The moment Dawn saw the cloak he quickly readied himself for whatever fight might ensue, but he noticed that the cloaked Kowai member stood still in a calm state.
???: "I am not here to fight you, Dawn Carter." The words were coming from a woman's voice. "Relax yourself."
The woman then pulled the hood of her cloak off of her head, revealing her face. She had shorter hair of a jet black color in a razored bob cut that rested just above her collarbone. Her eyes were a shade of dark green which complemented her hair and black eyebrows well. Her eyelashes were long, and her skin was a clear ivory tone. Underneath her cloak was a 5'6 athletic build, but that is all Dawn could notice through the cloak.
Rowan: "My name is Rowan Mamoru, I just want to talk." She said, her voice calm.
Dawn: "Why the hell should I trust you!" He blurted out, clearly shaken by yesterday morning's events.
Rowan: "Because I am not with Kowai. I saw everything that happened, but I am not one of Soe's henchmen." As she spoke, her green eyes glimmered in the sunlight that was rising from behind Dawn.
Dawn waited for a moment before relaxing. He was exhausted, too exhausted to resist her.
Rowan: "I appreciate your cooperation. Will you listen to what I have to say, Dawn?" She folded her arms.
Dawn simply gave her a nod.
Rowan sighed before speaking: "I take it you aren't going to say a lot to me, but that's okay." She then looked directly at Dawn. "I was watching you yesterday while you and your group were fighting, and let me start off by saying that I am sorry for your losses." She unfolded her arms. "I was originally sent here from Boketto, a planet in the Ophiel Coordinate."
Dawn was confused by this information, the confusion being plastered across his face.
Rowan: "Ah, you don't know what that means. Let me explain; The Universe is split into seven Coordinates, one for each God of Creation, or the Origin Seven. Somniet lies in the Kellam Coordinate, or Taesis' Domain, and Boketto lies in the Ophiel Coordinate which is Gelas' Domain. I know that's a lot, but it will make sense in due time."
Dawn gave another nod, showing he understood.
Rowan: "Now, back to what I was saying. I was sent here to infiltrate Kowai and figure out why Soe was tasked with killing Oliver Kauko. I belong to an organization back on Boketto called The Underground. We are basically a collective of assassins, thieves, and any other occupation that others would deem as scum of the universe." She then began to pace. "We knew that Kowai had previously worked with a Sentinel, but it was under Tycho's command at the time, the previous leader of Kowai. Are you following?" She stopped pacing for a moment to look at Dawn.
Dawn: "Yes, I am." He finally spoke.
Rowan: "Thank you for using your vocal chords." She started pacing again. "Tycho made a deal with that Sentinel, the deal being that Tycho would provide slaves for the Sentinel, and the Sentinel would protect Kowai. Once Tycho killed your parents and sold your sister to the Sentinel, he abandoned Kowai. Rumor has it the deal he made with the Sentinel ended with him making enough money to go into early retirement."
Dawn: "Was it because of my sister's white hair?" He spoke up.
Rowan stopped, staring at Dawn.
Rowan: "That is exactly why. Is that what Gento told you yesterday?"
Dawn: "Yes. He said that people with white hair sell for good money."
Rowan: "I see. It is because there are not many of your kind left out there in the universe." She started pacing once more. "I will let you find out why in your own time. Just know that your kind is scarce, and you make good profit."
Dawn shot her a nasty look.
Rowan: "Sorry." She snickered. "Anyways, we knew that Kowai had connections to the Sentinel, even after Tycho left. It turns out Soe had continued to feed slaves to the Sentinel with Oliver's help, and that is why Oliver made so much money. No mere Chief of Solart City is making that type of money without doing dirty work, I should know. Unfortunately for Oliver, he was getting too many people involved, and it started to make the Sentinel upset. Thus leading the Sentinel to order Soe to murder Oliver Kauko. It was pretty easy to crack the case, but as Oliver was one of the main contributors of The Underground's funds, this was an important matter. We learnt of the hit on Oliver about a month ago, and that is around the time of my arrival. Oliver was giving us money, and in return we supplied him with narcotics that are illegal on Somniet. Now that he is dead, we will lose a lot of money, but that is not my problem to prevent. My job is now done, and the reason for me talking to you is that I want you to accompany me back to Boketto."
Dawn took a step back: "Why exactly?" His voice indicated he was caught off guard.
Rowan: "Because you are a fighter, Dawn. You took down Gento, a man with triple the combat experience and battle IQ. You show promise, and I want you to work with me. I need someone like you on my crew." She then walked up to Dawn, extending out her arm, and offering Dawn her hand.
Visions of Rhys reaching out for his hand on the first day of school flooding his mind. For a moment he forgot the scenario that he was in, and that this was Rowan, not Rhys. This offer had come out of nowhere, but Dawn could not think of any reason not to take it, and he found himself trusting the woman's words. What did he have to lose?
Dawn then extended his hand, taking hers. He had accepted her offer.
Rowan: "Great!" She exclaimed as she did not expect him to be so willing, especially after everything.
Rowan: I was right about this guy.. She thought to herself before breaking their handshake.
Dawn: "So what happens now?" He said as his arm returned to his side.
Rowan: "We wait for my ship to arrive. It should be here within the next couple of hours." She said with a look of relief washing over her face.
Dawn: "You have a ship?" His head tilted. How important was this person?
Rowan: "Well it isn't mine exactly, it was given to me by The Underground, but I get to use it as I please. Or as long as I am a part of the organization that is."
Dawn: "I see. I'm assuming that since you aren't the one piloting the ship, you have someone to do it for you?"
Rowan: "Yes I do, you're a smart guy, Dawn." She smirked. "Now that everything is squared away, why don't we get going?" She pivoted on her right foot, turning 180 degrees in order to face the supply port.
Dawn simply watched her for a moment as she started walking before following after her. She walked with elegance, and held herself well at that. Every step she took was that of confidence, and it was accompanied by her pace that was just fast enough to outwalk anyone who wasn't in a hurry. Dawn found a sense of awe in watching her. Nobody he had met in his life so far carried themselves the way Rowan carried herself. Although he was messed up by the events of yesterday morning, he knew he had to do something in order to fix his life and become someone.
Rowan: "You know, Dawn.." She spoke up as she walked, "after hearing you and your friend talk, I am extra glad you decided to join me. You will never succeed if you don't do anything at all."