Once In A Blue Moon [Closed]

[Asyria]

((Part 1 is mostly OOC knowledge, though anyone who grew up in Ul'dah -may- know some of this. Please ask in PM before assuming, however! I left all names out on purpose, just in case.))

 

((Part 2 however, is strictly OOC for all parties, apart from Balthazar's Favor members.))

 

 

PART I

 

In the darkening streets of a not-so-safe corner of Ul'dah, concerned mothers were calling out for their children to come back in the safety of their homes. Kids of various races had been playing outside in the early evening, enjoying the couple of hours that were comfortably nested between the hot days and the cold nights of the desert. Some of the children hurried inside, scared by their moms about monsters prowling the nights, while others whined, complained and begged for more playtime.

 

In truth, the streets would still be safe for some time before the city's nightlife would truly settle in, and even then, few were cruel enough to hurt children, but it is in a parent's nature to worry about their flesh and blood. One of the kids was different however. Her family had moved in recently, still not quite used to the dangers of Ul'dah's nights, and more importantly, they were nocturnal. While the mother forced herself to mingle with the crowd to sell her husband's wares on the market while customers were up, the father thrived at night in his workshop and their children likewise slept while the sun was up.

 

And so, every evening, when the other children were asked to come inside, one blue-haired Miqo'te went outside eagerly, asking for other kids to play with her. Some gave her weird looks, some called her a night monster in typical childish cruelty, and others simply said they were sorry but they couldn't. And so, Azy was stuck with no one but her little sister to play with... again!

 

Before long, the two sisters pleaded with their parents to let them play with the other kids, to wake them up sooner and, knowing children needed to socialize with other kids their age, the parents agreed. At first the two were thrilled, but they soon found out that this wasn't as much fun as they imagined. Azyria in particular, while she was the eldest, found herself the target of bullies who wanted her to "crawl back in her hole". Her younger sister, had more of a temperament, taking more after their mother, and often had to defend them both. This all didn't help with making friends.

 

Until one day. The girls were in their teenage years then, still mostly loners, though they had managed to make a few friends. By this time however, some of the other teenagers were slowly being recruited into gangs, either by elder siblings, or by 'recruiters' looking for new blood. One of these recruiters, a Roegadyn youth, came along with two Hyur pals to look for some potential in Azy's neighborhood. One of Azyria's few friends happened to be a Roegadyn himself. Strong-looking but actually a bit of a pushover, not unlike Azyria herself.

 

The thug came up to the Roegadyn youth and started talking, in a friendly manner at first, but soon enough their intentions became clear and the big young man was rather intimidated. All he ever wanted was to take up his father's apron and become a chef, a life of crime was really far from what he wanted, no matter the riches involved. Azyria's sister soon noticed what was going on and tried to intervene, telling the thugs to shut up and spread their propaganda elsewhere, only to be backhanded angrily. The Roegadyn youth tried to defend her but despite his natural strength, he was no fighter, especially not against one of his own race who had some brawling experience.

 

All the while, Azyria had been watching the scene, like paralyzed. When her friend was knocked down, her gaze moved up and she saw the full moon in the night sky, about to be obscured by clouds. Her eyes started looking about and she saw that few lights were lit in the street. She took note of a dropped walking stick, a long one, perhaps belonging to an Elezen. With her sister still shouting at the thugs and one of them moving toward her, the others two moving toward their Roegadyn friend, none was paying the silent scaredy cat much attention. Instincts took over.

 

She darted for the walking stick, using it to smash down the nearest lantern., She took a pebble and threw it at the next closest one, also making it fall, and its light all but useless on the ground. The moon was hidden behind the clouds. She could still see perfectly well. They could not. It was over rather quickly. Wielding her walking stick like a spear, she thrust it first in the Roegadyn thug's plexus, forcing the air out of his lungs. Another hit on his temple, swinging the stick around this time, knocked his lights out. The two Hyurs barely see more than two glowing pale golden orbs, Azyria's dark blue fur almost unnoticeable in the darknesss of the now-moonless night. One of them earned himself a kick in the crotch for getting too close, and the other ran off, terrified.

 

To her sister, who could of course see as well as she could, Azyria put her index finger to her lips, silently asking her to keep it down. Together, they cared for their friends, brought him back to his own, and went to their own. That night, they talked. About what had happened. but not about what was going to happen. Azyria decided that this would be her secret and that she would not burden her little sister with it. Though she convinced her sister that she didn't know what exactly happened and that she never wanted to have to fight again, she had already decided that it was time for her to grow up and be the protective one.

 

 

PART II

 

Crouching atop a building near Ul'dah's Mining Guild, a masked Miqo'te was waiting for her prey. An honest miner in the late hours of the day, Azyria had heard about some illegal businesses, something about one of the hired girls being sold to a crime lord to pay for the debts she made and had trouble paying back. She didn't envy them their lives but the girls were nice and fun and none of them deserved the kind of life they would get if this transaction came about. She'd have to ask the girl how she got into that kind of trouble in order tor really solve the problem but for now...

 

There. That Lalafell, with the fancy hat and the big bodyguards. That could only be him. A Seeker Miqo'te coming out hesitantly only confirmed her suspicions. To wait and ambush, or to strike now? Azyria felt impatient tonight. She wanted to actually enjoy her night. Not that she didn't enjoy a fight, but there were less hazardous way to enjoy one's time. She lept.

 

Landing right behind those men, she ran the first one through with her spear, the bloodied tip stopping inches from the poor girl's nose. She ran right back inside screaming. With a sharp tug, Azyrie pulled her spear right back out and the man fell down with a thud. The other one had time to draw out his sword, of course and he lunged at the masked lancer, making a dent in her mask as she barely lept back out of range. Too close... Focus, girl! She retaliated with a sweeping movement of her spear, aiming for the man's legs and he fell on his back, the tip of Azyria's spear on his throat before he could get back up.

 

Their Lalafell boss, of course, was nowhere to be found. Her pale golden eyes ablaze with fury, she looked down on the thug and spoke quickly "Tell your boss, the Blue Moon always rises." And then she was off as well. She didn't go after the Lalafell crime lord, but rather ran and lept for the roofs, to make her way to one of her hideouts, from where she could make sure they weren't coming back. This "intervention" had not gone so well.

 

And it was just about to get worse.

On the floor of her hideout, she found a note, with a mysterious seal in which the letters 'BF' could be recognized in a rather stylized way. She opened it carefully, dreading to read that her secret has been discovered. She was both relieved and really annoyed by what she found.

"To our dearest masked vigilante,

 

It has come to our attention that we have similar goals in routing the evil that festers in the fair city of Ul'dah. It is with sadness that we took notice of your recent raid on an illegal weapon cache... While your daring deeds certainly hampered our common foe's activities, those weapons would have seen better use in our hands than in being melted down.

 

Thus, we offer you a choice, and believe me when I say that it pains me to resort to this, but you are very hard to meet in person when you have this pretty mask hiding your fair features. The choice is as follows: cooperate with us, in our common fight, or we will be forced to reveal your true identity in a peaceful attempt to prevent your disturbing yet occasionally helpful activities from interfering with ours.

 

Please see this not as a threat but as an offer.

It is our firm belief that you will make the right choice, and the alternative is only there to let you know that we know. If you accept, meet us at the docks. You can wear your pretty mask if you wish, though it would be more pleasant to us if you did not.

 

Our most sincere apologies for the inconveniences.

BF"

"Well, shite..."

[Asyria]

Story is no longer canon.