[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/necCR92.png[/img][/center][hr][sub][color=darkorange]Location:[/color] The Eye of the Beholder[/sub][hr][hr]

Elio stilled at the weight of Aliseth’s hand on his shoulder, amusement clear on his face as the guard chugged his drink. Then Aliseth gave him a smile, cupped his fucking [i]cheek[/i], and in the most condescending voice possible, told Elio to [i]grow up[/i]. 

Everything about Elio sharpened. His muscles tensed and coiled, and his eyes flickered with a dangerous glint. 

He wanted to [i]play[/i] today? [i]Fine[/i]. Elio didn’t know what frozen-ass [i]bug[/i] Aliseth had caught, but Elio was going to fracture him like a sheet of ice until the man was nothing but shards melting against the heat of his hands. 

And then the guard leaned across the bar towards the innkeeper and murmured — [i]murmured[/i], like he actually wanted the blight-born close enough to hear him — that there’d been a murder. Of a [i]guard[/i]. 

The stillness Elio held now wasn’t of a predator looking at its next meal. It was cold and careful. The light in his eyes shifted. [i]Hardened[/i]. 

Aliseth stood to leave — like he could just [i]walk away[/i] after that. 

Still leaning back against the bar, Elio shot his leg out to knock against the guard’s now empty chair. It shoved forward with a screech against the floor, the edge of the seat colliding with the back of Aliseth’s legs, forcing him back down. 

[color=darkorange]“What happened?”[/color] The mirth was gone from Elio’s voice. His expression was stony. His eyes moved over Aliseth again, reassessing. Those stains on his uniform were deep and saturated in the tavern’s firelight. He’d mistaken them for mud before — but he saw the crimson hue now, the scratches… he looked back up at Aliseth’s face, took in the hollows under his eyes. 

Aliseth wasn’t just reporting information — whatever had happened, he’d [i]been there[/i]. And now, instead of going on the hunt or securing the townsfolk or being laid up in bed, [i]Aliseth Kain[/i] was here [i]drinking[/i] about it. 

[i]How[/i] had it happened? Wasn’t the fucking [i]sun-prick[/i] supposed to be vetting all the blight-born? Or was he too busy hooking up with his blighted [i]mistress[/i] to bother doing his job properly?

[color=darkorange]“Which guard?”[/color] he demanded. Elio’s eyes darted around the tavern. He hadn’t seen Zeph for most of the day — he knew he’d been stationed here for the feast but the kid wasn’t exactly [i]known[/i] for following orders… part of the reason why they got along. His hands tightened into fists, his knuckles pulling his skin tight. [color=darkorange]“Zeph?”[/color]

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[sub][color=darkorange]Interactions:[/color] Aliseth Kain [@Dark Light]
[color=darkorange]Mentions:[/color] Syraeia Leela [@PrinceAlexus], Zephyros Hale [@The Muse] [/sub]