After some time, Zephyr finally returned. He stopped near the white cloaks headquarters, looking around to see if he could spot Ili. Finally, he saw her looking at a stall, not too far away. The merchant seemed to overwhelm her with his words, trying to make her buy something she was looking at, not giving her a chance to say a word.
Zephyr walked over to the scene. "Oi, Ili!"
The girl's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the boy calling her name. Her expression immediately softened once she saw him, a warm smile appearing on her face.
"Hey, Zephyr! You're back sooner than I thought!" she replied in a cheerful tone, waving to him as he came to her side, but mostly doing so to escape from the merchant. "Don't worry, I just got a little distracted here."
Her eyes turned back to the merchant, who eyed the boy up and down, a look of disappointment on his face. A small frown appeared on her face as she stared at the merchant for a few seconds, before turning back to the kalzraak.
"Cool. Buying anything?"
The merchant's expression, which darkened when he saw the boy, now lit unexpectedly, waiting his time to pressure the girl into buying once again.
"No, don't worry. I was just looking around."
The merchant's expression darkened seeing the two turn to leave. The cherry on top was when he noticed the horns on Zephyr's head. "Oi!" he called out.
The two stopped and turned back around. Ili thought he was calling out to her, but she soon noticed that wasn't the case.
"You a kalzraak?" the merchant asked coldly, glaring at Zephyr.
"Yeah, I am. What's it to you?"
The merchant's lips twisted into a mocking smirk, his eyes narrowing in a cold glare. "A kalzraak, wandering around here? Shouldn't you be with your kind?"
Zephyr turned back around, pulling Ili's arm, seeing her get angry. "Let's go."
"You know, kalzraak," the merchant continued, louder, enjoying his attempt to leave. "No matter how many treaties are signed, your kind will never be welcomed in these parts! You do well to remember this!"
At this, Ili turned around once again, ready to speak, but Zephyr pulled her again, more forcefully this time. "It's not worth it."
Ili clenched her fist, but finally calmed down. "I know... You're right. Sorry..."
The whole incident caught a few gazes, but nobody else said anything. After a bit of walking, Zephyr felt his arm being pulled, as Ili rushed down a narrow street. Zephyr ran after her, not knowing what's gotten into her. He finally caught up to her after a bit, as she stopped on the other side of the buildings.
"Everything alright?" Zephyr asked, turning his head in the direction Ili was facing.
"Yes..." Ili responded, looking to the right at a few more houses, a little disappointed. "I just thought I saw someone I knew... I must have imagined it."
Zephyr looked at her with an understanding look. "I see... Sorry."
"No, it's alright..." Ili looked to the right, noticing some stairs leading higher up, to another street and buildings. "Wanna go there?" she asked, trying to change her mood. "The view might be nice."
Zephyr looked at what she was pointing at, shrugging. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"
They climbed up the stairs. They weren't too high up, but enough to see most of the parts of the city that they've already been to. It wasn't obvious before, but the city seemed to be built on a hill, as it seemed much lower towards the entrance compared to deeper in the city.
The two stood some time over a railing, looking at the beautiful sight of the city full of life. This place seemed to be more secluded than the others, as it wasn't along the main road, so Ili felt somewhat more at ease, without drowning in the sea of people from before.
Zephyr turned his head to the side, noticing three guys walking towards them. They were probably thugs, approaching the people they thought they could intimidate and take their money. Although, compared to the mercenaries from before, these looked more like little children than anything. Nonetheless, Zephyr was still weary of their presence.
The would-be leader of the three men, with a cocky expression on his face, came to a halt a few steps away from Ili. He gave the girl a sneer, looking her up and down in a mocking manner.
"Well, if it ain't a pretty little thing we got here. What's a girl like you doing wandering 'round these parts? Looking for trouble?"
Zephyr glanced at Ili, noticing her touching the handle of her blade. "Don't. I'll handle it." he told her quietly, getting up from the railing and stepping in between her and the thieves, speaking coldly. "Can we help you?"
