• Closed • Dancer Distress [Event]

[Rynata]

“Rynata,” she offered to Lock as he addressed her. “But Ryn is fine as well.” Rynata didn’t particularly mind what people called her so long as it wasn’t something derogatory. What did snag her attention was that Lock seemed so dismissive of his own safety. This behavior wasn’t enough to draw a comment from her, but Rynata did let her gaze linger on his figure for a moment longer. What made him so sure he was safe?

Tilting her head, she watched him carry out Aku’ana and mulled over their predicament. Aku’ana still wasn’t sure of the identity of her stalker, though she had reason to believe that it was just one person. Also, she seemed adamant that this Eteffa not stand in for her performance. It all seemed very difficult, and yet these were the situations that they had to work with.

As another stranger crashed into the couple, Rynata’s eyes widened in surprise but more or less relaxed when the man simply dashed by instead of harming them in some way. What was more, from their interaction, it was obvious that they all knew each other in some way.

“At least he apologized. I suppose,” she said, falling into step behind Lock once he had righted himself. “The same two ships rarely come across one another in a vast ocean by mere chance. Perhaps you two were very well acquainted?” She directed the suggestion toward Aku’ana, hoping she would give her the details on her relationship with the man she had called after. She gave him one last concerned glance over as he left, saying that he needed to take care of some things. Perhaps it was just the circumstances of Aku’ana’s situation, but Rynata thought the man looked a little sad.

She began to think that someone should go with him, but next moment, her thoughts were shattered by the sound of Aku’ana’s frantic screaming. The woman had apparently stepped through the tent and seen some horror within. From the narrow slit of the tent’s entrance, Rynata could see what had terrified her so. The limp, bedraggled form of a dead cat hanging sorrily from the tent supporters.

Gently pushing past Aku’ana, Rynata slipped into the tent and cast around for any danger. The only other oddity she could spot at present was the ominous, bloody message scrawled onto the tent wall. Strangely enough, that distasteful message twisted her lips into a defiant smile. Yes they were breaking the rules, and the culprit was finally showing their hand. It was up to them to make sure everyone made it out of the onslaught safely.

Fetching something to boost her height, Rynata began the process of unstringing the dead cat, careful to avoid pricking her fingers on the numerous thorns. There was no reason to leave the poor creature in such a cruel position and she wondered if Amaris could determine something from the animal. As she recalled, the other woman was responsible for natural affairs.

Off Topic

I believe I did both the out of place conversation as well as the innuendo.

[Patrick]

Only one of that group wasn't going to waste an opportunity to drink, therefore in actuality one of them wound up providing the bartender with a bit of service. Naturally Patrick requested for a mug of cider, which in turn would be the very pivotal object of his focus once received of course. When it came to the group he naturally demonstrated vague interest in the ramblings to happen, as he beheld only a minor presence among the majority gathered there for Aku's sake. "Ugh! Seriously?"

"What?!" Patrick blurted aloud without thought as he realized it was Ri'ku who addressed him. Whoops...

"There's nothing wrong with you trying to be the good guy here Patrick! Believe it or not some people actually like it when you give it a try! Otherwise you're only making yourself seem more like an asshole to the group, which you clearly seem to prefer since you're faking disinterest with them!"

"Am not." He remarked to her with a thought as he cleared his throat and looked away, with his mug tilted to aid in the recovery of his demeanor. "I'm just along for the ride Ri, you know I'm only here to see how this pans out. Plus there's also the chance of getting something out of this also, never know who'll be appreciative and-"

"Oh so you want a reward out of all this? Really? Is that why you're so caught up in catching this stalker of hers? Because I know you well enough, you try too hard to pretend you don't care but in truth you really do. Deep down you want to do the right thing, and you want to help this poor girl find herself free of this man." Damn. She was clearly able to see through his facade, and thankfully nobody else could hear nor see her little episode. Clearly the fairy was a little aggravated with Patrick as she seemed to swivel around him, her wings fluttered swiftly as she rounded his head eagerly. Patrick vacantly smiled as he listened to Aku'ana a little more, curious as to who this Polehko really was; and what motives would he had for associating if not stalking the dancer. "See, you're doing it even now! Pretending you're not even remotely invested in this, when in truth you want to see the culprit taken down so badly."

