Virtue sighed, bored, as she listened to the others around her bicker about what they should do. Winter was supposed to be harsher than normal this year, according to the Tribe of Frozen Fields, anyway. They hadn't prepared for anything, and so they were completely lost as to what to do.
She, of course, had a simple answer, which was to kill the unneeded members of the Tribe. But, predictably, no one had any interest in any of her ideas. She went back to sharpening her knife, tuning everyone out, just thinking about when her next job would come in, and that cute stranger she glimpsed wandering the edge of the Tribe's territory. She sighed in relief as the leader of the group, she thinks his name was.. Swiftwater maybe? She didn't really know, nor did she care. She simply cared about her work, and a safe place to stay on occasion. And the Tribe provided that, thankfully. She got up to leave, planning to stay the night at her weapon hoard, when she heard someone call out to her. Annoyed, she turned her head, only to see a giant, swirling portal in the middle of the cave floor.
The others began to turn on her, asking if she somehow had anything to do with this. Of course, she said no.
Where do these idiots come up with this stuff? I'm an assassin, not a magician. She thought to herself, quite annoyed at being chased out of the camp for something she didn't do. She stalked away towards the edge of the territory, where her weapons were waiting for her. On her way there, against her better judgement, she began to think about that portal.
Why was it there? How did it get there? And most importantly, where does it lead? Unfortunately, no one had the answers to those questions. And knowing them, no one would ever have those answers. She felt.. drawn to it somehow, which is weird for her. The only thing she'd ever felt 'drawn to' was that mysterious stranger, and even then, that seemed to be a bit of a stretch. But this.. this was different. Before she was even halfway to her destination, she'd made the decision to sneak back into the camp and jump through the portal.
She knew it wouldn't be easy, that came with the job of being an assassin, after all. But she could manage. Luckily, she had some leftover seeds from when she was visiting a forest spirit a while back. They could be used to put a large group of cats to sleep in seconds, and it would certainly last long enough for her to enter the portal. She just had to find a way to get past the guards by the entrance. That was the easier task. She simply had to sneak around from the back, and hit their heads. They wouldn't die, but they wouldn't bother her either. The plan was to get in and out, quick as possible.
When she reached her hoard, she began loading up. She had no idea what the other side would be like, so she might as well be prepared. She managed to grab her favorite dagger, a large assortment of different spores and seeds, as well as a range of weapons including a bow, some throwing knives, and some darts. She also hooked on a large bag that had a bunch of different healing items. One could never be too prepared, and she had no idea what she was dealing with.
Once she was done, and she felt enough time had passed to where most everyone would be back in their dens, she began her trek back to the camp. She let her mind wander again, somehow her thoughts drifted back to that light gray stranger. She couldn't get him out of her head. Although, maybe she really didn't want to. Shaking her head, she began to grow excited at the prospect of jumping through the portal. She had no idea what was on the other side! It could be an alien planet for all she knew. Whatever it was, it'd still be better than where she was now.
She knew it was hopeful, but she started to wonder about what it'd be like if she found the stranger there. Would he finally introduce himself? Or would he simply ignore her and think she was weird for thinking about him so much? She shook her head again as she realized she was growing closer to the camp. She readied the hilt of her dagger, raising it up to strike.
Once she was inside, things got much easier. While she was still surprised at how many cats were still in the main area, she quickly dealt with everyone. After the dust had settled and there was no chance she'd accidentally get knocked out herself, she approached the portal. As she stood there at the edge, she contemplated everything she'd done to get to where she was. Breathing deeply, she jumped in.
For a very brief moment, she felt weightless, as though she were falling through space. But the moment didn't last long, and soon she hit the ground. Groaning slightly, she stood up and looked around.
She was surrounded by cats. The ones closest to her looked at her warily. She smirked, before marching right up to an absolutely ginormous cat with a fiery red mane. Right as she was about to ask him what in the world was going on, she felt something bite down on her tail.
Yowling in pain, she jerked her head around, only to see that nothing was there. She wrote it off, thinking she might have timed her entrance into the cave incorrectly and that she breathed in some of the spores. Turning back around, she looked up at the large cat again.
"Excuse me, but do you happen to know what is going on here?" She asked. The large cat looked around, as if confused, before looking down at her in surprise.
"No, sorry. I just got here, same as everyone else," He answered, returning to his conversation.
The nerve of that guy. Lucky for him I don't really feel like killing anyone right now. She thought, turning her head to the area that seemed to be the front. Right when she felt like she was about to die of boredom, someone stood up on the large platform.
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