RP:A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Fame

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc

Summary: Quintessa and Khitti find out in very different ways about a job that the Warrior's Guild has taken on from the Cenril Theatre. As the two plan their next move for the mark hunt, they have their first spar and Khitti asks Quintessa if she'd like to be her student in the Necromancer's Guild. (Part 2 can be found here)

“A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Fame” (Hunt Details)
Rank: C
Suggested complexity: Two to three RP sessions, preferably with a partner
Location: On or near the bridge leading to Cenril
Immediate Reward: 2500 gold
Description: A small tribe’s worth of shapeshifters disguised as bards attempted to put on a play at Cenril’s theatre. Management was less than thrilled when the shapeshifters killed numerous extras during their live performance “for realism’s sake.” Speak with the theatre personnel in order to learn that the shapeshifters are believed to have created an encampment near the bridge outside of Cenril. Your reward will come from theatre management once you’ve offered proof of justice served against these troublemakers.
Bonus chance: Be especially creative by making things harder on your characters. Have the shapeshifters transform into something that will throw off your groove and make you work harder for your pay. Additional experience and 500 extra gold will be provided.
(Part 2 can be found here)

Backstage Alcove, Cenril Theatre

Khitti || “I’ve already told them that they’re not welcome here anymore. There’s only been one incident here in the past three years and that was nothing like this,” the Cenril Theatre’s on-duty manager said to the owner. “And -that- death wasn’t even within The Sound of Sirens’ control -and- they dealt with the issue not long after it happened. If you want them here, I won’t be here whatever nights they’re scheduled for. I won’t take the blame for this again, Keryth.” The elvish owner pinched his nose in irritation and sighed at his vampire subordinate, the two standing in the main office of the theatre,”Of course I’m not letting them come back, Lizbeth. What the hell kind of person do you think I am?” ‘The type that likes money too much’ was all Lizbeth could think of. “So, then what are we gonna do, boss?” The elf shrugged, then crossed his arms over his chest, “We get someone to take care of it, before they try going to another venue to do the same thing. We can’t let the word get out though that those people were actually dead. At least not until it’s taken care of. We’ll lose all of our business if people find out. You saw what happened with Khitti’s mother.”

Khitti || The words ‘Khitti’s mother’ found the redhead’s ears as she wandered up to the office to get her pay for the night. The Sound of Sirens had had another successful concert--as if that was any surprise--and it was that time of night to rake in the gold that the band had made so that the Herzegler family (well, Khitti and Brand anyway) could afford the top tier whiskey they’d been accustomed to drinking the past couple years. At least, Khitti’s cut of it anyway. The rest of the band members would get theirs when they felt like it. She narrowed her eyes at the doorway, an angry frown lining her lips. “You know, it’s not nice to speak of the dead like that. -They- do have a way of coming back.” Khitti’s demeanor of late had been picked up on by those that were around her the most. Unfortunately, for Kyreth and Lizbeth here, they were one of them. The two were all but visibly sweating now as she walked through the door, eyeing both of them. “So… are you going to tell me what’s going on… or?” Khitti waited, but she didn’t look like she was going to wait long. The owner and his manager looked at each other hesitantly, but eventually went on to explain what had happened. A new troop of bards had come in, seeking to put on a play about the Ascendi. Basically, each Ascendi was given tribute within the play, as each were described and their story told. But, when they lastly got to Coreliant, the actors not a part of the troop were brutally murdered in the name of the Ascendi of deception, while those in the crowd were completely convinced of it being an act! “So, as you can see, this is why we want to keep it within the theatre’s knowledge as much as possible,” Kyreth said eventually.

Khitti smirked, olive-green eyes still fixed on the two, “You do realize I’m the most frakking qualified here to deal with this, don’t you? Do I even have to remind you how many guilds I’m a part of? This whole thing barks up at least three of those trees.” Lizbeth and Kyreth seemed uncertain, the two glancing between one another again before looking to Khitti. “Does… that mean you’ll help us?” Lizbeth was quick to chime in before her boss; the vampire knew full well what Khitti was capable of, having heard of some of things Khitti had done around Lithrydel. “Of course I am. You think the city guards can handle something like this? They couldn’t even keep Kahran from slaughtering people. -I- had to help with that too.”