"No I'm just thinking." He remarked in his head nonchalantly as he sloshed his mug a little. "About how good this would be if it were a Thunderstorm." By then they seemed about ready to leave when Aku got upset, over what Locke had to say to her with some kind of understudy. Wait a minute. Aku had an understudy? Oh this was getting interesting. Somehow Patrick called a plot twist in this little stalker affair, slightly amused at the thought that the real culprit was this shadowed pupil of Aku'ana.

"Seriously? You're really going there?"

"C'mon! It's got good story potential!" The fairy fluttered in front of his face once more as he finished his mug, his eyes slightly widened at how close she'd flown towards him.

"Okay but think about it! Even if you don't want to admit it, you're sticking around to help her anyways right? You wouldn't have stayed if you didn't care, even in the slightest bit, about what happens to Aku or this troupe." On their way out it seemed as though somebody brushed into Locke, who quickly snapped at them since his precious cargo was in fact the lovely Aku. After having that last round which Patrick left nearly empty at the table, along with the silver nel expected to cover it, the Rharnian himself couldn't help but admire her a little more. Yeah... she was cute if not rowdy, he definitely wouldn't have minded throwing a line or two at her before; were his head not in the right place for it at the time. Now though they were headed back to the dreary tents, or at least about to go up until Aku noticed who it was that bumped into them.

"Okay... this just gets weirder and weirder the longer I stay."

"But you're still heeeeere."

"Shut it Ri." Patrick murmured once more in the reach of his thoughts, regrettably he could hear her laughing a little at such a poor comeback. Regardless he followed along with them still wishing there was more alcohol to consume, wishful that they'd just locate this asshole and get it over with; so he could go back to drinking and whoring himself out for the sake of fun. Although admittedly he couldn't lie to himself as well as he did to Ri and the others... right now he found himself having fun in a different way, intrigued with who in Idalos could be this mystery secret lover that stalked Aku so... creepily. One thing was certain; it definitely would make a good story to tell later.

When the group reached the tents and Aku kissed Locke goodnight, Patrick's lips curled into a slight challenged frown. Evidently they were lovers... which meant if Patrick's chances were slim to none, unless he played his cards right and won the woman's affections for a night. The Rharnian was always bound to push his luck, surprisingly having waited to test Amaris even since he still secretly admired her too. Wait... Oh Gods... Was he?...

"And I thought Aku's stalker was a creep!"

"Piss off Ri, I'm just looking for fun in-" Screams rolled from within Aku's tent as she reeled back, panicked by something which seemed to dwell inside. Immediately Patrick's expression turned into one serious frown as he moved inside, first before the group, and looked at what exactly caused such a fright in the woman. Holy. Shit. Was that a cat? Or what's left of it at least. He looked from the mangled corpse which seemed wrapped up thoughtfully in thorns, almost like a delicate present waiting for it's recipient to unravel no less, towards the message sprawled out in thick red letters. Rynata seemed to be the first to handle the hanging corpse of the dead animal, and while Patrick's gut twisted on it's own at the seriousness of this minor stunt... somehow he knew this was indeed only the beginning.

"So Patrick..." Ri's tone seemed more frightened as well as he approached the writing on the clothlike wall, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the substance of the message more closely. "I-I know what I said before might have-"

"You're right Ri'ku." He assured her as he noted how dry the blood seemed to be, as well as the tone of it's color which would imply how long ago it'd been written. The fairy seemed to freeze for a moment as she hung out on his shoulder, her wings briefly fluttered on occasion as she seemed initially surprised.

"I knew it! I just knew you wasn't here for the simple fact you wanted to see what happened! You really are trying to be the good guy here, helping out Aku'ana in her situation since she clearly needs our help."

"Yeah..." He assured both her and himself too now that he saw how serious this really was. It was one thing to make vague threats in secret love letters, but to string up a dead animal was anything but romantic in this ideal messed up love story. As far as Patrick could tell... this girl definitely needed the help, if this was any sort of indication as to how just fekked up this asshole truly was.

Off Topic

Not sure if you meant "accidently answer Ri'ku aloud" but I managed that too briefly, and Ri'ku's dialogue reaches a max of 252 words. Counted myself of course, but feel free to count as well for reassurance.