Ili frowned, slightly annoyed at the fact that Zephyr was shielding her. She was more than capable of taking care of herself and these thieves. However, she knew that he was merely trying to keep up appearances, and prevent any real conflict. She sighed, and stayed quiet for the moment.
The leader of the thieves smirked at Zephyr's strong front, feeling amused. He got closer to them, with the other two stepping closer as well.
"Can you help us? Of course you can!" the leader's smirk widened. "Give us everything you have, and we might just let you go with all your blood and organs inside."
"We barely have anything. You'd be better off stealing from the homeless." Zephyr said, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"We'll be the judges of that, kalzraak." one of the other thugs spoke, closing in as well.
"What a pretty sword you have there! Mind if I take a look?" the last thug said with a grin, walking over to Ili and catching her by the arm.
Zephyr caught the thug by the arm as well, gripping it tightly. "Take our hand off her, or lose it."
"Is that so?" the thug spoke, his eyes narrowing, his tone growing more serious. "And what are you gonna do, huh?"
He let go of her hand, only to take a handful of her hair then and pull her to the railing, threatening to throw her off.
Zephyr opened the palm of his hand, creating a crystal dagger in it, his face full of anger. But as he was looking at the thug, he was met by the strong kick of the leader, throwing him on the ground a few meters away.
"Oh, you wanna fight, huh?" the leader said, taking out the dagger at his belt. "Pagar, take her."
The thug that was holding Ili nodded, immediately wrapping his arm around her neck and pulling her at his chest, holding a dagger at her neck.
"Throw your weapon to the ground and give us everything you have, if you want to ever see her again."
Zephyr gritted his teeth in anger. He was about to comply, but as he looked at Ili, he didn't see fear or pleading. He only saw a cold and calm expression, as if asking whether she should do anything. He slowly nodded, answering her silent question.
"Watcha' nodding for, beast?" the leader asked, with disgust in his expression. "Are you deaf or something? Alright then. Pagar, cut her."
The moment the thug tried to slash Ili's throat, he felt his hand suddenly going numb. With an instantaneous movement, Ili striked his nerve with her fingers, numbing his arm and making him drop the dagger. Then, she elbowed him in the liver, making him let go of her, before swiping his feet and putting him on the ground with a loud thud.
"What the..! Damned girl!" The leader turned to attack her, but his jaw suddenly met the top of Ili's foot, putting him to the ground in one strike.
The last of the thugs jumped to attack Ili, but just as he was about to hit her, Zephyr punched him in the face with a fist hardened by crystal, putting him on the ground as well.
"I'll kill you!" the last thug stormed, spitting some blood on the ground.
He turned to attack Zephyr, but he was immediately put back on the ground by a merciless kick to the face from Zephyr.
"Yeah, you will?" Zephyr walked closer to him, burning with anger. He walked to him, holding his dagger tightly in his hand.
"That's enough." Ili said, catching Zephyr by the hand. "Let's go."
Zephyr scoffed, but then looked at the other two thugs, who were unconscious on the ground, but mostly unharmed. He turned his head back at the last thug, who was on his back, bleeding, his nose broken and missing a few teeth.
"He deserved it." Zephyr spat, letting go of his dagger.
Ili walked up to the last thug, getting down to his level. She took a small cloth from her pouch, placing it over his larger wounds, before bringing her hands to his face and using a bit of healing magic to stop the bleeding, her hands glowing a faint green light.
The thug remained on his back, breathing heavily, but calming down slightly, his eyes closed.
"You're lucky she's here." Zephyr spoke in disdain, before walking off with Ili as she finished stopping the bleeding.
They walked away from the scene, leaving the three thugs on the ground. After a while, Zephyr spoke, looking forward.
"You didn't have to do that."
Ili didn't respond, staying silent. After a bit, she turned her head to him, trying to change the dark atmosphere.
"So, did you find any inns?" she asked.
"Yeah, I found a few." Zephyr responded, shifting his tone back to normal. "But they were all full. And the ones that weren't were far too expensive."
"I see..."
"But I asked around, and some people recommended going to the eastern districts of the city. They said there are a lot of inns around those parts, and some are cheaper too. We can go look around there."
"Oh, alright. Sure…"