Julia watched the confrontation, horror written all over her face. It isn't that she hadn't seen such gore before, but to be stuck in a place with no disguises, her sword at the smithy, she prayed to the gods that confrontation wouldn't find her otherwise she’d have to get very creative. Slinking deeper into her seat, Julia pulled her hood farther over her head, hoping not to be noticed by anyone. She slowly ate her stew, her eyes wandering around the busy tavern. She eyed the targets that lined the walls. This would be a rather decent place for her, if she could ensure her own safety. But she just didn't feel right without her sword. It made her look intimidating to say the least, or so she thought. She was missing a piece of her and stuck inside this hole of a rowdy tavern.
Blood splattered her way as the human smashed the glass into the elf’s eye. Apparently she wasn't far enough from conflict. She mixed the stew slowly with her spoon, only to find a few droplets of blood. A hand rising to her mouth, holding in what she could, she used the other hand to push the bowl away from her.
The room suddenly got very quiet as the tavern wench yelled “Tha’s enuff” … “Well, just like home I suppose” the words never escaped her mouth but certainly did cross her mind. She chugged down the rest of her whiskey. Time for her to move on.
Subtly, she reached down and grabbed the dagger from her boot. Moving her hand, she concealed it somewhere inside her shirt. She didn't feel like crossing through the tavern without easy access to a blade.
Julia crossed by the big man with no shirt as she passed through to the wench. She paid close attention to the elf, his features, the amount of blood he lost and the beating he got. She had no idea the details of the conflict, or even why it was started, but she hated bullies. She endured enough of her own share, being a half blood. Her gaze drifted to the human who had pummeled the elf nearly to death, the cowardly kicks he dealt to the elf, he would soon suffer, she would make sure of that. Her eyes were fixed on the human male as she made her way over to pay for her meal, pale blue swirls of death focused on the man for a long moment, even as she counted out what she had owed. The mental picture was made, every scar, every curvature of his features, his nose, his eyes, his lips .. And with that, she made her way upstairs to her room, securing the locks behind her.
The room was dimly lit, a wash basin near the far corner, a small bed against the adjacent wall. The next few hours seemed to fly by for her. During that time, Julia had bathed, groomed, organized her few belongings. Night met her as she wrote in her small black, leather bound journal. She looked up from her writing and glanced to the door. The noise from down below radiated all the way to her room, she could tell the tavern was still full of its drunk and rowdy patrons. This would be her test, how far can she go to get work in this town. She donned a change of clothes, black and dark grey leathers from head to toe. She laced up her boots which reached to her knees and pulled her hood over her head, tucking her hair out of sight. Her attire was finished with a cloak to conceal her figure, and a mask to complete her outfit, which was that of a wolf of dark grey fur.
Walking through her own door would have been too obvious, so carefully she crept out through the window. Trailing down the stone exterior of the tavern nearly ended in her own death. Her foot missed a spot within the stones and she slipped down a bit before catching herself on a nearby tree. “If only I stayed for more training” she thought quietly. She held onto the tree tightly, and for a moment longer until she caught her breath again. Once on the ground, she began to case the surrounding area and the entrance of the tavern. She needed to find her target once more, and there he was, sitting as his booth, ale in hand. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, then moved into the shadows. The act of killing him, she knew, would be an easy way to attract attention, enemies, allies, future employers. But she needed the coin, and this was the only way she knew how to get it discretely. Her hands clenched firmly into the dirt as she pulled up a chunk and rubbed it over her, hiding any scents, she had to be very careful, for who knows who was watching. The tavern was crowded, there was barely room to walk, let alone sneak by. But she was good at moving quietly. Any time someone would look in her direction, it wasn't very long before she was gone.
Finally, she made her way close enough to the man. Eye contact was all that she needed, to show him her beautiful, mesmerizing blue eyes which would have been the only feature to show through the mask. Success! He put down his ale and rose from his booth, saying not one word to anyone else at his table. She lured him to the back end of the tavern. With all the noise and chattering, shouting and drinking in the tavern, the sound of breaking a glass was the least of her worries. It was getting the deed done that would be the difficult part. She knew nothing about this man, not of his strengths nor weaknesses, or if he would be stupid enough to follow an alluring figure alone. But there he was, slobbering drunk and enraged with passion. Sultry in her moves, seduction in her eyes, she sauntered over to the man, the broken glass hidden behind her back. Her free hand moved to caress his face, fingers tenderly tracing over the gash on his forehead. She had him right where she wanted him.
In a quick dash, she moved, plunging the broken glass into his left eye. Her left foot stepped behind her as she reached for her dagger, quickly stabbing the man, several quick successions in the chest. The man gasped for air, one hand on his eye, the other reached to grab her. She evaded his grasp, but in doing so, managed to knock over a few barrels, causing several to look her way. They might have caught a glimpse, but she was already on the run. All they would've seen was a small figure, drab in dark colors, dashing out of the tavern.
She couldn't stick around to revel in her accomplishment. They’d find her. Outside the tavern, there was plenty of shade to shelter her. Quickly making her way back to her room through the window, she changed her clothes and took to the comfort of her bed, the knowledge of what she had done leaving a smile on her face as she rested her head back on the pillow. “Tomorrow will be a brand new day” she whispered softly to herself.