[Amaris]

And so it was decided that heading back to the tents would be the course of action chosen. The mixed blood would be vigilant, for the most part, though he remained concerned with the task of moving from one place to another. Eyes scanned the crowd, narrowing in on anything remotely suspicious. The group’s run-in with someone who was supposedly known to Aku’ana and Lock - a Garant, if the mixed blood had heard right. Lips pursed, he watched the man run off as the group continued to move on to the tents.

It was not a common thing for someone to run into his arms. It had really only ever been for an embrace from his mother or father (his brother opted instead to playfully lean on him, resting his full weight as he displayed his greater height while using the medic as a resting post). Could he even recall a time when someone had relied on him as physically as this? Perhaps in the tornados of last arc, but that was different.

There were a number of things that could be considered a horror and the mixed blood had already seen a number of these things. The cat was another to add to this list. A churning in his stomach had begun, his unease growing further. Amaris had not expected for the dancer to run his way, or to hold onto him as tightly as she had. There was a lot more strength to her than he had expected. Or maybe that was just the shock of energy from the discovery she had made in her tent. He could be sympathetic to her plights. Well, he imagined he could be.

Amaris scowled, not quite relating his initial feelings on the matter. Certainly the culprit had to have been close by. Or had someone watching them. It would make sense, as only someone watching could have known that the performer had gotten help. Perhaps it had been the shadow the councilor had seen before. It might have been the stalker or someone the perpetrator had enlisted to help them keep an eye on the woman.

His jaw clenched as he turned to watch Rynata unstrung the cat. Amaris has several cats himself and seeing one such creature strung up in thorns was unsettling. And so he looked away for a moment and glanced down at Aku’ana. The woman was in no state robbery questioned again but hysterics would hinder what he needed to do. Amaris had...personal experience with such things. Swallowing, he considered asking the woman a few questions.

He had a person in mind. Not so much as a distraction, but as a culprit for what was happening. To be more specific, for who may have been watching them. He tucked a stray hair behind his ear before lightly patting the woman’s back to calm her down, careful and gentle. He would continue to do so before directing the performer to sit down. Had Lock remained, Amaris might have thought about questioning him further. So, he would need to wait until the woman calmed before he could even think of asking her anything. There was no telling how many bits would pass before the dancer’s breathing settled and mind cleared from the hysteria.

He was no detective; he would admit that gladly. The mixed blood’s forte would always remain dealing with wildlife (even if he was still not so great at that). Amaris could, however, see a pattern. Or string a few incidences together to form a theory of what might have been happening. From what he was guessing, Garant might have been the one he’d spotted earlier, before the trio and Lock had moved Aku’ana indoors to get her out of the heat.

And what of these back alley dealings? Did he have a long history of them? More questions to ask the performer when she had calmed down. But time was of the essence and there was none to waste. Her recovery would need to be impaired only for her to have this stalker situation dealt with.

Amaris crouched slightly in an attempt to be eye level with the woman. “Ms. Aku’ana, I am going to need you to answer a few questions if you could. I will try to keep them as simple as I can. Please answer as honestly as you are able to.” He waited a trill, allowing the information to sink in before preceding. He cleared his throat, a sound caught between that of a rumbling purr and a rattling cough. The mixed blood would look up at the woman, making as much eye contact as possible and awaiting a nod in response before proceeding.

“What does Garant do in the troupe? Is there a reason he would be in town? What about these alley dealings you spoke of?” Each query was delivered slowly and with as much enunciation possible. He would rather not tread on any feelings of opinion but this stalker has been close enough to know that the woman had received help from others. The stalker being a member of the troupe would make that easier.

Amaris glanced to Patrick and Rynata, not quite sure what else could be done aside from cleaning up and assisting in the query of a possible suspect. Rynata he knew had already begun seeing to cleaning up the horrific present left for the performer. Patrick was...well the man had seemed a little off earlier but was being far more helpful now. At least he hoped so.

“You can take your time to answer me. There is no rush. If you do not feel up to answering right now, I can ask again later.” He could relate to being questioned while in shock. He had not ever been given a “present” such as this but there was similarity to the experience and with his own. He prayed this would be the last time she had to deal with it, though. No one ought to go through something like this.

