The Whisper of the Nightingale

Chapter 16: Masquerade

For the past couple of hours, Raven had been sitting quietly in a leafy tree top close to the group's encampment. The more she learned about the people she was observing, the more agitated she grew. They were clearly nothing more than a group of rogue spiritualists who abused their powers to track, torture and eventually kill whatever they could find that was weaker than themselves, be it beast or man.

"Truly despicable.... To think that bandits like these roam freely within our prefecture..." Hoatzin sighed deeply.

Not wishing to be detected, Raven simply nodded. But she also knew that the people in front of her weren't that rare. Power is an alluring concept, even more so in a world like this one where your own physical strength was so important if you were to advance in society.

But just because she understood why they existed, didn't mean she would ignore that existence when she came across it.

"So, how are you going to deal with them? They are quite numerous and the leader is even a mid Adept.... Wait until they fall asleep and then slit their throats?"

Raven raised a eyebrow in surprise. 'What ever happened to my upfront brother? ...am I rubbing of on him?'

"What? No good?" her brother couldn't read Raven's mind and had therefor not heard her inner musings. He simply took her lack of response as a dismissal of his suggestion.

Raven relaxed her brow and tilted her head to the side, considering her options. She could indeed go for her brother's version. It was quick and simple, but there was a high risk of being detected before the job was done leading to an all-out battle with whomever remains.

She could use the Twilight Lullaby to help her, but since even normal singing would be out of place in the forest she wouldn't be able to activate the Divine Skill without them noticing her surging spirit essence. Raven feared that, if he was prepared for it, then there was a risk that Riffleman, as a mid Adept, might be able to resist her enough for it to become dangerous for her. However, if she could make them expect her singing, but not her attack, then....

Raven's mouth grew into a slightly vicious sneer. The leaves around her fluttered ever so slightly as she disappeared from the branch she was sitting on.

"Where are you going?"

Raven glanced over her back towards the bandits - that where busy eating to their hearts content - before she replied.

"I'm going to make use of their greed and sense of superiority." She whispered as she moved further and further away from the camp.

As she walked, she carefully scouted her surroundings. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she came to a stop; she had found what she needed - a wolf. It was a perfectly normal, spirit essence free, wolf, that was currently resting not far from her position.

Without hesitating, Raven removed the outer layers of her robes, revealing only the fine light blue undergarments that she had kept from home. She even removed her shoes. Swiftly, Raven released the fabric she had used to fasten her hair and instead wrapped it around her right hand and lower arm, efficiently hiding both her rings and the Fox's Veil. Taking a deep breath, she finally started to alter the tension in her muscles, shifting back to her normal movement patterns.

"Going back to being my real sister?" Hoatzin was watching his sisters transformation with a mixture of fascination and confusion.

"I'm always your sister." Raven teased as she made the final adjustments by altering what the Fox's Veil portrayed of her aura.