The old stories claimed magic was, once upon a time, accessible to all, without effort, or payment, without having to source it, it was drawn from the bones of the earth as newborns drew breath and estuaries drew water. Rose believed it, somewhat. As a wood elf, her kind had lifespans twice as long as the next longest-living race, and before he died, her great grandmother swore that before the fall of the Last Great Elven Kingdom, nearly 3000 years ago, nobody needed to buy these crystals the overthrowers peddled. It simply was. And she was never a liar, but... it was difficult to imagine. What was only four generations for the elves, regardless of if they were woodland, high, or dark, but for most others? It was ages. The majority claimed elves were crazy, or they were misrepresenting how life used to be, or they were simply bitter over the fall of their kingdom.

"Even if it did used to be like that," the point was raised, among many others, "don't you think it's better now? This way the most powerful mages have the most access to magic, and the less skilled cannot access the same amount of magic required, so less harm will be done."

Frankly, it didn't matter much to Rose. It was how life was now, and she couldn't do anything to change it. So, her family paid their dues to keep their inn and tavern warm in winter and cool in summer, paid to keep their car running, paid for each little spell to keep their herbs fresh, or to heal injuries... she didn't use magic much herself, at least not any more than the average person needed to simply to survive. You simply could not live without magic, everything ran on it. Citizens weren't even meant to use sticks light fires, you were supposed to use these fancy contraptions they called 'lighters,' if not a magic spell, and if you were caught doing otherwise, you'd be fined. Heavily. And that was a minor infraction... but, it was life. Rose tried to keep her head down and not make waves. She adventured, somewhat, even though nowadays people who traveled as a career weren't particularly well thought of. They were considered more like vagrants than noble heros, but, well... she enjoyed wandering, helping others, and singing, playing instruments, exploring, and her family supported it, and it wasn't illegal. She still paid her dues to the High Mages in the Onyx Palace, and so despite her unconventional career choice, she kicked up no dust. She wasn't the only one, either. Although wandering bards weren't as common in the common day, there were still bounty hunters plentiful, and wandering merchants selling the much needed crystals and other goods.

Or, at least, she thought she wasn't making waves, until she received a sudden from the High Mages themselves, and suddenly found herself sitting, not only in the capital, but in the infamous castle itself. Young Rose McGann had been ushered into a meeting room and told to wait, was told another individual would be arriving shortly, and that the High Mages had a task for them. She didn't like the sound of it, but you don't argue with the High Mages, not ever. So she sat, ankles crossed, rubbing her thumb against the gentle curve of her bow, glancing occasionally at the stone faces of officials in the room, but mostly staring out the window, or at the door.
 
Nassirah was not what one would call lady like but she didn't exactly try to be either and she didn't care what people said, she was who she was and if people didn't like it, well, that was their own fault. Her confidence was what both made her excellent at her job and what got her into trouble on the regular. Such was the case now, finding herself on probation and being put on what she would consider an easy job. Find and bring in someone living "off the grid" why such a thing was illegal didn't really matter to her. She just wanted the money whatever happened to people after she delivered them, she could care less.

Nassirah walked into the room, tall with rich dark skin that complimented the lean muscle of her build. Athletic sort clearly. She didn't have the stereotypical facial structure of a woman. No messing around with large lips and wide eyes. No, she had an angular look about her, straight thin nose and thin lips, her eyes more narrowed. Her hair though was probably the most notable feature about her,patterns shaved into the black stubble on either side and long dreadlocks down the middle and down her back where she did adorn some of the ends with beads. Her hair and then her piercing bright green eyes that had a way of making a person feel like she was looking right thru them and into their soul. As cliche as that perhaps sounds, it was true. The woman was intense.

Pulling out the chair with a foot she took a seat and leaned back, folding her arms, looking more annoyed than even remotely worried. "Saddling me with a softy..." she noted, sizing up the elf
 
Rose heard the comment... although she wasn't sure she wasn't meant to... but pretended she didn't. Instead, she turned and smiled up the other woman and said, "It's nice t'meet you, bhean uasal. I'm Rose McGann, I think we're going t'be working together." There was a persistent negative stereotype about elves which claimed they were all haughty and cold, but in actuality, it only really applied to the High Elves, and even the majority of them weren't any more prideful than anyone else. Rose was a woodland elf who was raised working in the service industry, so she pushed all of it down, all of her intensity, all of her fury, all of her edges, she pushed it all down to be seen simply as pleasant, even if her kindness was often misconstrued as meekness.

One of the officials stepped closer to them, after the other woman took her seat, cutting off of Rose's introduction, and for a moment her sea coloured eyes glowed in irritation, but then she blinked and it was gone, "As Nassirah knows, the two of you have been hired to track down a man living outside the society, and therefore, outside of the law. We suspect him to be hostile on sight, and therefore dangerous, which is why we are sending you, rather than official law enforcement. We want him brought in quietly and swiftly; we cannot say for certain what he is doing out in the wilds, but we have our suspicions," He threw down a dossier onto the tabletop, "bring him in, bring him quickly." As soon as the dossier was on the table, Rose took it, and began thumbing through it. She tucked her red, curly hair behind her ears, and her brow furrowed as she read through it. She glanced up at the official, and said nothing.
 
Nassirah looked over at the woman who seemed entirely too pleasant for a job like this. Were they hoping she would die? Made her wonder exactly what she had done. Whatever the reason she was just annoyed, or seemed so at least.

"No time to waste then. Better get moving. We can go over this stuff on the way" sooner they got going the sooner she got a paycheck
 
"It says his last known location is down south in White Cliffs, I suppose we should start heading that way." Rose said, standing up and slinging her bow over her shoulder the way hunters in backwater towns did, rather than storing it on her back.