[Sinnammyn]

~78th of Ymiden 718~

All the response that Rynata had gotten from her little comment about ships and being well acquainted was a bright pink blush on Aku'ana's face. Though she was giving Patrick weird looks, questioning looks. Maybe wondering if he was okay, he seemed to be talking to himself or at least, to someone he thought was there. Was he one of those magic users? Or a Sev'ryn? For some reason she didn't think that was quite it. From the way that she kissed Lock on the cheek, it was obvious that she was quite the free spirit, having Locke but also that man that had been running, so Patrick might actually have a chance at some fun with her.. When she had seen that cat though, it was like all the spirit within her had just vanished, or like she'd seen a ghost. Well she was looking at something dead and mangled hanging from her tent's supports.

Upon close inspection the kill seemed pretty fresh, blood was still dripping from it's corpse, and it seemed just cold. Like it's warmth had just recently left it's body. The words on the tent wall were runny and if Patrick actually touched the words he'd be able to pull some up. It was definitely still wet. Almost like they had just missed whoever had done this. And as careful as Rynata was with the untangling, the thorn's still pierced her hands, they would sting a little

Aku'ana watches in horror as Rynata starts to take down the dead body of the cat. Some of the other's were starting to gather around the tent. Some of the girls were actually trying to walk up to Aku'ana but the way she looked around at everyone, shaking in her very boots, it seemed like no one wanted to actually figure out what the problem was.

Aku'ana was still crying, loudly. People were starting to really crowd the tent now. even whispers sounded like a muffled roar of a crowd outside the tent. Questions about what happened ringing through the air, yet people just seemed to hang back, they didn't want to be the one to find out. Whatever it was really has scared Aku'ana as she clawed at her own arms. Like she was trying to peel away the uncomfortable feeling that set upon her.

The woman shook in Amaris's arms, gripping at his clothing and trying to get a hold of herself. She looked up to Amaris when she first heard his voice. The first voice to directly speak to her through her hysteria. She sniffed, and cleared her throat as she pulled slightly away so that she could wipe the tears from her eyes. She took one more deep breath and nodded to Amaris when he said that he wanted to ask some questions. She was alone again. She had to pull herself together. She stood a bit straighter now, but a single hand still clung to Amaris's clothing. Showing just how startled the woman was by this whole thing.

"D.. Don't worry about me.. I.. I'm fine.. I just .. that cat... had taken a liking to me when we got here... I feel so bad. But.. uhm.. Garant.. he works on strength based routines. Ones where women need to be picked up and thrown. He works with Lock a lot. U.. Uhm.. I'm sorry.. you asked... about why he would be in town.. you mean in that alley.... with the back alley dealings I mentioned?... He partakes in... things that make people feel good. Occasionally sells them too. Being a performer isn't always the best pay especially if you're not caste in a show. I thought he'd uhm.. quit when he started going out with me. But clearly not."

She sighed, looking around. People were starting to leave. Her words had been hushed so only Amaris could hear them. She cleared her throat once more. Turning towards the crowd and trying to give them the best smile possible. Which wasn't really that great of one.

"I... am sorry to concern you all. We will take care of things from here. Go back to relaxing and or work. Don't worry about me. Please."

The last word was added in more of a plea. She wanted them all to be safe. She was grateful when the crowd seemed to dissipate slowly. She did how ever freeze as she caught the eye of someone in the crowd. A gentleman red headed, with forest green eyes and freckles galore. The way he was smiling, looked reassuring when Amaris would turn to look. Aku'ana however looked like she'd seen a ghost. She actually quickly pushed into her tent where Patrick and Rynata were and closed the flap behind her. Pulling Amaris in with her. She sat on one of the cushions on the floor and just tried to ignore the sight before her. Like what she'd seen outside disturbed her more.

"I.. I thought Polehko... I thought he'd left the troupe.. what is he doing back around? Or was that just a rumor? I... don't remember seeing him around.. I thought he.. left.. I... what?"

She whispered to herself, the look of pure confusion on her face. Her cheeks slightly red as she shook her head over and over again as if to try and push something out of her mind.

