Shadows veil from the eyes what a path holds. Cast a little bit of light and the shadows don't disappear entirely, but are prone to dance about and tease the senses.

S'jira's path was constantly plagued with those proverbial shadows. Where she was certain of life in one step, the next nearly brought her to her knees.

For seven months, she had lived within the realm called RhyDin. In that time, she had worked in the markets, aided the old fisherwoman Thale, and was now helping out at the Red Dragon Inn with the laundry and mending.

A couple of the patrons, she had gathered the courage to speak with more than a couple of times. Otherwise, she had often stayed to the shadows hearthside or within her room to work on mending, or simply to rest from a very busy day. Kind in their hearts and curious of her perhaps no more than another stranger to be among the crowd.

But came the stranger last night. Perhaps it was more than one look the girl's way, or that she could not tell what the look meant. They were looks that had unsettled her heart, worrying her. Could the others not feel his presence? Had they not felt the slight chill that every look brought? The girl knew that sort of presence, whether the man meant to create it or not. It was a presence of one who knew well the ways of patiently-cast control and steadfast path for that end-goal. And it had been enough to make S'jira nervous. She had seen the same things in a handful of Masters in her short lifetime.

Worriment over possibly upsetting someone, especially one unknown to her had tugged S'jira into daring an approach of him. Chidings followed in due course, unexpected by the small one who had hoped to cure the worriment and curiosity that lay within her breast.

Instead, by the time the stranger left the inn, more questions lay before her than were at the start of things. Mention of her being watched drew further trepidation. He would return. But to what outcome? Was there cloaked anger on his part that had not been exacted upon her?

There was no way to clearly see the path before for all the play of light and shadows.

An unnatural aura of tranquility wrapped itself around Tieko; however true or false it might have been, the potency of such was still intense. Echoes of bells lingered in the air, but soon faded. He had seen her several times now, fewer than some and more so than others, but still, seen her nonetheless. There were certain things that instantly caught his attention. She was one of them. He was always watching, and noticed most things at any given time, but this small one had caused him to bestow a certain level of scrutiny almost instantly; few did these days. The strange part was not his immediate intrigue, but the reasons why. Many would assume his reasons, they would judge a book by its cover. He couldn?t blame them for the reality of who they were; blind sheep desperately searching for self validation among themselves, constantly grazing at their favorite watering hole and judging others from their safe places. He had no intentions of correcting them in such thinking, though ? they would assume whatever they wish. Instead, he kept his reasons to himself; the truth to himself.

Standing there, the personification of harmony (however twisted and dark it might be), only his rhythmical breathing could be heard. He had noticed a few times, S?jira leaving the Inn during the early morning hours en route to the Market. Now, standing with his back against the wall of an abandoned building, he waited along the most common route from the Inn to the Market. The cobble stone road had the soft blanket of morning dew. Dawn would be waking soon. He took a breath ? held it ? then released slowly. He did most everything slow. To say he was patient would be the understatement of a generation. He expected to hear the soft whisper of bells soon. And so, with a glance up and down the empty street every so often, he waited. Time was on his side? time was always on his side? or so he tried to convince himself throughout the years.

Even though dawn was soon to follow, darkness still held a tight grasp of the world at this hour. Matter of fact, in this world, no matter what time it was, darkness always held a tight grip in some form. His patience had been fruitful, because every so often the soft chirp of bells danced on the breeze ? coming toward him. She wasn?t so fearful as to avoid the thorough fares, I wonder why she appears so at other times. Yet, in that very thought, he knew the answer; like many others, including himself, she wore a masquerade skillfully designed to hide certain aspects of her being. That was perfectly fine, he should expect nothing less. Those unable to obtain such a level of existence around here soon found themselves at the mercy of those who had.

In the beginning, it had taken him a quick few seconds to realize S?jira?s recent past. She was well trained, and simultaneously well disciplined within that same training. People with her back ground could be spotted miles away. Of course, it was a broad deduction since she had never out right claimed such things were true, at least to him. But watching her move down the street, the way her bare feet delicately bounced from one quiet step to the next, the way her gaze rarely, if ever, lifted above her own shoulders, it was easy for Tieko to tell once again that she had once worn a collar. He wouldn?t be surprised if she had been a slave her entire life ? until now. Because, no such collar was clasped around her neck at this time ? one of the reasons he had been intrigued.

He hadn?t meant to stand in the shadows of the abandoned building; perhaps it was the shadows themselves who decided to cover him from the few lantern posts that sprouted along the road. Either way, as S?jira approached, he pushed off the wall with his back and stepped into the rather dim light of the lanterns (did the flames seem to shrink back at his appearance?). Simultaneously, he spoke ? his voice a calm paradox to his seemingly sudden arrival, ?Perhaps I was wrong about you? perhaps I was mistaken to believe you were just another girl floating through the Inn. Yet, here you are, walking alone, without hesitation to do so; and after a good amount of time has past since we first met.?

A few people were now seen in the street and the horizon showed the soft hue of early morning blue. It wasn?t a menacing street, not safe either, but with the other few random people starting their day, this street could just as easily been mistaken for any normal street. Tieko took the liberty to walk with S?jira, not too close, so that she may have the opportunity to feel somewhat safer around him than if they had been standing in the shadows of an abandoned building. Before she had time to answer his statements from before, and within the first few steps of their walk, he continued, ?I am? intrigued.? Even though it seemed a slip of truth, his words were always calculated. ?And I assure you, I mean you no harm; but there was something about you that I had to find out myself, away from the Inn.? He kept his eyes straight ahead. Further down the street a few more people were beginning to start the day, perhaps before the day had actually begun itself. He let his last statement hang in between them as they walked. ?patience indeed?