#tagilla | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dorothea-jpg · 1 year

Text

Chapter 1

Previous /// Next (Coming soon)

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

Tagilla, Murkora City

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

Tagilla wasn't as bad as people said it was. It was as enjoyable as possible for a highly trained assassin. Well, for Nysa at least. She thought Tagilla was delightful. Ignoring all the death, criminals, mess and destruction, it was very nostalgic. Granted, she never grew up in Murkora directly, Bohalro was pretty isolated from the rest of the city but it did remind her of Kangri Island with the high danger rates.

Right about now, Nysa would be in the local tavern drinking the bartender out of house and home while conning all the punters out of their valuables. Just for fun.

But... no. She was stuck waiting by the docks for her recent partner, Khiiral Rennyn so that they could meet up. The whole reason he took off in the first place was that he thought he had a lead on the whereabouts of their former mentors, Ilya Vokial and Tiaelia Ellarian. The reason why Nysa was left behind was that she had... history with the man who had the information that they needed.

She slept with him-

I'm kidding, she didn't. She stole from him a while back and he hadn't forgotten her face yet. If Nysa went with Khiiral, it would've been a bloodbath so she just had to sit and wait until Khiiral found out what he needed.

Nysa sat on the edge of the docks with her trousers rolled up to her knees so that she could stick her feet in the cold water. To passers-by, she looked pretty odd. She wasn't oblivious to the weird looks she received from the locals but she just didn't care, she liked to play her own little game with them anyway. Every time someone would stop and stare at her, she would turn around and make the most monstrous face she possibly could until they ran away.

Khiiral always scolded her for it but it was just so fun!

Almost an hour had passed and Khiiral still wasn't back. Nysa was so bored! Not even maliciously scaring people was fun anymore. It got her thinking she barely had any money left, she would not be able to afford anything from Doris's Bakery unless she swindled a deal from the woman but... Nysa had morals.

Not a lot of them but still, personally it would feel wrong to Nysa if she tried to scam sweet old Doris.

She was really craving those sprietzals though...

Ugh... the bakery was right there. She could just get up and get some of those delicious sprietzals but one look into her coin purse would make her burst out in tears. She only had one measly gold piece and four silver pieces left. That couldn't even pay for a plastic bag, never mind a sprietzal that was safe to eat.

The last job that she had done paid her handsomely, around four hundred gold pieces and what did she decide to spend it on? A pair of shiny customised daggers and a sack of sparkler bombs. Khiiral told her she'd regret it and by the gods did she regret it now...

...

Wait.

Nysa knew exactly who she could go to!

Nysa abruptly stood up from the docks, not even bothering to curl her trousers back down or even put her shoes back on. She walked right through Tagilla's Market and entered a more secluded area of the town. Many people called it the slums. It was worse than the rest of the town, the city even. It was a complete and utter nightmare to witness, there were many homeless people begging on the streets, the houses weren't even houses, they were just slabs of metal and wood piled up to make a shelter and the general area smelt of death and disease.

Nysa was desensitised to the smell and the overall vibe as it was very similar to the way she used to live before. Didn't make it any less upsetting though.

It really sucked that you had to go right through the slums to get to the fish market. It's probably why business is so dead there.

She finally made it past the slums and walked into the fish market. It looked kind of deserted which was to be expected of course. There were a lot of Freshwater Cerulean fishermen and Human fish merchants around along with a few customers looking at all the fish but that was about it, it definitely wasn't as lively as Tagilla's main area.

Nysa's eyes scanned around the area until she set her sights on a man she recognised.

"Maury!" Nysa called out to the older Cerulean who was cutting up fish. Maury stopped what he was doing in a tense manner and cursed the lord under his breath. Nysa came closer to the man's stall and grinned at him, her sharp teeth on display.

Maury had to suppress an eye roll.

"What's the problem today, trouble? Get into some mess with the night watch again?"

Nysa shook her head with a smirk plastered on her face.

"No, but when I do, you'll help me out right? You'd do that for an old pal who you have wonderful memories with?"

Maury rolled his eyes this time around.

"Yeah, great times. I owe you such gratitude for destroying my stall multiple times while you were on the run" Sarcasm dripped like a waterfall from his mouth.