Off Topic

Congratulations Rynata, Amaris and Patrick! You all have met your goals and gone above and beyond! Your reward for meeting the initial goal will appear in the next post. You must vote on one of the options below:

• Extra Luck
• Bad Luck for Perp
• A Strange Happening

As for your above and beyond rewards, you may either ask me a question. Or you can tell me, "Pick a factoid for me." in either discord or in dms here on the site. If you ask me a question though it must be about something on this list below:

• Lock's intentions
• Lock's confidence
• Garant, where to find him
• Letter's
• Flora Festival Event
• Ettefa's significance
• Polehko, bad break up
• Crowd, did they see anyone before us

I will be posting again on the 14th. I will be reaching you all via dm's about a special notice as well so do expect that. And make sure you communicate with each other about what question you want to ask that way not everyone is asking about the same thing! Good luck finding the perp!

Doran Cooney was the one that made this box code for me. Thank you Doran I absolutely adore it!

[Rynata]

Rynata finished taking down the grisly present and carefully laid the cat's corpse off to the side, covering it so that it would not get blood everywhere and that the view wouldn't upset Aku'ana any further. She would take it outside or have someone dispose of it when things were more settled. The thorns were now in a harmless pile as well, but not before they had given her good scratches along her fingers. Pressing her hands against the cloth of her trousers to try and ease the sharp prickling sensation Rynata turned toward Patrick who had been examining the ominous message.

"I think all this was done fairly recently," she said. After all, the cat didn't look like it had been left hanging for the better part of a day. "And the writing wouldn't have made sense to have been done before we all met. How does your side look? I assume that's cat blood."

"I'm sorry about your friend," Rynata added, eyes softening sadly as she tried to comfort the dancer. Her own cat, Oriand, swished a graceful tail in her mind's eye. At least she must be safe aboard the ship, napping obliviously. "Harming an animal in such a senseless way, it's all the more reason for this stalker of yours to be stopped. If they think nothing of this sort of act, then you were right to be worried for your safety."

However, Aku'ana seemed to be distracted as she muttered something about Polehko and Rynata tilted her head curiously.

"What's the matter? Did you say Polehko? The one you said you had that break up with."

Hoping that Lock might show up again to help comfort his friend, and waiting for an opportune moment to carry the dead cat outside, Rynata moved closer to the tent's entrance. She gently laid the back of her hand against one of the tent flaps and parted them just slightly to look out of.

Off Topic

I vote bad luck for the perp. Boo, down with the cat killer!

[Patrick]

Upon closer inspection Patrick found that the words were pretty fresh, which meant that this had been done just recently to be exact. Hell the carcass still seemed to drip a little as well, which could've implied the crook being here just moments before. He observed the words more closely after a watch over his shoulder, with how Ryn managed to discard the cat from the strap which tethered it to the tent. It appeared as though she pricked herself a couple of times, but still handled the dead animal with care after she finally got it down.

The Rharnian focused more on the words before him, a finger brought to press against the tent's fabric lightly. A smudge was made where he touched one of the letters, as the blood still felt wet as it clung to the surface of his tip. Interesting. The perpetrator was just here it would seem, although it would require some consideration as to who he was. He couldn't have been gone for too long, somebody had to have seen the man perhaps. That and he'd require time to clean the blood from his hands, if the 'artistic piece' he made for Aku was anywhere near as messy as Patrick considered it to be. "I don't recall seeing anything such as blood on anybody we passed."

"Not eve on Garant?"

"No..." Ri'ku sounded a little disappointed, whether it was in herself or in the failure to pin a suspect; Patrick found it difficult to determine.

"We'll get whoever is behind this." He assured her with a turn around to face the group once more, his fingertip wiped across the lap of his pants. At that point he listened a little more closely with what had to be shared, about Garant as who seemed to be on the dealing side. Interesting. Patrick would have to look him up later, once this was all said and done perhaps. Unless he was indeed a suspect worth pinning down... The idea didn't seem too far off, especially when Aku mentioned that they were together once also. "Damn. This girl gets around."

"PATRICK!"

"What? Seriously, I thought I was bad."

"FOCUS!"

"Right right." He agreed with a sigh in silence, thinking moreover what he heard. Garant worked with Locke? Another interesting thing to note, and did Locke know Aku was a female casanova among the troupe? After Aku disbanded the growing audience and addressed their concern, she seemed to briefly fall into a minor panic she kept under wraps. She'd seen someone? No pun intended there... but in actuality she saw Polehko? Determined to address this head on Patrick decided he'd consider paying Garant a visit, not for the purpose of fun but perhaps actual investigation. However...

