Viper paved the way down those red steps that weaved into the market it was built within. Aloysia noticed her disappearance, breaking free from Liam's watch and followed the scoffing assassin who wore an expression drenched in smugness. She didn't know what for.
Each step was steeper than the last, the noise from below reaching her ears and she couldn't help but falter in these new clothes covering her like a second skin. A small hesitation only a skilled eye could spot, even from a distance.
"If you're concerned of anyone recognising you Shadow, don't, most people don't even know what the princess of the North looks like besides the famous ruby red eyes that everyone swoons over"
Aloysia snickered, detecting the passive aggression. "Do I sense a hint of envy?"
She shrugged. "Hardly"
"Then perhaps you have fallen victim to their ruby-ness"
Viper dropped her shoulders, twisting her body to face the woman on a higher stair, those golden eyes fearless in the sunlight. "It wouldn't be me my dear," the stare lingered past the assassin, "but I could probably guess who"
Aloysia didn't let herself tense. Rather, she brushed the remark of with a quick-witted response and trailed after the laughing witch.
"And what about you? Has anyone seen your eyes and fallen victim to their beauty?"
God she was laying it on thick.
Viper sighed dramatically, her humour matching perfectly.
But she was serious. With Belinda's golden eyes, Aloysia would have been mad at the assassin if she had disregarded the history they shone for. "Not that I can recount, I haven't thought of anything like that for so long," she paused, "But what does cross my mind, along with many others, is wonder how someone could inherit red eyes from a king whose eyes are the darkest I've ever known"
Aloysia slowed her pace, eyeing the golden trim running down Viper's back. With a swallow she said, "I wonder that myself"
For a moment, Aloysia could have sworn Viper loosened a breath in solemnity, but clearly didn't as she stepped onto the sandy earth with utmost silence. And like the sweeping sand beneath her feet, the notion too, was gone.
"No matter, today you are someone different"
Aloysia stood beside her, blue eyes squinting against the early rising sun that seemed closer here than in other kingdoms. "And that includes a new name to fit your appearance"
Liam, whose feet were only a few heartbeats away at best answered for her, "How about Layla, I heard that name means night in your culture"
Viper smirked, watching the prince with a trained glare, "Fitting name your highness, local to the West as well, I'm surprised you knew that"
Layla…
She smirked. "Layla," her grin was feral, "seems too good a name to drag down, but I like it"
Viper caught her gaze. "Then might I be the first to welcome you to the west… Layla"
She swallowed her smile, instead, marvelling at the fact her face was in the public without people running in fear or falling to their knees in praise.
Viper turned to the prince, a smirk lining her lips as she lowered her head slightly. "Now if you will follow me, I shall take you to your transportation"
~
Viper lead them down a set of streets unbeknownst to the public eye, hidden, separated from the outside world. And for good reason. Rather than following the main street hectic and bustling, they followed the shadows to a door entering an abandoned shack held together by cloth.
Layla rubbed at her eyes, a slight stinging still lingering that she just couldn't ignore. This would be hard to get used too.
Ahead of them, Viper paused in front of large doors that acted as a giant hatch for… gods knows what.
She knelt, gripping the bottom with ferocity.
"Just a little heads up, you might want to keep your nerves on a leash" she snickered maliciously, "they smell fear"
They smell fear?
Once those set of doors were pushed, the wood aching open, Liam braced himself for the worst. He had no reason not to trust her… so why was he anticipating a trap? Glancing to Layla, the scrunching of her nose told him she was thinking the same thing.
But to their relief, it was as she had said; awaiting their gasps of awe stood three beasts, each with a lavish saddle strapped on their thin fur and metallic handles curving toward the front of the head. Nestled between large ears spanning the size of a hand, the elaborate decoration adorned the beast's saddle, cupping its muscular frame and providing a comfortable place for a rider. Layla sucked in a breath.
"I don't think we're the things that need to be on leashes" she grimaced, eyeing teeth as it opened its mouth in greeting.
Viper sniffed. "They're harmless to those that they don't find threatening"
"And what would they consider threatening, exactly?" Layla retorted. "Because their teeth and claws seems threatening to me"
Belinda huffed, dusting off her hands from the sand and walked from the pair, "As long as you behave yourselves, no one gets hurt" she eyed Layla specifically, said assassin pausing under her stern, golden gaze, "That means no iron, and absolute trust"
The weight of her dagger hanging lifelessly at her hip felt like a millstone. "There was no need for that Viper" she groaned, "Besides," she eyed them up, "Who says they'd win in a fight?"