She nodded politely towards the official, and when they didn't try to keep her from going, she left the room, and the palace, as quickly as possible, and once outside she asked "Have you done this before, bhean uasal?" She seemed the sort to have, judging by how bored she looked.
 
Nassirah nodded "This is just my job" she confirmed "and sometimes they saddle me with people like you like it's a punishment" she rolled her eyes

"just makes the job annoying. I work primarily alone so do me a favor and stay out of my way" she seemed to simply have a distaste for people in general. Nothing personal. And honestly it made sense.

By the look of her she was one of those mixed races, difficult to pin point her heritage. Most races stuck to their own kind to avoid issues but mingling happened
 
Rose stopped, and her general air of complacency fell down around her, just long enough for her to say, "I'm not a punishment, and I'm not a burden." In that moment, she truly appeared as one of the noble daughters of the elven kindgoms of old, but then it was gone again, locked away as she made herself pleasing once more.

"Let's head to White Cliff, then, and get it done quickly," she smiled, and nimbly headed down the road, whistling.
 
That remains to be seen" Nassirah said, still just brushing the woman off. Respect had to be earned in her book and thus far it hadn't been.

"Planning to walk all that way are you?" She asked, raising a brow
 
"What?" She asked, turning around on her heel with the slightest hint of a smirk on her face, "do you get tired easily? The path from here to White Cliff is long, but not arduous... but I suppose if you tire more easily than I do, it would be difficult to get there on foot." Then she turned around again, and kept strolling down the street. Of course, she didn't mention that she couldn't afford a car.
 
"Gods. Getting tired isn't the issue. It's the time. I've got better things to do than treck around on foot with you" she walked to the curb where there was a motorcycle.

"Get on" she said as she mounted the bike and waited for her to climb on behind
 
"If you say so," Rose replied, politely, "but you should know, I wouldn't shame you if you were honest with me, bhean uasal."

With that, she hopped onto the back of the bike, and wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist.
 
"You're really going to keep pushing that? Do I look like one who tires easily?" Nassirah said, more and more annoyed by this elf. She shook her head and kicked the bike to life "Hang on!" she called over the roar of the bike before peeling out into traffic, not bothering with helmets of any sort. Confident or reckless, however one wished to look at it.

She had been working this job long enough to know her way around just about anywhere. The way to White Cliff was pretty straight forward and about an hour drive outside the city, a little longer with a car but with a bike she could skip thru a lot of traffic jams pretty easily. So much for talking on the way, hard to do on a bike.

She pulled over at the edge though "So what's that packet say about him?"
 
Rose didn't seem at all frazzled by the haphazard drive, and with the exception of her hair, which was wild from it, she looked nonplussed.

"Not much," she sighed, taking the dossier from her bag, and looking through it again, "6'6, presumed human--what ever that means--last known location: White Cliff, last seen with black hair and a full beard, although that may have changed since then... used t'travel, for reasons unspecified, and might still, although he hasn't been spotted recently. Oh, and..." she turned a page, "about ten years ago, he served time for desserting from the army, but was released early on a technicality. It doesn't say much about why they want him, only that he is living outside the bonds of society."
 
Nassirah nodded "Great... then we start asking around" she said, smirking at the state of the other womans hair "Might invest in a hair tie" she noted, made sense now why she kept her's in dreads, less to worry about with riding a bike around everywhere.

"Did they provide a photograph?" she asked "Let me guess? no?" they seemed to give her cases with little to no information
 
"They have a drawing," she said, "you know, an artist's rendition? It's well done, I mean--it looks like a person, at least." She handed it over. It showed a man approaching middle age, but not quite there yet, with full, thick hair and piercing eyes. They were intense like Nassirah's, and Rose wondered if everyone in this buisness had intense eyes. Unfortunately, the illustration wasn't in colour.

As Nassirah looked over the drawing, Rose pulled her hair back in a bun. It was thick enough that she didn't need a tie or a pin to keep it in place, although it didn't really bother her if her hair was messy.
 
"Right well... we start asking around, bar's are a good place to start" Nassirah said after looking the drawing over "We can use this, see if anyone recognizes him, maybe we will get lucky" she said "I know where there's a couple bars we can check first, go from there" This time she did leave the bike, they would go on foot until they got a lead that sent them farther away. No use wasting expensive fuel to drive around town. She used it for long distance was all

"What was your name again?"
 
"Rose McGann, bhean uasal. And, you don't need t'introduce yourself t'me, I remember your's, from when the man at the palace said it." She adjusted her bow on her shoulder and strolled through the town, until she came upon a place called The Tipsy Oyster.

"This seems a good a'place as any to start asking around."
 
"Right, a flower name" she said, opening the door to the bar and stepping in without really waiting for Rose. Clearly she wasn't much of a people person, but that made sense given her job.
Walking up to the bar she found a seat and ordered a drink first "What will you have flower girl?" she asked Rose, glancing back at her. A drink to start the investigation never hurt! not in her opinion anyway.
 
She didn't particularly enjoy the nickname, but Rose was pretty sure if she said so, it would stick, so she rolled her shoulders back and asked for a pint of ale from the bartender. What got her the most about the name was... she was almost certain she was older than her companion, even if she didn't look it.

After taking the first sip, she turned to Nassirah and asked, "D'you think this man as dangerous as they say?"
 
"They say all of them are. More often than not these people are harmless nobodies" she answered "but who can say. Best to remain vigilant in case he is some crazy son of a bitch" she took the drawing and waved down the bar tender again.

"Hey. Looking for this guy. You seen em?" She frequented these sorts of establishments when looking for someone. Little use pretending she was anything but a bounty hunter at this point
 
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