"Polehko's here then. Perfect." Patrick's tone would be a little more serious than before, perhaps slightly cold and edgy in comparison. If he was the prime suspect in this then that meant one thing, a confrontation would suffice on Aku's behalf. Almost less considerably than before Patrick reached for Aku by the arm, determined to pull her off the cushion so he could tug her along behind him for a moment. He'd persist in the event of her refusal, and if success determined him able to bring her outside; he'd look at the people still in the area than to Aku. "Who's Polehko." Would be the demand he made next, clearly set on the idea of confrontation all of a sudden.

Whether or not he actually was successful with the attempt at getting Aku'ana up and out of the tent, Patrick knew good and well the others wouldn't approve of his sudden shift in behavior. As crude as it came off to be however he felt little care, even when Ri'ku displayed innate disdain in her own words. He wanted to catch this criminal, and he wanted to do it with little regard involved.

[Amaris]

Amaris' brows furrowed at the information presented to him. He'd thought that the performer had been dating Lock - unless they'd jumped to conclusions? Or was this a previous thing? And 'feel good' was an interesting way to phrase drug dealing, but to each their own. There wasn't much they could say on the matter - Garant might well be someone not worth worrying about and the group couldn't focus their attention on someone that would essentially be a dead end. Even if he did have some connection to Aku'ana.

Before anything else could be asked, though, Patrick had reached for the woman and was pulling her away. "Mr. Patrick, you're being too rough with her." He reached out to at least slacken the other's grip on Aku'ana's arm, lest another bruise make its home on the woman's body; she had enough of those. But, while he had tried to do so, Amaris could understand the urgency behind Polehko to be identified. After dealing with the situation with Patrick's unnecessary roughness, the mixed blood sought to ask the lingering members of the crowd about past happenings between the two.

As it would turn out, the breakup had been disasterous. "Bad" had been an understatement. Abuse, cheating - and no clarity on what came first. Amaris could not say that he had any experience in the area, but he could understand that not knowing what came first was more than problematic. At least to this little investigation. Sighing, the councilor continued to listen as several people stated that they'd thought the man had vanished, so to speak. Which aligned well with what Aku'ana had already told him. Perhaps Polehko hadn't really gone away, but instead had been watching. But when was this breakup again?

Amaris hurried quickly after Patrick and Aku'ana, intent on getting to the bottom of this predicament.

[Sinnammyn]

~78th of Ymiden 718~

Aku'ana nodded to Rynata. Polehko was here. She looked so confused that even if you told her that one of the moons exploded, that would seem more right to her than Polehko being here. There was this sort of fear in her eyes that could be read even at an angle.

When Patrick actually went to grab her as roughly as he did she freaked out, trying to pull away. She was shaking her head no vigorously, like she didn't want to go back out there, like she didn't want to see that face again. It looked to all that she was almost wishing that it had been a ghost or an illusion. That her mind was playing tricks on her. Even as Amaris loosened Patrick's grip on her Aku'ana just freaked out more.

"D.. Don't touch me!"

Aku'ana screamed and was now breathing hard, almost hyperventilating as she eventually steeled herself and followed both Amaris and Patrick out of the tent, clinging to Rynata and almost using her as a sort of body shield. As if the woman could protect her from whatever evil existed outside of her tent. Not that there seemed to be any less evil inside her tent if you think about the message on her wall.

It would be very obvious at this point that she doesn't want to be around this man. He scares her, and Amaris, through some asking around, easily finds out why that is. He abused her, sure she had cheated on him but he had harmed her, hit her, and she'd stayed with him out of fear for far too long. Aku'ana looked around fearfully from behind Rynata, looking out into the crowd as Amaris questioned some people on the opposite side of the crowd. She gasped and hid further behind Rynata as her eyes clasped with what she was looking for.

Patrick would be able to see the moment she saw him and who she was looking at. The man was standing alone, awkwardly at the edge of the crowd. The smirk on his face was one that one would definitely question. Green eyes locked on to Patrick before he started walking over to Rynata and Aku'ana. Aku'ana's reaction was to back away, pulling Rynata backwards with her. The red headed man just shook his head and reached a hand out to Rynata.

