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[Nightshade]

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Umbra was becoming more familiar every day to the stormy grey eyes of Nightshade. It was the only town that Nightshade could remember ever seeing before he left his now abandoned desert home. Before she tempted the fates...

A pang of guilt which he could not explain throbbed in his temple. He lowered his head and stared at the ground as he walked, ignoring the glistening white bones which scattered the streets of what most would consider a necropolis. "Fate governs us all," a low, enthuiastic hiss echoed in his mind. "To defy it is selfish and foolish, my Nightshade." The memory of his motherly figure would never rest in peace.

The city people.. are they selfish? They care not for the Fates and do not heed it, yet they do not all seem to mean harm... His mind flashed back to an encounter earlier that day which had confused him thoroughly. A huge man with distinctly flat features that were not very similar to an ogre's approached him. Nightshade was quick to shove all his work and trinkets back into the small bag he carried.

The man was rough in his mannerisms, yet at the same time friendly. Not too long after the man who identified himself as Arlin tried to start conversation with the ever-wary Nightshade, a woman in red robes with exotic hues of blue hair rode by on a beetle. He approached her to start conversation as well, though she made it quite obvious that she wanted nothing to do with him. The two contrasting personalities in one small trade city baffled him.

Arlin bid him goodnight and headed towards one of the innrooms, and his leaving remark caught him offguard as well. "If you ever need anything, youngin, just let me know." Arlin was quick to pick up on his surprise and simply laughed about it as Nightshade contemplated his words. He thanked him and watched him leave, standing in place as he recovered from his surprise. 'People are so.. varied.'

He almost bumped into a man who could not be seen beneath all of the black robes as he was lost in thought, though Nightshade was quick to walk away without even acknowleding him. Avoiding people altogether seemed the best way to Nightshade to not cause a disturbance in a town that wasn't very visitor-friendly. The alchemists had gotten used to him and would silently buy and sell his wares, though he was not keen on taking his chances with those whom he didn't need to yet. It would be disrespectful to draw attention to an unwanted presence.

Quickly, he found his way back to the inn and nodded politely in greeting to the innkeepers. Jotting his 'Nightshade' down on the check-in list in thin, elegant letters, he dug into a small bag which he usually carried and handed one of the innkeepers a few coins. Quietly, he bid them goodnight and went to the room he rented, laying down on the bed and closing his eyes despite knowing the consequences and price that came with sleep...