Quintessa Dragana hated Cenril. She had ever since she was a little girl and she had snuck away from home to explore the city. That had been a lifetime ago, and the naïve wonder of a child had yielded to the unbridled distain of a teenager. After all, the last time Quintessa had been to the city she was attacked by ruffians. And before that? The changeling shook her head. She had seen much killing since the Razurath war and had even enjoyed most of it, but the massacre she had committed here for Mage's Guild and Drow's combined effort still weight heavily on her mind. Quintessa hated the idea of being a puppet and Cenril reminded her of what it felt to be one. The only reason she was here today was because of Warrior Guild business and not because she wanted to see the theatre. When the hex blade overheard the conversation backstage, however, the solemn memories gave way to prickly agitation. "Khitti? Great." She said, flipping her invisibility cloak over her shoulder so that her left hand could lazily rest on the hilt of her katana. "I guess you're here for the mark?" Of course she was. Quintessa had a mind to walk out right now, but with the bounties she had placed reserving much of her funds see couldn't walk away from the gold. The odd girl stands there for a moment, sizing the red-head up before frowning. "I guess that means we have to work together." Quintessa was disappointed; this meant staying her blade and not attacking this woman a second time. Why were they always trying to kill the same targets every time they bumped into each other? The changeling was starting to think Khitti enjoyed killing stuff as much as she did.

Khitti sighed. It was the heavy sigh of a person with too many things going on and not enough brain cells to deal with it all--especially not after a night of heavy drinking. “Apparently. I was unaware it was even a thing, considering I’ve not been to the Warrior’s Guild’s headquarters in awhile. And -these two- failed to tell me,” she said, a glare sent to the elf and vampire. “Fine. -We’ll- deal with it. And you can have whatever the hell they’re offering as a reward too.” Khitti turned to face the changeling finally, olive-green eyes settling on the girl, “We’ll need to come up with a plan. But first, you and I have business to attend to. Perhaps both can be done at once.” Quintessa would know full well about what sort of ‘business’ Khitti meant. A hand motioned in the direction of a small staircase that led outside, to a garden area the bards usually used as a break or meditation area. It was somewhere quiet, somewhere Khitti spent her time before she went on stage. “Go down those stairs and you’ll find a garden. There’s plenty of space there that’s not frakked up with flowers. Wait there and I’ll join you.” Without another word, the templar turned on booted heel and headed towards the changing rooms where her stuff was left.

Quintessa raises an eyebrow at the woman. Did they have time for such things? Wasn't there supposed to be an investigation? Tracking? Hunting things down? The changeling can't hide the shift of her mood as her frown slowly becomes more of a crooked smile. "Alright, we deal with that first then." Somehow, Quintessa preferred it better this way. Making her way down to the gardens, she removes her cloak and folds it up haphazardly before leaving it on a stone bench near the edge. She wouldn't need guile for what she thought was coming next. While she waits, Quintessa idly stretches and tightens the straps of her sheath and spike-heeled boots. How long would it take for Khitti to get ready? Did she have time for a cheeky smoke? "I should probably pass," she says to herself, mismatched eyes flickering to her cloak wehre her cigarettes case rested inside the inner pocket. It was a bad habit that reminded her a bit too much of the woman whom she'd picked it up from. She was thinking about quitting but too stressed to commit.

Small Garden, Cenril

Khitti || It didn’t take Khitti long to retrieve both Embershard and Tenbatsu Kaji before she’d head towards the garden. “It doesn’t do well to attempt to get your pay for the night with weapons in hand--with bards, anyway.” And then it hit her. “The pay that I didn’t even get while I was in there…” She paused, narrowed her eyes, then turned her head to the doorway and yelled, “THE PAY THAT I’LL BE BACK FOR TOMORROW GODDAMNIT.” Ugh. “My banshee bitch of a mother shows up at -one- show. ONE. And rips out the drummer’s heart and I don’t hear the end of it. It’s been two damned years.” She shot another glare at the door, not that the owner could see it anyway. Maybe he could -feel- it. Khitti wasn’t much of a praying sort, but this was one of those times that she was. “You wanted the fight. How do you want it to go? Weapons? No weapons? Just don’t forget the rule I made. It would appear you’ll be getting a bloodbath here pretty soon anyway.” She meant that troop of bards, of course.