Nysa giggled awkwardly.

"You love me, Mau. Admit it"

"I admit that you're a pain in my backside. What do you want, Vokial?"

Maury said gruffly. Nysa could only sigh at the hardass.

"Have you seen Tethys around? I need to ask a favour"

Maury grumbled at Nysa's question.

"That boy is way too nice to people who don't deserve it. He's gonna get into some serious trouble one day"

Nysa mocked an offended gasp.

"Are you saying I don't deserve kindness, Mr Fisherman!?"

"Yes that's exactly what I'm saying, trouble"

Nysa pouted.

"You're a dick, you know that?"

That surprisingly got a rumbly chuckle from the man.

"Oh I know, Vokial. Tethys is at the loch with the other fishers, he's working though so don't distract him or I'll wring your neck"

Nysa could only giggle at Maury's empty threat, she knew it was empty because if he wanted to, he would've done it the first time she destroyed his stall.

"Thanks, Mau! Love ya!"

Nysa blew a kiss at the annoyed man and headed towards the foresty area that stood at the back of the fish market. It lead into the outskirts of Murkora but it was also the home of the Cobiens Loch Pod, a Freshwater Cerulean pod that has been around for literal centuries.

Nysa often found herself longing for a pod of her own but she always got rid of the thought as soon as she got it. It was annoying and it usually got in the way of her actually important thoughts, like if she would be able to survive eating a blue-ringed octopus alive. Pods can't have been that important anyway, she was able to survive without one for her entire life so why would she need one now?

As she walked further and further into the outskirts, she started hearing talking and laughter. She hurried up so that she could see the guy she came here to see.

Tethys, a boy who was a similar age to Nysa, was gripping a handmade spear in his hands, staring intensely at the slightly murky water beneath him. He obviously didn't notice that anyone had walked through but a few of the other fishers did. Nysa put her index finger against her lips, signalling the fishers to be quiet about her presence as she stalked closer to the unsuspecting boy.

Nysa got into position, ready to pounce.

And that's what she did.

She made a roaring sound and gripped Tethys's shoulders, causing the loudest, most high-pitched scream to escape his throat. A few birds were startled and flew away at the noise.

The other fisher's laughter was almost cancelled out by Nysa's obnoxious cackling. Tethys breathed heavily while glaring at Nysa with a flushed face.

"I- Why would you do that!?" He squeaked.

"Because it's fun scaring you, you baby!" Nysa replied between pants.

Tethys pouted before glaring at the rest of his pod.

"Stop laughing! That wasn't funny!"

...

Nysa sat impatiently on one of the large rocks around the loch as she waited for Tethys to take his break. She knew that whenever she was around, he always had some food ready for her. She doesn't know when or why he does this but she appreciates it because, well... free food! Free food is always good!

She has met Tethys a few years ago within the first few weeks of Nysa moving to Murkora. She was buying fish and a bunch of other meats because she remembered that before she left Bohalro, Khiiral had nagged her to eat more healthily instead of neglecting her dietary needs by living off of sprietzals.

Tethys was nice to her and they have been pretty good friends ever since. She visits him a lot while he's fishing with his pod and he shares his food with her. It's a good balance.

Speaking of Khiiral though...

Nysa's mind suddenly ran to her partner. Ever since she had reunited with him, her life had become much more entertaining than it had been. Of course, that wasn't all the Elf man was to her, she missed him. A lot.

Honestly, after Bohalro's fall, Nysa thought she'd never see him again. She almost cried tears of joy when she bumped into him the second time she came back to Murkora after being in Avlyrra for so long.

They had a huge celebration in the tavern and they caught each other up on what had happened in the years they had been apart. Even though Khiiral was really different from what she remembered, they still got along as if it hadn't been eight years. That was six months ago and the two hadn't separated since.

Nysa had to force the growing smile on her lips to go away.

Ew... mushy feelings...

"Hey, do you wanna come down and eat with me now?"

Nysa was snapped out of her thoughts by Tethys calling up to her. She suddenly grinned and jumped down, racing to one of the benches that sat beside the loch. Tethys smiled and sat down next to her before opening the basket full of fish.