"Polehko, I heard a scream from our starlet here. Everything alright? Not that I'm surprised if someone pulled a prank on her. 'lot o' the girls are jealous o' her. You know, cause she got the part and all in the new show. By the way, a woman of strength. Protecting those that are weaker."

The man didn't lock eyes with Aku'ana, he couldn't have, she was hiding behind Rynata far to well, though it was easy to see her there she kept her eye's elsewhere. Polehko though was smiling at Rynata and winking at her as if he'd just said the best pick-up line on the planet. Aku'ana's fingers clung harder to Rynata's clothing. Almost like a warning, as if her shaking, and quivering body wasn't enough of a hint.

"W.. What do you really want P.. Polehko.. Y.. You said you'd never get involved with my life again. Why are you here now?"

"Well.. I work here Aku'ana, and you know.. you did scream pretty loudly"

"S.. So.. once you found out it was me you should have left it alone.. And.. I thought you quit?"

"Changed my mind. Anyways, miss, if you guys need any help let me know. I know that Aku'ana can be a bit of a drama queen and trouble maker but she at least means well most of the time."

Aku'ana stood straight and looked at Polehko with anger, but as soon as his eyes met her it was like a tiger had been turned kitten. She backed off and actually slipped back into the tent, tears in her eyes. Polehko just scoffed and looked over the group, making sure none of them wanted to ask him anything before he left. His hands in his pockets the entire conversation.

Off Topic

Two of you have voted towards bad luck for the perp! I have NOT used the bad luck for the perp yet. You guys WILL be notified once I used it. Don't worry, find out who it is and that's when the REAL fun begins!!!!

I will be posting again on the 28th. I will be reaching you all via dm's about a special notice as well so do expect that. (This time for real, I just lost track of time last time around) Good luck finding the perp!

Doran Cooney was the one that made this box code for me. Thank you Doran I absolutely adore it!

[Rynata]

Apparently, subtlety and show of compassion were not Patrick’s forte. Rynata watched in silent concern as there was a small scuffle between her two companions and a distressed Aku’ana. Wincing at the scream that tore across her ears like jagged shells, she nevertheless waited for Aku’ana to calm down somewhat before filing out of the tent after the other two.

In exiting the tent, Rynata shuffled a little off balance due to the nervous hands clinging to her arm and the back of her clothes. The Biqaj wasn’t a very impressive figure to cower behind, not being very tall or broad shouldered. However, Rynata did extend her one arm not snagged by the dancer slightly outward to the side. It was a wholly natural gesture, hinting at reassurance for the person shielded behind her. At least Aku’ana might know that any oncoming threat would be filtered through her.

The moment Polehko was spotted was punctuated by a fearful gasp and fingers digging harder into Rynata’s arm. It really was surprising how much strength the nervous wreck of a woman behind her possessed. Though with daily performance practices and training, perhaps it shouldn’t have been so unexpected. Still, Rynata had bigger concerns as a red headed man strode over to them. Though Aku’ana seemed to instinctively flinch away and managed to pull her back a short distance, Rynata squared her stance to meet the stranger.

The man extended a hand in greeting where it was suspended for a beat as Rynata sized him up. Blue eyes, calmly shifting from one shade to the next, stared at the darker green ones set in the face of someone whom Aku’ana was clearly terrified of. Her reaction wasn’t normal, even if there was the added strain from the stalker. Besides, Rynata wasn’t about to trust a person who seemed so callous about a fellow troupe member’s plight.

Still, it wouldn’t do to forget manners. If Polehko could be civil, so could she. After keeping his handshake waiting just long enough to make a point, but not seem outrageously rude, Rynata also held out a hand and returned the greeting.

“Rynata. There was a scare, but it’s under control now. I appreciate the concern,” she said, smiling amicably enough. Feeling Aku’ana redoubling her efforts in scrunching up the back of her shirt, Rynata shook her head humbly and deflected what seemed to be the red head’s advances.

“Hardly,” she chuckled. “I would hope everyone has someone to rely on. And we all have our moments of weakness, wouldn't you agree?"

After Aku'ana's unsuccessful spat with the man, Rynata was left standing alone with her back empty once more. Nodding to her companions and giving Polehko one last glance over, she also retreated into the tent. Aku'ana had certainly been afraid of the man and Polehko certainly had the calous character to be the criminal, but he hadn't said anything provably suspicious.