Quintessa looks up in the direction yelling mid-stretch and smirks before straightening up again, finding humor in whatever argument was going on. Getting a tiny glance into Khitti's life was interesting. Quintessa couldn't help but feel the urge to know more about her, but hadn't yet acted on that desire. She had far too much on her plate to properly stalk her again. "We might want to ban the use of magic," Quintessa admitted, "If I start casting spells back here there won't be anything left of this garden. Let's just do a pure martial bout with swords to test each other's skills. I want to know how far the gap is between us- I have to know." The changeling's aura is an eerie calm as she speaks. Something cold and calculating instead of the hot burning recklessness she normally exudes. A slender hand moves to grip the hilt of her katana and her posture changes to take an offensive stance she copied from the sylvan elves. "Agreeable?"

Khitti wasn’t about that stretching nonsense right now. She’d just gotten a workout from that concert, after all. “I’ll even be nice and not use Tenbatsu Kaji’s magic,” she said with a smirk. “You hear that Seika? No fire today, I’m afraid.” The sword’s aura shifted from its usual yellow to that of a dark orange before dying away entirely. “Your wish is my command, Mistress Dragana.” The redhead gave a flourishful, but clearly mocking bow as she unsheathed both swords. Khitti was much better at hiding whatever sort of excitement the prospects of this fight had given her. It’d been far too long since she’d sparred with anyone, even Brand. The thought brought a slight frown to her lips--there’d been a lot of things her and Brand hadn’t tended to yet besides having an all out spar like they used to,their honeymoon being one of those things--but only momentarily, for it was soon wiped clean, the templar’s face lacking any emotion. “Well?” The question was laced with a certain sternness, like from an instructor to a pupil. It was clearly one that said “come at me, bro”.

Quintessa bent her right knee forward and pushed herself off the ground to propel in the direction of Khitti in the very same moment she uttered the word "Well", crossing the distance between them in the fraction of a second, her unarmored form zipping through the air with surprisingly inhuman speed. It made sense, the strange girl not really being very human at all to begin with. This was sort of Quintessa's signature opening, her quick-draw attack that had killed many people since she'd been using it. With enough force to cut Khitti in two, the hex blade makes a horizontal slice aiming for her midsection before flipping the blade around for a vertical follow up. To end her attack, Quintessa takes half a step back, bringing her sword up to chest level before thrusting outward, her right foot slamming back down on the ground as the tip of her katana jabs straight for her sternum. Not precise attacks, but she wasn't trying to kill her either, this was just a show of resolve. Each of these attacks could kill someone ill prepared to deal with them as Quintessa attacked with the mindset of someone who had always struck to kill in the past. It was difficult to hold back for her. With her flurry ended, the changeling brings her blade back to hover between them defensively, her stance shifting to match her sword's positioning.

Khitti was probably going to regret this. She resisted the urge to say ‘frak’ as Quintessa did as Khitti asked and closed the gap between them. She was definitely thinking it though. Often times of late did Khitti wish for her vampiric abilities, albeit without the undeadness. Today was one of those days. The thicker blade of the gladius was used to fend off the first of the changeling’s blows. The two swords clanged together, sparks flying as one scraped against the other and pulled away as Khitti adjusted her footing and body position to accomodate for the second hit, Tenbatsu Kaji picking up the assist. The jab to her chest is met with a growl and a jump away just as the blade attempted to hit home in Khitti’s heart. “What are we going to do about these idiots under the bridge? Killing them is obvious, but how? If they’re always as open as they were about this play, then they’re wanting people to come to them. They’ll be looking for it. So, the question is, do we play it safe and stealth our way in? Or make a big show of it and try our hand at their own game?” She meant deception, of course. Khitti’s own attack was let loose now once her thoughts had been made known. The tip of one boot found the dirt as the redhead pirouetted, Tenbatsu Kaji made to slash at the changeling, ever so close to her throat. Once the spin had completed, Embershard was there to follow-up, the gladius’ pointy end shoved towards Quintessa’s stomach. Much like Quintessa, once the younger of the two had defended against the attacks, Khitti’s own blades would come to rest in a defensive way in front of her.