Nysa grimaced.

"Fish again? I genuinely thought you'd be considerate enough to pack some sprietzals. Don't you ever get tired of fish?"

Tethys pouted.

"No! I love fish! Besides, fish are a huge part of Freshwater culture!" The Cerulean joked.

"Pfft, what culture?"

Nysa saw the opportunity and took it.

Tethys scoffed and shoved Nysa lightly in the shoulder.

"I could say the same for you, little miss adopted by Humans"

Nysa huffed at the quip "How dare you bring my childhood trauma into this!"

Tethys was quick with his response.

"How dare you bring my colonisation into this!"

The two were silent for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"I feel like you need fish though. Or just meat in general. The only thing I've seen you eat consistently since I met you are those pastries from Doris. That can't be good for your digestive system"

Tethys mentioned after he calmed down.

"Doris makes them special though! She shoves bits of chicken in the dough when I buy them!"

"Bits of chicken normally wouldn't be enough but with the amount of sprietzals you buy... who knows maybe you've beat the carnivorous diet of a Cerulean"

"Hah! I could be a god with that kind of power!"

Tethys laughed before chewing into his raw fish.

"Any luck finding your dad yet?"

Nysa shook her head at the sudden question.

"No. It's like the stubborn bastard wants to stay lost!"

"...I'm really rooting for you, you know? I can't imagine how hard it was when you found out about your old house"

Nysa was rendered silent for a moment. That old house he was talking about was Bohalro, she had to feed Tethys some lies about her life. She couldn't just outright say that she was a paid criminal! She would lose all the free food that Tethys gives her out of the kindness of his bleeding little heart!

She used the food as an excuse. She knew Tethys would never speak to her again if he found out that she killed people for money. She wasn't ashamed of what she did, she was doing it to survive but Tethys was one of her only real friends left, everyone else in Murkora was either her enemy or someone who was extremely wary of her. They're wary because either they know she's an assassin or because she's a Tropical Cerulean, there was no in-between.

The most likely case scenario was the latter. Murkora was mostly populated by Humans and the only Ceruleans they are used to are Freshwater Ceruleans who have evolved to look way more Human than Cerulean after they were colonised. Tropicals have a more cultural look about them, and brighter colours too.

Honestly, both Humans and Ceruleans around Murkora have probably never seen a 6'4 Tropical Cerulean with bright pink hair and aquamarine skin. She even had these bright yellow eyes and a more lanky look to her which would obviously be jarring to Humans and Freshwaters alike. Humans were meaner about it though, especially the sheltered ones like Murkora Humans.

...

It had been a while of Nysa and Tethys talking and catching up. They spoke about a multitude of things such as Tethys training to become a pod shaman and Nysa's recent scams and benders in Marita's Tavern that Tethys did not approve of at all. It was a fun conversation filled with laughs and jokes.

That was until one of the Cerulean material suppliers from Tethys's pod came up to them.

"Um, miss Tropical lady? There's some scary Elf man asking for you back at the docks..."

...

"Shit, I forgot he told me to stay put"

══════⊹⊱❖⊰⊹══════

Nysa was forced to do the walk of shame all the way back to the docks, still barefoot as well. As she walked back through the slums and back into the main market, a little Human girl and her mother walked passed.

Suddenly, the little girl stopped her mother before running up to Nysa was a basket. She was clearly timid and kind of scared but she walked over anyway. She stared up at Nysa's tall form with a shy look on her face.

"U-Um... Excuse me, miss..." The little girl stammered.

"What?" Nysa asked bluntly.

"M-My mummy says to be a good person I should give to the less fortunate than I am so... h-here. Please take this basket! It's got all sorts of yummy treats inside!"

Before Nysa could say anything, the child had run off to the older woman waiting for her and walked away with her, leaving the basket of treats by Nysa's back. She could only watch with her mouth dropped wide open at the sheer offence she felt.

The absolute cheek on that kid! Nysa didn't look homeless!

...Did she?

Nysa quickly let go of the grouchy feeling once she caught a whiff of the contents of the basket.

Mhmmm... Sprietzals....

