Act V
Hey friends, sorry for the absence, I honestly have no good excuses. And unfortunately no, my role in the Oscars is much more tame :) I work on their IT team, so during our events season (basically Jan - March) I'm responsible for handling the issuance and scanning of all the attendees' digital tickets for the various events the Academy puts on.
Now, down to business :)
Nute catches Sarah's eyes as she surveys her grandfather's party. Watches as they turn from awe to revered fear as they linger over the sword on Ezra's hip, then to the shining sun across Nute's chest. The emblazoned orb seems to almost glow in the torchlight of the tent. Nute is suddenly acutely aware of the attention from the Lord's entourage, all eyes focused on their holiest symbol, their scrutiny stripping Nute bare.
Anger flashes through Nute in response, flushing his face as he refocuses his gaze on the ground in front of him. Their reverence for him was affecting him more than he would have expected.
Typical highborns! Months ago, I wasn't worth the dirt beneath their boots. Now, they look at me like some reincarnated savior. Unsurprising all it took was finding some dumb armor.
The meeting stretches for what feels like eternity, and when finally dismissed, Nute immediately retreats into the night. The shadows welcome him back into their embrace, coiling around him as he effortlessly climbs up and over the roofs of the city. His old city.
His feet glide silently from building to building, his mind retreating from his newfound responsibility. With instinctual grace, Nute follows the familiar markings that bring him closer to his old life, and the streets that formed him. His almost meditative trance is suddenly interrupted when he hears a stray shingle shift and fall behind him.
Pivoting on his right foot, Nute silently slips behind a chimney. Chancing a glance back, Nute is shocked to discover Kassidy climbing down from a roof. A second shingle shifts as Kassidy dismounts, her feet returning to solid ground. Intrigued and alert, Nute silently slinks closer.
What in the hells is she doing here??
Nute follows above Kassidy as she turns toward a disheveled tavern, a ghost haunting her skies. Nute recognizes the dilapidated building as one he used to frequent, the often too-sparse coin-purses of the patrons his only source of income during his childhood.
Kassidy throws the door open and disappears inside, leaving Nute alone in the cool night once more.
Nute considers returning to that pitiful hovel, intrigued by Kassidy's business inside, when suddenly a muffled scream pierces through Nute's consciousness.
Turning quickly, Nute dashes across two more houses before coming to a rest above a particularly dark alley. Peering down, Nute sees two man forcing a woman against the greasy alley wall. Blood runs down the side of her head, mingling with the cold, uncaring stones before falling silently to the dirt.
Nute catches her frantic eyes as she struggles, white orbs reflecting the moon, shining in defiance and terror. One man has his hands around her mouth, while the second produces a short flash of steel, the fabric of her dress beginning to fall to the naked blade.
Repulsion surges through Nute, and without thinking he leaps from his perch, dagger appearing in his hand with lethal grace. With a rush of wind and rage, Nute lands silently and embeds his dagger into the skull of the man with the sword. Nute feels the man's body go limp as his partner turns, a startled and drunken yell tearing through the air between them.
The stench of fetid beer assaults Nute's nostrils as he twists his dagger free, blood erupting from the dead man's head. Pivoting quickly, he slashes once more, this time finding the second man's throat. A wet gurgle escapes his lips, blood flowing freely down onto disheveled shirt before his body slumps to the ground.
Suddenly free, the woman screams again and falls back, feet tearing rivers through the now blood-soaked dirt. She turns and stares, disbelieving at the new figure before her. Her eyes dart between Nute's obscured face to the blazing sun on his armor, before a faint "Praise Solace!" escapes her lips.
Nute, suddenly aware again of his damnable armor, gazes in amazement as the woman's eyes soften from hard fear to relief as Nute extends his gloved hand.
"It's okay," Nute reassures the woman as he helps her to her feet. "You're safe now."
The woman collapses against Nute, arms wrapping around him as he is unexpectedly pulled into her embrace. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyou...." The woman begins sobbing against Nute, her cool tears mixing with the warm sweat on his neck. Suddenly uncomfortable with the attention, Nute gently guides the woman off of him before slipping quickly up the nearest wall.
Nute glances back down to the woman just as the moonlight catches the sun on his chest, golden hues shining against the unknown dark. She stares up at her savior, amazed, her eyes displaying that same reverence that Sarah had earlier, only this time, instead of fear, he finds her awe tempered with a sort of love, a love and joy for a future that Nute provided her.
Turning and walking above the city again, a smile slips across Nute's face as his heartbeat returns to normal. That woman wasn't scared of him. He had helped her.
Damn the rich bastards in that tent, saving them means saving people just like that woman. People just like him. People who are too poor, too forgotten, or too small to fight back.
His heart much lighter than when his night started, Nute returns to glance through one of the tavern windows to check on Kassidy. He and watches in amusement as her deft hands glide her dagger through her exposed fingers, embedding the lethally sharp blade with precision into the rotting table. The coins from the drunken men around the table jump with every perfectly executed stab.
Heh. Kassidy, the honest thief. Those dumb bastards never stood a chance.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Wed 13 Mar.