Quintessa considered Khitti's words for a second as her eyes followed her weapons, and she tilted her Catalian katana to the side to deflect the attack aimed for her throat upward as she ducked beneath it, allowing the force to carry through instead of trying to absorb it. Then Embershard nears and the changeling is forced to fade to the side as she flips her sword downward to knock the gladius off-course. The sharp tip nearly connects but only manages to cut through her loose-fitting robes as her lithe body glides away from the weapon. "Close one," she compliments, skidding to a halt as she bring her sword up into a window guard. "Seems to me they enjoy theatrics- I don't blame them, but perhaps we can use this to our advantage." Quintessa lunges forward with a feint, the attack aimed for Khitti's shoulder only a ruse for her real attack. Before the tip of her sword comes close enough to do damage, Quintessa quickly changes direction or let's Khitti deflect it, whichever comes first, and brings her sword down to sweep the woman from her feet before bringing a downward thrust down if it was successful. "If we make a big show of it we can trick them into showing off. Villains love to monologue. That's when we'll strike."

Khitti || “Indeed they do. Then again, sometimes I tend to talk them to death as well as I’m setting them on fire,” Khitti said with a shrug. And what did that say about her? Was she more villain than hero? It’s enough to knock Khitti offer her game a moment, as she fell for Quintessa’s feint, and the hexblade had to change course in an effort not to seriously hurt her opponent, only to then succeed in sweeping Khitti off her feet. There’s a momentary look of disdain as Khitti laid there a moment, trying to right her mind again. It was quite the task though, to not think of the things she had done and the ways she’d done them, but she somehow managed it. “Good.” That’s all that was said as she pushed herself up off the ground, her words a somewhat terse compliment for the Dragana girl. That anger of hers flared up, despite her attempts to quell them, and it started to show. Khitti tapped further into the ballet lessons Lanara had given her some time ago, an irritated cry leaving her throat as she pirouetted again and again, blades out in a whirlwind-like fashion. She kept just far enough away that Quintessa would have time to evade in whatever way she chose, and to finish it up, Khitti did her own modified version of an assemblé. Once the spinning stopped, Khitti remained on the toes of her right foot. Pushing off of the ground, she jumped into the air, Embershard poised to pierce the girl’s heart as Khitti came back down, both feet planted on the ground, while Tenbatsu Kaji was held somewhat off to the side. “Everyone’ll know who I am, but I know way to deal with it. We pretend that we’re bards that didn’t do so hot here. Tell them how much we loved their performance. How much we want to be like them.”

Quintessa could feel the anger building in Khitti as her aura passively flowed around her to sense her movements and intentions. It was one of the reasons that the changeling was so good at reacting to attacks she could hardly see and even better at knowing when to strike. Now, however, Quintessa was struggling to keep up with Khitt's dance. She only knew how to waltz. The hex blade swings her blade hard to meet the whirlwind, keeping the attack from connecting as she spins in order to maintain visuals on her dance partner. Sparks fly as metal meets metal, the clang echoing loudly through the gardens. As her katana bounces back, Quintessa is momentarily stunned, giving Khitti the perfect opening to pierce her heart. Mismatched eyes focus in as the blade hones in and the young spellcaster has no choice but to break her own rule. "Tarian iâ!" she shouts as she brings up her left forearm. Nearly instantaneously, a shield of ice roughly the size of a buckler manifests on her arm to take the blow for her. A simple ice-shield isn't enough to withstand Embershard, however, and the blade slices through the buckler and into the flesh of Quintessa's arm. She winces in pain as the ice cracks like a spiderweb, a bit of her blood running down her arm and onto the ground were it makes a small pool. The hex blade grins in spite of herself, clenching her fist as she holds steadfastly, not letting the small wound overpower her. "I can be a good actress," she claims, flashing her a row or sharp teeth. "Such things please my Lady Daedria." Quintessa fades backwards again as her ice-shield finally shatters, dislodging the tip of Khitti's sword from her arm. When she tries to bring her sword up in to inside right, the pain in her left arm reminds her of her injury and she winces again. "Playing the fanatic sounds like fun, enfin." Quintessa linger with her sword here, not pressing another attack. After that cheeky spell she cast she expected to be scolded by Khitti for cheating.

