neru, since the man followed him. "Trace the leg-breaker," she whispered to the Macula, indicating the beefiest of the lords as he vacated the square. With a chirp of affirmation the Macula left to shadow him. Every few minutes it would sing a few notes to denote the man's location and allow Clotho to find him again. The Swarm Keeper herself took off to follow the third, a very average man garbed in large-brimmed hat and a tailored dark-blue coat. The shadow of death -of ironic justice, even- fell upon Virens.
-
Now that some of the anger had been burned away by his killing of the guard, Neru was able to think. They would not be able to surround him, too little space to effectively do that in the alley, and they were all armed with swords without shields. So these were more thugs than actual guards. He was brought out of his thought process by a sharp and sudden pain in his thigh, and he looked down to see the guard he thought already dead had used the last of his strength to drive a dagger into the side of his thigh. This distraction was the others moment to attack, and attack they did. Despite this, however, Neru was able to lean out of the way of the first clumsy swing and drove his clawed gloves into his neck and jaw, pushing upwards until there was a sudden and audible crack. He used the limp body to slack a stab from his left and dropped it, forcing the blade out of the attackers hands. Neru shot a bolt into the man's eye, killing him instantly as it reached his brain. Just three left, not including the lord.

The last three were smarter, coming at him all at once, but that was predictable and Neru ducked below their attacks. He grabbed the sword arm of one at the side and swung him into the others, ignoring the dagger in his leg, causing them to stumble and one to fall. He dispatched the fallen one with his other bolt and and raised his hand at the others, palm outward. Neru had potential for magic, as much as he thought it difficult to learn, but he had one spell memorized that he selfishly dubbed 'ignition'. As they went to attack him again, a tiny fireball formed in front of his palm before it exploded outwards in a small shower of fire and sparks. While it did not kill them, it burned their faces and eyes, blinding them and making them useless. Now all that was left was the lord, the man named Toalu, who'd somehow pulled out a sword from under his robe. A look of hatred was in his eyes as Neru approached, and he swung downwards, making it too easy for Neru to catch his wrist and dig his claws into his skin. In seemingly one motion, Neru grabbed the sword with his free hand and with a flourish spun around behind Toalu and sent the blade backwards through the man's chest. Swiping his claws through the back of his knees forced Koalu down on his knees in an upright position. Pulling the sword back out, Neru swung it once more to behead him, only for the blade to stop halfway through his neck when a dagger hidden in the folds of Koalu's clothes was drawn and sent into his left ribs. It wasn't fatal, but the potential blood loss would be. So, with the nearly decapitated corpse forming a pool of blood, the man once known as Neru made his way out of the city.