Nysa was happily chomping on the sprietzals she was given, they weren't as great as Doris's bakes but in Nysa's opinion, no one could make sprietzals taste bad, not even if they tried.

She made her way closer to the docks and there stood the man himself. Khiiral Rennyn. The Infamous 'Phantomartcher'. Looking like an irritated mother hen. It was kind of funny to look at really.

"What did I tell you to do before I left?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Don't steal anything?"

Nysa said with her mouth still full of pastries.

"And?"

Nysa swallowed the treats.

"Don't bite?"

"And?"

Nysa huffed and rolled her eyes.

"And stay put. Yeah, yeah, I get it, Khi. I'm sorry I didn't telepathically tell you where I was? I am an adult you know?"

Khiiral sighed.

"If you're such an adult, maybe act like it. You're still exactly the same as you were when we were kids, you're just taller"

"Well, excuse me, Mr grumpy pants"

Nysa said sarcastically before sitting back down on the edge of the port. She placed the basket of sprietzals on the wooden plank beside her and dipped her feet back in the water.

Khiiral approached the girl slowly and softly kicked at her spine.

"Did Tethys at least feed you correctly?" He asked, getting a giggle out of Nysa.

"He forced me to eat fish. Again. I would've at least appreciated chicken"

Khiiral scoffed lightheartedly and sat on the opposite side of Nysa's precious sprietzal basket.

"So, how did the interrogation go?" She asked after a while.

"I got nothing. Again. The old bastard was trying to con me"

Khiiral inhaled, preparing himself for Nysa's reaction.

"Oh," She said in a soft tone which made Khiiral feel even worse than he already did. He always felt bad after a failed investigation. It was such a huge letdown for both him and Nysa, but Nysa's disheartened reactions were always soul-crushing to him and he could never understand why. Six months of disappointment and it was only getting worse.

"Well, now I'm glad I stole his stupid hairbrush" Nysa added making Khiiral snort and push her shoulder lightly.

"I should've taken you with me after all, I would've let you bite him" Khiiral joked as Nysa mocked a shocked gasp.

"That was one time, Rennyn!"

She was lying.

Nysa was lying and they both knew it.

"I kept a journal back at Bohalro, you know. I recorded every single time you bit someone. I bet that's why they called you Piranha, you psycho" Khiiral chuckled.

"I meant one time this year... "

Khiiral could only roll his eyes fondly.

"It was only a punch to the jaw, Nys. I can handle one aggressive drunk by myself. You didn't have to bite the poor guy's finger off. Literally"

Nysa shrugged and looked away.

"He shouldn't have touched you"

Khiiral shook his head and reached one of his muscular arms over to Nysa's pink hair so that he could mess it up more than it already was.

"You're so vicious, a feral little beast" Nysa pouted at the man's words and attempted to push his hand away. He sighed contently "But I guess you're my feral little beast"

Nysa attempted to keep down her blush at that. She genuinely liked the sound of it, his feral beast. If Khiiral noticed the change in atmosphere, he didn't say anything about it, only pointing out the bakery that was just behind them. He raised his eyebrows slightly as if to ask Nysa if she wanted to get some pastries.

She shook her head in reply and motioned to the basket she was clinging onto.

"Nah, I already got some"

"Where the in the hell did you get that?"

Nysa shrugged.

"The people around here just love me! I can totally understand I mean, I'm gorgeous, I'm a genius, I'm hilarious and just an all-around good time!"

Khiiral raised his eyebrows.

"What? Jealousy is not a good look for you, Khi"

Nysa smirked but Khiiral scoffed.

"Please, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who could tolerate you"

Nysa huffed and splashed Khiiral with the dripping water from her feet. He looked at Nysa with a hardened glare.

"I'm going to push you in" He deadpanned causing Nysa to sweat.

"Wait, no. Khi, this jacket is new- please!"

Khiiral was 100% going to push Nysa into the water until a snooty cough that came from behind them ruined his fun. Both Nysa and Khiiral stopped what they were doing and turned to face the party pooper.

"Master requests your audience, Scoundrels"

The blood drained from both of their faces.

══════⊹⊱❖⊰⊹══════

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

Zeg'Thanuuk Keep, Pamphylian Borders

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

Nysa and Khiiral sat in the fancy carriage, awkwardly facing the Fae man who was reading a book in the most pretentious way you could think of.