Viper held a hand to her mouth, holding back a laugh, "Anyone who hasn't seen an Amura become aggressive before, that's who"
It was not what he had expected, nor by the assassin standing defensively. Even without taking a stance, Liam could tell by her flickering fingers that she could draw a blade in a heartbeat. He followed her subtle signs to her face that had an assessor's eye. Was it safe?
The exterior was also a lie, for an interior had been built in its place that wasn't short of anything. Structurally, it was stable, resistant except for the sun gaping through small gaping holes above them. "So the outside was a rouse?" Layla questioned, her head swivelling. Viper blinked. "With beings such as these kept here, I would have thought it made sense… no need for a civilian to spot one and create a panic"
The assassin looked unsure, her chest tightening.
"I've dealt with countless humans, showed no sign of fear… but this is different Belinda, do you expect me to just blindly trust you in regard to those… things?"
She was hesitant.
And who wouldn't be.
An Amura, magnificent beasts that originated with the kingdom itself, the most tame and largest tiger specie specific to the west. Hand raised, from cubs these creatures held muscle that could carry weight across a stretch of the open desert without so much as faltering. Each breath, each contraction it took to place one paw in front of the other was precise enough to kill. Their large paws gave them the surface area to carve themselves into the sand at top speeds without sinking. They were perfectly designed by nature herself.
Their fur, although not necessary in the heat was a striking orange mixed with grey, melting into the face that shone a beautiful white.
The sun was beating down on the aged walls, yet it was not the cause of her breathlessness, and Viper smiled a knowing grin, one of great pride for her animals. "I'm not the one you have to trust from now on, its them"
Smirking, Viper ran a hand down one's back, "These things will get you to the outlining district in just a few days."
One nuzzled up to her, as tame as common house pet. "They can carry double their own weight, so no need to pack lightly"
She smiled, lowering her head to connect its forehead to her own. A greeting perhaps.
The creature matched her, its beady eyes the depth of the dessert it thrived in, detecting the beat of their hearts, in sync with one another. A gentle purr hummed through the room as Viper rest a hand to its neck, pulling away gently.
Reunited at last.
"Her name is Femi, a gentle soul who gets riled very easily if she thinks I'm in danger"
Femi, hearing her name turned her magnificent head, the muscles connecting to her legs shifted like a well-oiled machine. But that wasn't what pulled the assassin in… it was the eyes, her eyes, they were gorgeous. A primal energy so calm and focused resided behind them she couldn't help tilting her head.
"Very rare creatures" Viper mumbled, "going extinct from hunters killing them for their fur"
The pain in her voice was there, but she didn't let it reach her, didn't let it stay on the surface for longer than a second. Femi nuzzled against her legs, reaching the upper torso in height.
Liam sighed from a guilty conscience. Of course, humans would be capable of such a cruel thing. He looked to the one beside Femi, a younger, youthful glow emanated from this one, so much so it stared at him equally. "They are truly beautiful, even if they scare me half to death"
Belinda smiled, waving them over.
Layla saw Liam in her peripherals, saw how he was ensnared by them. And by his soft hair lighting his features, she knew he was approachable by man or beast.
He wasn't the one carrying a weapon out in the open, he didn't always hold a scowl or a dangerous expression… but Layla did- Aloysia did.
She was the first to respond. "And you're sure they don't find me threatening?"
"Would I ever lie to you?"
"Without a doubt"
Hesitantly, she lightly stepped into the finer sand covering the floor and held out a cautious hand. Her mind was flooded with uncertainty and an emergency escape route should it come to that. But, in response, Femi minimally dipped her head, like a curious gesture from a seasoned hunter figuring out if the person in front of them was dangerous.
If Femi were a human, her observation would have been steadfast and instant. Dangerous.
This was different.
Swallowing, Layla trudged closer under the watchful eye of her predecessor. Femi made no move to pounce, but no move of acceptance either.
Viper sighed, watching Layla like an assessor. "Their time in this world is coming to an unfortunate end thanks to the likes of people, so I have taken it upon myself to protect the last few and keep them safe, hence the secrecy of location"
Liam faced her, "That means…"
"Yes Liam," she said, "I do trust you enough for this"
That seemed to be enough for Femi, who looked up at her master before placing one paw in front of the other and lowering her head to the floor, chin touching sand.
Layla breathed out, her hand resting gently atop her head.
Above her, Viper smiled. "Told you, she's gentle"
Layla pulled back, the absence of her hand signalling Femi to rise as well. "Incredible"
"That and more"
Viper wrapped her fingers around the saddle, leaping from her position to land firmly on the beast's back. Femi didn't so much as flinch; Belinda's weight in comparison to a feather by how this amura flexed its muscles.
The assassin now burying her feet in fur, expertly poised for riding held her hand out in invitation. "Shall we?"