Alley Cat, Part 1
Outside the Red Dragon Inn, late night

It wasn't unheard of for the Sylph to make an entrance to the Inn via the alley door. Winding through the streets at night or across roofs as she was wont to do, a duck down the back passage served as a quiet approach when her goal might be to make a sharp turn for the stairs or the kitchen rather than wading through the gauntlet of the common room. That evening she was on her way back from a late evening of shopping in the Market. From one hand hung two plastic bags of different origins. Fox, nocturnal thing that he was, was only a few streets away on the return trip from a hunt for an evening meal. Unsuccessful, that hunt, which would be why the smell of chicken wafted from one of the two bags in hand. The woman was dressed in jeans, heeled boots, and a corseted top of dark maroon. Black hair hung loose over one shoulder, stirred to life by her breeze.

The catfolk had been ... wandering mostly. Trying to figure out what kind of strange land she'd found herself in this time without alerting it's residents of her presence. The lady who turned down the dank alley seemed familiar to the catfolk. She looked like someone she knew so the cat decided to take a gamble and follow the Sylph out from her spot in the shadows, slowly closing the distance with silent steps. At the sight of Fox, the catfolk grinned and picked up the pace.

Fox was taking his time and was upwind of both the catfolk and Shae's alley. The trailing figure would be able to catch up to Shae before the canid. Shae, however, wasn't dawdling. She was closing on the alley door, shifting bags from one hand to the other in preparation for opening it.

Tugging on the cowl of her cloak to ensure it stayed in position for now, Mirini took a breath as she plants her feet firmly on the ground, a few feet away from Shae before calling out. "Amun Rae sends her regards, Dalharil d'l'Maral?senger." The catfolk grinned, waiting for a reply. Should Shae turn to face the cloaked catfolk, the concealing cloak alongside the dim lighting of the alley would make it tricky to discern most notable features, but the voice was familiar.

The reply was almost instinctual, a reaction to a name drilled into sinapse and sinew over months, if not years. The bags in her hand were dropped in favor of a blade formed from summoned smoke. The arcane weapon was poised defensively before her while the air in the alley began to crackle with menacing intent. The breeze shifted, prying with cold fingers at the edges of the figure a short distance away. "Identify yourself." The command resonated just shy of a compulsion.

That cat's grin only widened at the Slyph's response, sharp teeth faintly shining in the dim light as she shrugged. "My my, you are awfully lively for someone whom we thought dead for months." Mirini quipped before shaking her head in mock disappointment. "I think she's being awfully hostile to an old friend don't you think?" the cloaked catfolk seemed to ask herself before an old man's voice wheezed out, coming from her as well. "Aye, it's almost as if she's put us behind her."

In such a proximity, it wasn't long before Fox came running. The creature rounded the corner to the far end of the alley with a snarl. Stopping just out of range to take stock of where the threat was.

Mirini chuckled at the response from her 'ally' and lifted her chin to look at Shae a bit clearer, tugging back her cowl a little to let her face show. "Surely you recognize me?"

The voices gave her pause, but the bladed didn't lower. Her grip shifted on the handle of solidified air. It hadn't been so long ago that she'd heard the voices. In memories, in dreams. A year or more of time had passed, but her memory wasn't so poor as to forget. Whether she believed that the voices belonged to their original owners was another matter entirely. Gold eyes stared at the face laid bare, seeking any default. Any wrinkle in what could be a disguise. "Mirini doesn't know Drow...how do I know it's really you? You shouldn't be here." Fox had not relaxed his stance, though nostrils flared wide to test the scent of the figure before him.

With a shrug the grin faltered at Shae's words. "Aw, I thought that'd work is there something I can do to prove my identity? ... Erm for as to how I know Drow? It has been several months and I have been travelling, it isn't that surprising to pick up a new language or two." she nods to herself as if agreeing with her own statement. "And as for 'I shouldn't be here', maybe you could help me with that, where is ... here, exactly?" at the sound of sniffing, the catfolk would glance back at Fox and offer him a wave before looking back to Shae. "I would also like to know if you are who I think you are as well."

"A question or two should do it. Something you would know." The witch struggled to focus even though the very vision of the living, breathing feline before her was bordering on surreal. The scent matched Fox's memory. Cautiously, he began to lower his ruff. "Something I would know." Shae seized on the first thing that came to mind, ridiculous though it was. "The rat from the fight in the woods against the bandits. What was his name?"

The catfolk nodded at the challenge set before her and started to adopt a more relaxed stance. "The rat? Oh, him." She made a face of distaste at the memory. "Vlizzik I think it was, his 'daughter' the one with shotgun joined us a few weeks ... months after he left our group to find her. Never heard from him again, not surprising considering he left his spellbook with us, the daft fool." Mirini shook her head. "I think it was during that fight that funny halfling joined us ... Oatez and Donkey."

"Donkey, yeah. That miniature horse was funny looking, wasn't it?" Casually commented. An attempt to trip an impostor up, perhaps.

"Miniature horse? You are Shae, right?" Mirini frowned, doubting her suspicious now. "It was a wolf, she was kinda cute. Had a good temperament to put up with all the halfling's shenanigans."

"Yes it was a wolf." A shake slipped into her voice, but her hand remained steady. "Your turn." It was barely a whisper, but it crossed the space to the pointed ears as if it were spoken at a much closer distance.

The cloaked cat crossed her arms in front of her as she considered her own test. "I'll start with an easy one. The local lord whose house we took over and ruined his slavery ring. What was his name?"

"Remington." The name came hoarsely. "We owned it from that point forward, but he was the one who ambushed me when... when Ravenhold was attacked." Fox was suddenly turning to look for the others. If Mirini was here, perhaps she wasn't alone. Shae let her guard lower, poised on the balls of her feet.

"Aye, slippery bastard he was ..." she mutters before pointing to Fox. "My second question before it's your turn again. Our companion who he was quite interested in. What was her name and what was the disguise she took when she rejoined us. Not the name, just what did it look like?"

"Okori, she was a kitsune. She dressed as a bearded fellow when she rejoined us. Corey. Called him Youngbeard." At the mention of her name, Fox whined. "Where is she? Is she alive?"