The road had been a long one, set with many trials and tribulations, but now he returned to the bustling city with more experience and more strength than before. The force of the wild was shining in his eyes, and the pride of a job well done swelled within him. Now he stood in the doorway of a familiar pub, and sadly saw familiar faces who eyed him with suspicion and disdain. However, he was a paying customer, and they did not turn him away. Annihilate moved to the bar a took a seat, and sighed as a familiar bar-keep stood in front of him with both of his hands planted firmly on the edge of the bar top. “Well?” the man blurted out coldly.

Anni didn’t like his tone, but he was far from ready to deal with the fat man. His time would come though, Anni would make sure of that, but for now he accepted the man’s attitude stoically. “Roast duck, bread, cheese and a mug of krognith,” he said tiredly, before reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small bag of gem stones, “And a room.”

Though his actions had made the fat man flinch the sight of the shimmering gems softened his disposition towards Anni. He smiled happily, and pocked the gems before going to his cook and prodding his shoulder. The female cook rose from a chair she’d been sleeping in, and when she realized who and what had the order, and his method of payment, she happily obliged. Anni was thankful they hadn’t said no, for he, Tilorn and Alba had done much damage to the place. They’d not paid for it either. He supposed this forgave their actions, however, so he adjusted himself on the stool and waited.

Only a few minutes later the fat bartended brought him a tall mug of the mold-wine, and a basket of bread, which had already been cut in half and spread with cheese. Without second thought he grabbed a piece and took a large bite, and swigged his drink happily. However, his thoughts didn’t betray him. He kept an eye on the bartender, who eventually left leaving Anni to his entrée.

He supposed he looked pretty bad because many of the pub occupants threw him side-ways glances. His hair was indeed messy, and the black rings below his eyes were more prominent than usual. His pasty white complexion showed more of the black spidery veins than usual, and his crimson cat-eyes had lost some of their luster that the drink slowly replenished. Anni looked down, realizing his clothes were dirty, but the oddest thing was he wore no weapons. His sword belt was there, but his katana and dagger were gone, and the lupine he’d been traveling with had disappeared.

He was no concerned with his appearance, though. He continued to eat, and as the night drew on the scent of the roasting duck filled the tavern causing his stomach to rumble.

((OOC: Is it okay if I join?))

Raven sighed softly as she entered Lomedor. Her familiar, a white wolf by the name of Aegis, walked at her side. The shapeshifter did not much like entering the city of Lomedor, finding it too crowded for her tastes, but sometimes it was nice to enter Wilwarin Inn and sleep in a bed for once. It gave her some time to wash off the dust of the road, so she would be refreshed when she resumed her travels.

Raven frowned slightly as people jostled her from all sides. She hated crowded streets, preferring the quiet of the forest to the noise of the city. The shapeshifter fought her way through the crowd, making her way towards the Wilwarin Inn.

Raven sighed softly in relief as she walked through the door. Although the Wilwarin Inn was often crowded as well, it was a welcome change from the stampede going on in the streets. It was quieter compared to the noisy streets, although several of the inn’s customers were quite loud as well.

Raven took a seat at a table, motioning for Aegis to come over to her. The wolf had paused to sniff at a few suspicious looking customers. At her call, he walked over to her, sitting down beside her chair. The innkeeper walked over to her.

“What would you like?” he asked, apparently not having much patience today for travelers.

“A room, if you wouldn’t mind,” said Raven, “And something to eat as well.”

The innkeeper nodded, heading off towards the kitchen. Raven took the time to look around the inn, gray eyes ghosting over each of the people in the room. She frowned, glancing at a rather loud party of four drunks in the back part of the inn. One of them glanced at her, muttering something to his friends before all four erupted in raucous laughter.

She turned her eyes away from them, looking towards the bar area. A man was seated there. She frowned, wondering what he had just been through. His hair was messy, and there were dark circles underneath his eyes, more visible because of his abnormally pale complexion. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, and she wondered if that might not be the case. The shapeshifter turned her eyes away from the man. It wasn’t any of her business in the first place.

“Please, don't... I'll do whatever it takes... Just give me a few more days... I'm not ready...”

These words came from the lips of a man who was cowering on the floor in the corner of a room. His tear-filled eyes were cast in fear upon a figure that stood before him: a girl, who looked to be only about 25 years of age. Her skin was pale, but not quite white. Her eyes were a dark steel-gray, and her left eye had a strange swirl extending on the skin below it. Her hair was blacker than midnight, and fell slightly past her shoulder. She was dressed in simple black clothes, and in her left hand rested a scythe, which gleamed in the dim lighting of the lantern that hung from the roof. Her eyes were resting upon the man, and a sympathetic smile adorned her lips. “My dear, do not fear me. I am but the rest at the end of a hard day's labor.”

The man shook his head, and said pleadingly, “But... please, give me just a little longer! I'm not ready for the darkness of my own grave!” The strange girl looked at him with pity. She began to twirl her scythe in her left hand, and she said, “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come.” As she twirled the scythe in her hand, she cut the rope that held the lantern to the roof, causing it to crash to the floor and go out. As darkness enveloped the room, the sound of a scream of terror was all that was heard. Just as quickly, all fell silent, and the silence of death fell over the house, as the man went on to his rest. Stepping outside of the house, the girl was now seen with her scythe on her back, and she looked looked somewhat sad. As the sun rose over the horizon, and dawn graced the world, she began to make her way to the Wilwarin Inn and Pub.