Khitti frowned somewhat as her sword bit into Quintessa’s flesh, a slew of profanity muttered to herself. She backed off, allowing the girl to remove the blade from her arm, before swords were sheathed--the blood would be dealt with later. There’s no scolding from Khitti, surprisingly. Instead, those mothering instincts of Khitti’s kicked in and she’s soon tearing off the very bottom of her dress’ skirt, near the hem; it was a makeshift bandage for now until Quintessa could deal with it on her own. “I can’t actually heal you or it’d kill you. I expect you’d like to not go down the same road of vampire-and-holy-magic-hell that I went through with Rorin.” The entire thing was like an apology of sorts, without actually saying the words. Quintessa hadn’t seemed like the type to often make apologies, and of late, Khitti wasn’t either. “We’ll continue again once this whole thing is taken care of.” The strip of cloth was offered up to the girl for her to either wrap up her arm herself or let Khitti do it. Either way, once it was finished, Khitti… suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. “You said, in Xalious, that you didn’t have a teacher.” She side-stepped away from Quintessa, moving to sit on one of the stone benches beneath the garden’s cherry blossom tree in an attempt to finally catch her breath.

Quintessa sheaths her sword and stares at Khitti in silent disbelief as she begins to mother her, but she doesn't stop her. It felt nice, and although she wouldn't admit it, she wouldn't deny the attention either. "Er- thanks." Quintessa allows Khitti to wrap her arm, a slight smile betraying her feelings about this situation. "It's one of the more annoying aspects of this curse, yes, second to the thirst, I 'spose." The changeling at least knew what she was talking about when it came to vampire culture and biology, enough to eloquently converse about it as though she experienced it herself. Anyone who had read vampire poetry before could fake it, honestly. There was even a hint of regret in her voice when she spoke of the disadvantages of being undead. "But this will take care of itself soon enough." Truthfully, Quintessa had a few potions stashed away she could sneak later to speed her healing up. The changeling flexes her arm once Khitti was done and she gauges the pain to estimate how serious it was before deciding that this was nothing to worry about. Eyes of blue and hazel flicker over to Khitti when she speaks of Quintessa not having a teacher. "No..." she admits. "I was assigned to Magister Daath at first, but he quickly grew disinterested when I wouldn't be his lapdog... And then Larewen." The odd girl looks at the ground. "Well, you see how far that got me. Kasyr has been a good teacher for swordsmanship, but when it comes to magic he's not exactly- erm- aware of what he's doing. I'm pretty sure I have a better grasp of magical theory than him." Quintessa moves to join Khitti, flipping her cloak back around her shoulders before reaching for her cigarettes. "Such is the useless bureaucracy of the Mage's Guild."

Khitti || “Hopefully, you’ll get used to vampirism in time. I never did.” Khitti’s words were twinged with a somber note. Luckily for Quintessa, it hadn’t even occurred to Khitti that the girl could be faking the whole thing. Anyone that wasn’t strictly human was going to have heightened senses in comparison to Khitti--it just wasn’t even something that registered on her radar anymore. It was just a thing she dealt with and tried not to worry about it, beyond keeping up with the rest of the world. “I’ve considered far too many times about whether or not to join the Mage’s Guild. One of your current higher-ups, Odhranos, was an acquaintance of mine years ago. He seemed wary about my magic, but then… he also knew about Amarrah through one of his little gadgets and that likely didn’t make things much better. She’s gone now, but I’m not sure if they’d take me. I knew Larewen was in there as well, but she hadn’t always been a necromancer.” Khitti shrugged, shook her head, and sighed. “But, that’s not why I brought this up. Lanara was right about your magic--you definitely should have things memorized. At least, the spells you use most often. When my shadow magic fully developed, my husband taught me the somatic components for elemental magic--specifically fire and ice--and used it for the Black Tides and I’ve adapted it to actual shadow manipulation as well. You get to a point where you don’t have to even think about it. You don’t need to do gestures. You just -do- it.” All the while as Khitti said this, the day in Frostmaw when she tried to help Brand’s other half, the first Dominic whom was an entity that had shared a body with her husband, came to mind. He’d been resistant to it, even when his magic manifested. And then Celaeno, another would-be student. That girl had been much like Khitti and then had suddenly disappeared. Raevyn had been another prospective student, Khitti’d thought, but that never panned out either. And here she was, about to offer to do it all again--this time with someone who’d probably end up killing her if Khitti didn’t kill herself for a third time. There’s obvious hesitation before she continued, but Khitti ultimately does, “Do you -want- to learn?”

