Anxiety. Everyone experiences it at least once in their life, and most of them can afford to ignore it. But the Vixen was not one of the aforementioned privileged. Besides, this feeling, this apprehension that had shaken her very core for more than a week, was not an emotion easily looked over. It was just a matter of waiting, now. She was sure of it.

It'd been an interesting week in RhyDin for Charna, what with the non-wedding wedding party, "buying" a pistol from a pirate, meeting her new nephew, and getting to see her brother, Nitsu, again. All the while, though, that foreboding had been tying her stomach up in knots.

The Inn was quiet. Kina and Antonio had left nearly twenty minutes ago with the children in tow and Arts had been called away by the night only moments earlier. The Common Room was empty except for little Miss Charna, who was smiling over the fact that from her spot at the bar, she could actually hear the fire crackling. On any other night, the calm might have disturbed her, but today, she'd been caught in a particularly mellow mood. She was just settling in for some serious introspection, when she realized it was a little stuffy in here. Guess conversation usually helped to cover that up. A shrug of bony shoulders, really for her own benefit, as she stood and moved across the wooden floors, out the door, and took a lean against the porch railing, looking out over the surroundings.

The blue-greens taking on that rather dazed look, the reflection process started up again...only to be stopped once more. It was too beautiful a night, the skies too clear and dark and full of winking stars. She couldn't just stand here. With that notion, she slunk down the steps and onto the much used path that, if taken straight up, would lead her to the main roads of RhyDin city.

Ahhh...now was the time for thought. With her stare set straight ahead, contentedly ignoring the autumn chill against her cheeks, her focus was free to wander. And wander it did, so much so that she didn't even realize how far she'd actually walked until she paused to re-tie one of her boots, and have a glance about. No one about, really, which was odd, especially since it was approaching 5 AM, and normally the market was just starting to come alive. A store display catching her attention then, causing her to turn her back to the street.

Bad move.

Before her mind could even process the fact that their was now a second figure in the reflection upon the glass pane, a muscular arm had slithered about her midsection and yanked her back against a broad chest. No time to panic, Charna. Dagger released into her left hand, which snapped up and poised itself so that the blade was at the throat of her assailant. She didn't need to consult the mirror-image in front of her to know who the brute behind her was. Plus, he wouldn't leave her wondering for long. Ignoring the dagger, the man tilted his head to the opposite side, his hot breath against her neck.

"Hello, my pretty pet. Be a dear, and put the toy away, eh? Let's make this as easy as possible."

That's when she became acutely aware of something circular being pressed into the center of her upper back. Something solid. The barrel of a gun. Her eyes widened at the knowledge. Here she was, armed only with a weapon just slightly bigger than the average throwing knife, even after she'd made a point of buying a pistol of her own earlier in the week. And now she was being kept in check by Ahri, the very man her brother Nitsu had to talk her out of hunting down only three nights prior to this moment. She held her stance, though. The weapon wasn't lowered.

"Charna. Come now. Be a good girl, won't you? I've waited long enough. I mean, wouldn't you agree six years is far too long to wait around for your wife-to-be?"

The scum of the planet even had the audacity to kiss her neck, and to let his hand roam over her most intimate areas. She felt sick. She felt a lot of things, none of them good.

She looked to the reflection once more, studying her face in the dark glass. Watching his evil fingers trying to pull the last shreds of dignity away from her. Was this a preview of what was to be? No. It couldn't be. Things were different in her new life. She had a say in the matter.

The lines she'd had stuck in her head for some time resurfaced. They'd been waiting, just like she had:

...If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can make her:
The Devil take her!

Here was the Devil, come to claim the one that would not love. Or, rather, the one that would not love him. But the Devil underestimated her. They all did. They still saw her as an animal that could be broken in and broken down. They thought they smelled fear on her.

She looked deep into her own eyes with the use of the mirror-like window pane and her decision was made. The Devil would not take her, not without a damn good fight. She weighed the pros and cons of the step she was already gearing up to take. Words, soft and calm, whispered into the night.

" 'Tis a far, far better thing..."

A thrust of her left hand up, and slightly to the right, her blade nestling into its new home, namely, Ahri's neck. A warm splatter of crimson upon her shoulder and collar, which was met with a smile. His arm wrenched away, and she knew she had won...

Until his own reflex kicked in. In a violent jerk, the trigger was pulled back. True, he hadn't the time to line up the shot this time, yet all the same...

Dawn found a small crowd of street creatures morbidly circling the bloody mess on the street, some looking quite hungry. Wisper headed in from a late nights walk shooed the curiosity seekers away earning growls from some of the more feral of the lot. She was shocked to see what was lieing in the midst. The bloodied form of her newest Apprentice was not high on her list of ways to end an evening.

A brief check was made for signs of life, shallow breathing and weak pulse noted, and a flutter of a hand and a flash of light had the pair vanishing, headed for the temple and the healers, leaving behind the bloodied ruins of the shop window for the athorities to deal with.