Nysa suddenly groaned loudly and slunk down in her seat.

"UGH, What does this asshole want with us now? To clean his shoes while he watches like a sick freak?"

The Fae man's narrowed eyes pierced right through Nysa from behind the small golden reading spectacles.

"You'd do well to regard my master with a little respect, Ulva"

Nysa's lips lifted into a sneer but she didn't say anything back and turned her attention to the passing trees outside. Khiiral didn't want to let that slide, however.

He abruptly sat up and positioned one of Nysa's new daggers under the man's chin.

"You ever say that word again and not even your Demon master can save you from a torturous death"

The Fae man was completely calm and unphased by Khiiral's physical threat.

"Remove that knife from my neck, you silly boy"

Khiiral didn't respond and he kept the dagger against the man's neck for a few silent seconds before Nysa tugged hard enough on his arm to pull him back to sit down.

"This is why your parents didn't want you, Duante" Nysa suddenly said.

The Fae raised his eyebrows.

"What...?"

A smirk grew on Khiiral's face.

"Your mother must be so disappointed in you, Duante"

Duante's eyes narrowed just as they had before.

"What are you two doing?"

Nysa giggled childishly.

"Are you a virgin, Duante?" She asked with a grin on her face.

Duante's face flushed with embarrassment.

"W-What kind of question is that?" He asked and recoiled as if he had just been burned by iron. Khiiral sucked in a breath and mocked a concerned demeanour.

"A virgin at one thousand years, Duante? Damn, I hope your balls don't fall off"

Apparently, that had gotten to Nysa. The hag-like cackle that escaped her throat was contagious and it passed on to Khiiral who silently died of laughter from behind his hand.

Duante gulped and adjusted his collar as he was struggling to breathe in a sauna. The fact that Duante looked so scorned and humiliated was absolutely killing Nysa and Khiiral.

"Animals...!" Duante exclaimed "Animals! The both of you!"

The two assassins could not for the life of them stop laughing and giggling like two school kids getting told off for talking.

Duante just huffed and attempted to compose himself from the utter embarrassment he felt.

"Alright, you disgusting scoundrels... we've arrived"

Nysa and Khiiral slowly recovered from their laughing fit as the situation dawned on them.

Khiiral sighed.

"Right, let's get this over with"

And with that, he crawled out of the carriage with Nysa in tow.

...

Ugh... Nysa could not believe they were back in this annoying, over-the-top castle again. Khiiral was walking through the intricate hallway without so much as looking around. Nysa knew he just wanted to get this over and done with and she did too! She just couldn't look away from the horribly ugly portraits that adorned the gold and black walls.

Duante led the two into a large throne room full of golden accessories and objects. Nysa could feel the urge to vomit at this guy's obsession with gold. She bet that it was just so that he could look more cool and important than he actually was.

Nysa and Khiiral made it to the middle of the throne room. Duante hurried over to his master's side, right by his sickeningly fancy throne.

"Welcome back to my humble abode, my pets"

A deep and husky voice greeted and Nysa didn't even bother hiding the funny face she pulled as he spoke.

"Yeah yeah, great seeing you too, Karrim. Now, what do want us for?" Khiiral got straight to the point. Karrim was silent for a few seconds, the grating sound of his long black nails along with his golden rings tapping against the armrest of his throne pierced Nysa's brain. It made her want to crush his head to the point where his brains and bits of his eyeballs were smushed all over his marble black floors.

"As you can probably deduce, I need you two lovelies for a job"

Nysa groaned loudly again.

"Again!? Ugh, at this point I don't even want to be paid in money! I just want a lifetime supply of sprietzals- Ow!" Nysa rubbed the area where Khiiral had elbowed her with a pout.

"Oh? So you don't want money? I think I can agree to those terms" Karrim teased, his aim being directly at Nysa who pulled a face at him again.

"Don't listen to her. She can't keep her mouth shut"

Nysa cried out in offence. For real this time.

"Uh- Whose side are you on?"

Nysa was ignored.