Quintessa idly fidgets with her bandages as Khitti speaks. The hex blade knew she was right. The arcane seemed to come naturally to Quintessa and most of the magic she studied had been memorized, but necromancy still seems to be a subject she struggled with. The odd girl nods her head slowly, understanding that she had much to learn. When Khitti asks if Quintessa wants to learn her mismatched eyes light up like a candle-light cantrip. "Y-yes!" she blurts out before turning her head to hide her blush. "I mean, I would be honored to learn under you, Sceleratus- erm, Defender? Actually, I'm not sure what title I should use for you, but I'd gladly become your student."

Khitti blinked a few times as Quintessa lit up. For -some reason-, she thought that there might be some sort of resistance from her too. The templar quickly shook her head at the mention of titles and laughed awkwardly, “Much like my brother, I’m not one for titles. It’s just a thing that comes with all of these guilds, I guess, even my own. I think the only one I’d really ever been fond of was Umbracryaestor, but it’s because I knew I earned it. I earned the others too, I guess… but… it was the only one that really stuck with me. I no longer have that title, however, so just Khitti will do--or whatever you might wish to call me, if you insist on anything besides that.” Her attention drifted from whatever she’d been looking at over to Quintessa’s arm, another frown threatening to surface, though she bit this one back. “You should go home. Take care of your arm. We’ll meet again soon to take care of the mark.”

Quintessa looks back over at her, giving her a genuine smile. "Just Khitti than. I'm fine with there being no titles between us, earned or otherwise." The girl hinted that her position as baroness wasn't one she held over people, especially not guildmates and while she didn't know what an Umbracryaestor was, she was certainly going to skim a few books that might be able to tell her later. The mention of her wounded arm coaxes a frown from Quintessa, however, and her gaze flickers down to the bandages before she sighs. "Yes," she admits. "I can take care of this quickly though. That gives us time to figure out exactly where they are hiding out before we strike... And longer to figure out a proper plan too." The changeling's blue and hazel eyes slowly look back up at Khitti and she stares at her a moment before she finally forces herself to say "Thank you." Her gaze immediately falters and drifts to the left, "For... Being a good mentor." Is that what she was to her? "I don't know why, but I can tell you actually care about my progress as a necromancer. I'm not going to take this for granted."

Khitti would nod at Quintessa’s decision on no titles and stood. The girl continued to speak as Khitti stretched--turned out she’d need to eventually--after starting to feel stiff and tired from all the moving around she’d been doing that day. Crimson brows furrowed as the changeling thanked Khitti, that frown that she’d tried so hard to push away finally showing itself. “Caring isn’t the problem. It’s trying not to care that is.” Khitti forced herself to harden her heart again now, the frown gone just as quickly as it came, replaced with a sort of somber stoicism. “I meant what I said when we first met, about killing you. Because I expect those closest to me to do the same if I ever got to be like Larewen or anyone else at that level of madness. I didn’t care that she was evil--and I don’t care if you fancy yourself that same way either. I will kill anyone that’s a threat to me or my family, no matter where they find themselves morality-wise.” She paused, her line of sight shifting towards the doorway out of the garden, the woman intent on leaving soon. “All that to say, that when you’re in that line of work, showing that you care about anyone or anything can get you or the people you love killed. Don’t show it to the wrong people, Quintessa.” She wasn’t trying to insinuate that she might be one of those wrong people, but if that’s the way the girl took it, then there wasn’t anything to be done about it.

Quintessa gives Khitti a smirk when she brings up killing her and the changeling gives her a single nod. "Oh yeah, consider that promise mutual. If you ever go off like Larewen the Mad, I'll make sure your reign of terror is a short one." Her left hand reaches for the hilt of her katana and she winces at the pain this simple action causes. "Because you know I'll be the first one trying to steal that sword for your corpse." A gesture is thrown in the direction of the Tenbatsu Kaji and she snickers at her dark joke before pulling her cloak around her to fend off the bitter cold. "Either way, I have nothing to gain from harming your family. I might get the urge to stab -you- ever now and then but that's nothing to worry about. I'm doing my best to be good." After having said that she searches for the exit before adding, "I should get going." Quintessa gives Khitti a small dip of her cranium before walking away, her spiked heels clicking on the stone walk way. "I'll think about what you said. Until next time, Khitti."