Being the curious individual she was, she stopped a number of times for different things along the way, so it was a little past sunset before she arrived. As she stepped inside, many fell silent. These were the ones who had been here the night before. A man had tried to force himself onto her, and she felt that she had the right to defend herself. At least they managed to find all of the parts; she would have hated to have found an eye, or perhaps a finger, in her drink. Sitting at the bar, she motioned to the bartender to bring her a drink. He brought a bottle of the strongest ale that he had, because he knew that she wouldn't accept any less. She was Yamakanya, the Death Maiden. And this morning, she was going to have a few drinks; maybe even get to know a few people.

Yamakanya looked over at the few people who were at the bar, and she saw one who seemed to be rather exhausted. Whether out of pity, curiosity, or sheer boredom, she wasn't sure, but she slid her pitcher of ale over, and sat next to the strange man. Smiling warmly, she said, “Hello there. You look like Death warmed over. Want a drink of good old-fashioned strong ale? I've got a whole pitcher of the stuff.”

The night had rolled on, slowly at first, but when his food arrived Anni was consumed by sheer hunger. He ripped the duck apart piece by piece, but he was not sloppy, and he devoured the bread and cheese, but did not get crumbs all over his clothes. In fact, his hands were quite nimble, and the grace and fluidity of his movements was only diminished by his skill with a blade. The first course done and his mug drained Anni motioned for a second helping then leaned back on his stool to pat his bare stomach. The brand of the Brotherhood of Chaos was open on his chest, and the bartender flinched at the sight of the scar.

Anni snickered slightly to himself, but his entertaining thoughts were cut short as the first woman and her puppy came strolling in. He watched her expression as she glanced at him, and when she averted her eyes his turned as well. The men at the far table continued to laugh and joke, obviously intoxicated, and it made him growl lowly. There was a gleam in his crimson orbs – a flicker of light that was his anger. However, he was still hungry, and his second helping came quickly.

He found the duck a rather enjoyable dish despite it being cooked thoroughly and the bread being slightly damp. He supposed that it could’ve been a worse meal, and ate quietly. The road had been long, and the activities tiresome, so he was in no place to complain especially after some of the previous evenings, which had left the Inn desecrated. However, the approach of the second woman, whose existence meant nothing to him at the time, drew him away from his meal. Annihilate’s cate-like eyes scrutinized her form, and though he said nothing he was already moving to size her up, but not only that her attitude made him suspicious of her. Yet, he never let himself miss a good drink.

“Sure,” he said, his voice barely loud enough for her to hear. He grabbed hold of his mug and slid it closer to her to be filled, “Can’t say I really have a preference when it comes to alcohol.” It was true however, he’d never really had a problem with anything. He was always willing to get whatever he could if it meant getting him relaxed. Anni supposed that krognith had become his favorite as of late, for it was one of the few types of ale in the realm that he knew.

Yet, his attention was instantly grabbed by the boisterous men back in that same table. Growling lowly Anni said, “Excuse me for a moment,” He acted as polite as he could, and turned towards their table. They saw him coming, and instantly recognized him. They’d been present many a night when he, Alba and Tilorn had been enjoying themselves, but they were an annoyance that he would not longer tolerate. Still, they same him coming.

Annihilate’s fist caught one of them men in the side of the head, while his other grasped the table by its edge and upturned it. Instantly, when it was fully off the ground his boot snapped out and rammed one of the four in the groin, sending his chair toppling over with him in it. The table landed on the third man, and as it did Anni grabbed the fourth by his collar, kneed him twice as he sat in his chair, and threw him to the ground. His reactions were graceful, lightning fast as extremely vicious, but no blood stained the floor, and nothing was broken, but most importantly no weapons had been drawn. So, when he swept back over to his stool to rejoin Yama it was obvious his intention was not to kill or maim, his intent was to shut them up, and by the cunning look in his eyes he was not the type to ask them for their silence. After all, he’d suffered their indecency for long enough.

Raven smiled slightly as her food came. It had been a while since she had had a good meal, and she was looking forward to eating this one, hopefully in peace. She glanced up as the four men in the back began laughing again. With that group seated there, she doubted that that would happen. She would just have to settle for a good meal.

The archer looked up as a woman walked in, a scythe strapped across her back. Raven watched as the woman took a seat at the bar, before talking to the man she had noticed earlier. She shrugged slightly, beginning to eat her meal. It wasn’t really her business what they decided to do. She was just hoping to get a good night’s sleep and be out of the city by morning.

One of the men began shouting from the other table. She looked up, watching as the man she had noticed before got up, walking over to the men. In several quick movements, he had punched one man, overturned the table, pinned another man beneath the table, kneed another in the groin, grabbed the last by the collar, kneed him twice, and threw him to the floor, before heading back to his stool.

Raven’s face broke into a grin. About time someone took care of those people. When the men stared at each other, before trying to drunkenly pick themselves up, all the while looking stunned and stupid, Raven couldn’t control her laughter. She covered her mouth with her hand, muffling the sound of her laughter as she watched the drunken men fall over themselves, trying to get up. Several glasses of ale had spilled on the ground, and the men were slipping on it as they tried to get to their feet. It was a comical sight.

The shapeshifter grinned, turning to the man as he passed, heading back to his seat.

“It’s about time someone took care of those creeps,” said Raven as the man passed.