[Patrick]

With all these runarounds and possible loverboy wannabes for this girl, Patrick had grown intent to resolve this situation by attempting to get to the root of the problem. If it meant he had to be a little rough and cold suddenly, then somehow that hardly made any difference since it produced the results he usually needed. Naturally it only showed how well he managed his self destructive tendencies, and when Amaris checked his grip he barely seemed inclined to reciprocate. Mostly because Aku was apt to deny and avoid the situation, since Polehko was evidently one of the stronger suspects in this case.

Rough was certainly one thing the Rharnian tended to be in many aspects, and therefore while he listened to the councilwoman considerably; there was only a minor change in the grip when they were finally outside. Right out in the open where she would be exposed no doubt, but also where Patrick wanted her to be as well. He hoped the potential stalker could see how aggressive he appeared with the girl, maybe it'd provide the poor bastard with inclination to push his luck. Whatever the case he wasn't going to waste a chance to figure out who Polehko was, and when he seemed to be pointed out by Aku; the Rharnian no longer had any necessary reason to hold onto her. As he drew close the woman practically shrivelled and shied away, hiding from him behind the smaller girl Ryn as the group met the individual.

He possessed vibrant red hair much like a ginger or an Aukari, though Patrick couldn't determine which he really was just by that alone. Even so he practically attempted friendliness among the group, somehow rather polite for someone who could've been so toxic in a relationship. The nature which he carried himself wasn't ignored by the Rharnian though, he was far too smug and casual about the ordeal for someone coming to check on her. From the sound of it he reasoned jealousy among the girls instead, determining what took place to be nothing more than a sick joke. In a sense it was... but did he know anything of the letters? Did he know the backstory as to why the matter took place?

Did he feign ignorance?

It was truly questionable at this point, and Patrick wanted to outright throw accusation by now. Maybe if he'd started pinning the blame on others, making the likely suspects be heavily interrogated or intimidated somehow... No. That wasn't the best idea, it'd only scare the innocent as well as the group here. "So," the Rharnian chimed with his own smirk shot to the ginger, "you and Aku were together also? How'd that work out for you?" He chided lowly as though he wasn't aware of it already, although he could plainly see that it didn't work out between them. The purpose behind his intent was to fish for something, anything that could've perhaps fed Patrick a bone in his investigation. Needless to say he listened and if anything in turn was asked about his association with her, he would merely shrug and pretend they were potential 'partners' if anything at all.

Why? Because again he wanted to put it out there that whoever watched them, Aku specifically, to see and hopefully make the biggest mistake of their career. At this point any small fib could provoke the potential 'lover' in question to slip, and Patrick wanted to push his own boundaries with this if he could. What harm was there with having a bit of fun with the people here, even if he was getting serious about catching the asshole. When Polehko left the group with hands in his pockets Patrick watched, still with a smug grin, until the asshole had managed to leave them well behind entirely. By then the grin diminished and he proceeded to enter back into the tent, almost uncaring as to how brash he sounded when he checked with Aku.

"Okay. Let's recap on our history lesson please, we've got how many potential assholes that Aku's been with? No offense toots," He gestured a hand towards her almost half apologetically, "but if we're gonna catch this creep we need to know who fits the role perfectly. We've got the letters to use, if you can recognize the handwriting; then that could narrow down the list I'm sure."

"Patrick..." Ri'ku sighed as she hovered in the space between him and Aku, a sigh heard as she seemed to tilt forward like she might've slumped.

"If we want any chance of calling him out, then we need to get one step ahead of him somehow. Throw him off his game now that he's got new pawns to play with." With that statement he looked from the performer to his fellow group members, his voice low only so that the three could all hear him. "Obviously he's a risk taker because he was in here Bits before we arrived! The wet blood and dangling cat are a sign of that. If he's that obsessed with Aku then I say we use that to our advantage, make him believe she's got something better going on that he'll be jealous of." Not that it would take much... though he didn't say that aloud, since evidently that'd make him even more of an ass.

"Any more ideas? Thoughts? I say it's time we figured out who the culprit is, go home to have a few dozen stiff drinks, and then fek until we fall asleep." He reasoned with a crossover of his arms, willing to listen and chip in with whatever came next in solving the mystery.

Somewhere out there a cricket just died.