"Yes, as I've observed. The sea dweller is a character" Karrim suddenly stood up from his throne and stalked closer to Nysa who was becoming increasingly nervous as the Half-Demon approached.

Khiiral squinted his eyes at the man and gripped the dagger that he had snagged from Nysa in the carriage in case something happened.

Karrim stopped when he was right in front of Nysa, leaving barely any breathing room between them.

A moment of tense quiet passed. Karrim was just uncomfortably staring into Nysa's widened eyes before he harshly gripped her chin, his sharp nails digging into her skin.

Khiiral pulled his bow from the holster strapped to his back and positioned himself to shoot but a cold piece of steel was stuck on his back, threatening to run him through if he moved so all he could do was stay still until he could figure out how to pull this debacle in his favour.

Karrim's nails dug deeper into Nysa's skin, eventually drawing her blue blood. He then got close to her face and glowered.

"Being such a character can get you killed, sweetling. You'd do well to remember that"

Nysa did nothing but snarl at the man before her.

Karrim didn't seem to care however so he let go of Nysa's chin and sauntered back to his precious throne. He then proceeded to wave his hand at Duante, signalling him to let Khiiral go.

No one else made a move except for Khiiral who rushed to Nysa's side, making sure she was okay. Nysa swiped at the area where her blood was dripping and made a disgusted face at the Demon but decided to say nothing, the cut didn't matter anyway, it would be healed completely in a few minutes.

"With that being said, my little pets. Let's get down to business"

Khiiral took a deep breath but nodded his head at Karrim, signalling him to keep talking.

"Now you know I only call on you when I need someone dead. Usually, these are easy jobs that I'm too highly esteemed to get my hands bloody for but this time, I'm going to need a man of higher power dead"

Nysa scoffed.

"What? Like the Humans god?"

Karrim shook his head while tutting.

"No, my sweetling. This man is King Edrick of the kingdom of Zaira. I'm assuming you're both smart enough to know where that is yes?"

Khiiral was the one to scoff this time.

"So you are basically asking us to kill a god. That man is almost untouchable. You have to know that's a virtually impossible task"

Karrim nodded, as if understanding Khiiral's concerns.

"Yes, but you two would be at an advantage. Edrick knows me too well, and he would see any of my plans coming from a mile away. However, you two are as far away from my command as you possibly can with a blood pact, you are like two stray dogs who are only loyal because you are reliant on me for some scraps of food"

Both Nysa and Khiiral rolled their eyes at Karrim's words.

Ah yes. Spoken like a true spoiled noble.

"He will not expect the attack. You will be successful. You will get your money and everyone in this situation will be happy"

Karrim paused before adding "Well, except for poor Edricks family! Haha!"

Karrim's sadistic and snobbish laughter was disturbing, even for Nysa who had to admit that she was despicable herself.

"What if we fail? What if it's too risky?" Khiiral asked, with good reason as well. Karrim only chuckled lowly.

"Well then, my little forest critter... some very important information with be at stake here"

Nysa furrowed her eyebrows.

"What information?"

Karrim smirked at the irritated girl.

"Let's say... if you fail this task, you will never find your precious Elven mentors" Karrim's sadistic laugh had come back. Khiiral breathed harshly at the information.

"You're sick. Completely and utterly sick"

"Watch your tone with my master, you dirty forest dweller"

This didn't affect Khiiral much, he was just irritated with Duante's grating voice. Nysa, however, was furious. No one gets to insult Khiiral unless it's her.

"Oh shut your fat gob, you snobby little rat! I can't stand you and your weird ass fetish for this creep of a shitty noble-"

"ENOUGH"

Karrim's booming voice shook the castle, silencing everyone including Nysa.

"You will do this job. Both your mentors and your lives are on the line. I am commanding you to assassinate King Edrick IXV of Zaira. You will do so by disguising yourselves as royal staff. If you fail, the blood pact will be broken, you will be killed and so will your mentors. That is my final order to you, Nysa Vokial of the Surrosian Beach Pod and Khiiral Rennyn of House Rennyn. Do you understand me?"

Neither of the two said anything but their silence spoke volumes to Karrim.

They would have to kill the extremely protected and guarded king of Zaira or they would die trying.

2 notes · View notes