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Seth was irritated. He was supposed to be a responsible, reasonable man by now. He was supposed to have learned from past mistakes and realized that life doesn’t bend to his whims. He was supposed to know how to please his people, and how to make alliances while avoiding enemies. He was supposed to be the Crown Prince of the Spanish Sirens.

Right now, he wanted to be anything but such a man.

Seth Solindo was the second boy born his mother and father, but he was the only male eligible to take the throne and its duties. When he was younger, such an idea seemed to be very far away, but now, as he grew older was taught more, he was very aware that the day would come soon. His father had fallen ill, and most believed that while he would still have years left to live, he would never fully recover. Therefore, Seth’s studies had been increased, and his days of freedom seemed to be slipping away. No one else seemed to understand how he felt. Each of his siblings were married. Each were happy, so why couldn’t he just do as he pleased? They should drag Victor back to where he belonged, perhaps even allow the elven woman and their child to join him. Victor should be the one taking over. Not him. Not Seth.

Yet he was the one who was expected to do so.

After a morning of sulking and bitter words, he was far from surprised when the servants chose to leave him alone. Those who brought him his food did so silently, and when his tutors spoke to instruct him in lessons he didn’t respond. That day, he didn’t care how he was seen. He was tired of caring and trying. He wanted to get out. Finally, his lessons ended, and he was allowed to wallow in his room. Eventually he knew that his mother would demand that he snap out of acting selfishly, but until then, he would soak up all the self pity he could.

When he was curled up on the sofa watching the falling leaves outside of his window, he heard a knock. The sound made him scowl and he made no move to stand. The knock came again, and again he ignored it. Finally, a much louder and persistent series of knocks could be hear, to which he finally yelled, “Alright! What do you want?” The door opened slightly, and a head of green appeared. The girl entered fully after a moment except for one arm, which was clearly restraining someone outside of the door.

“Hello, uncle.”

“What the hell do you want? And just let Aurora in. She’ll start shouting otherwise.”

At his words, Dawn took a few steps into the room, her twin sister entering directly behind, her words loud as she protested her uncle’s statements. “I would not have shouted. I’m not supposed to.” The two girls moved to sit on the window sill, much to Seth’s annoyance, as he was still attempting to watch the outside and block out his nieces. However, that quickly became impossible as they spoke again.

“We want to go to a school. The one you went to.” stated Dawn, her words simple but clearly providing a lead in to something else. Before Seth could ask why he should be informed of their wishes, Aurora spoke again. “But mother won’t let us. That is, unless you come as well.” At that he sat up, his face immediately brighter as he considered the option. Outside of Spain, he could avoid his studies for a while. He could be himself again. Maybe, just maybe, he could speak with the witch again. Such a wonderful idea it would be! Just to get away.

“Okay. I will go.” He tried not to sound as enthusiastic as he felt, but it seemed not to matter. The twins were clearly please, and Aurora was jumped up to run from the room, presumably to let his sister know that he’d agreed.

The sound of footsteps rang out like gunshots, the old temple long empty and abandoned. At least, that was what the small group of men had been lead to believe. Feng Jingguo, a rather handsome man well known in the back alleys of China as a rather brutal man who could perform small miracles, lead the small group deeper into the temple. It was quite easy to deceive the public, granting false hope to an oppressed people was like taking candy from children, but it was keeping them deceived that raised an issue. Feng was not a wizard or a psychic or anything magical, but it was due to a chance encounter with something like this that had given him the ability in the first place. It was here, in this long forgotten temple, that he would be investigating reports of another sighting. It seemed that an old recluse that lived in the area had seen something he believed to be a person with wings descending in the area. As a rather important man, Feng wouldn't normally investigate such things himself, but his second in command had been conveniently unavailable; the other man thought that perhaps his boss was a little crazy, and tended to distance himself from anything involving all this 'magic' nonsense. Even if the other man could be seen as disrespectful, good subordinates were hard to find, especially when they thought they were working for a crazy person, so Feng let it slide. Raising a hand to stop the advance of his group, he cocked his head to the side. He had definitely heard something, but over the sound of his men's footsteps, it hadn't been clear. The area fell silent, his men looking at their boss in confusion until...

Thump.

There it was again. The yakuza boss waved his men forward, not having expected such a sound. He had, of course, sent forward a team to inspect the area. A man of his calibre never ventured into a potentially dangerous situation first, as that was only asking for an ambush. No, he had sent forward his best advance team to find out whether or not the statement had any merit and, if it did, to capture and detain the being with wings. The team had radioed in that they had found something, urging their boss that it was safe; they claimed to have captured a young girl, foreign in appearance, who had somehow made the wind blow. While some might claim coincidence, Feng was not a man to believe such; he knew magic was real, and he had to know for himself whether or not this girl could give him what he wanted. His men would keep her detained until his arrival, and he had had one of the men with him give a call when they'd arrived at the temple. There was another thump, this one louder, and the man's brow wrinkled. What could be making that noise? His men were probably goofing off, but as long as the girl was unharmed, he supposed he didn't really care. Turning the corner, he came to a stop before a tall set of doors. He snapped his fingers, and two of the four others he had accompanying him moved to open the doors. The scene within made him stop, dark eyes scanning the unfortunate turn of events.

His advance team, six highly trained men, were strewn across the room in various conditions. None moved, and Feng couldn't tell if they were unconscious or dead. There was blood, spatters here and there, but not enough for him to think any had bled out. A knife stuck out of the leg of the man closest to the center of the room, and it was movement above him that drew his eye. Of the seven people in the room, only one was concious. The boss's eyes took in this sight, knowing that this must be the girl his men had reported. Her hair was white, pulled back in a tight braid currently resting over her shoulder, and from here he could see the bright green eyes that marked her as a definite foreigner. She was dressed oddly, as if she had just stepped out of an action movie; black pants that were only just loose enough as to not be restricting and a loose black top with bell sleeves that stopped at the elbow. The only hint of colour was a bit of blue just sticking out under the hem of the jacket. She was perched atop a pedestal that had once held a statue, one that had probably been pilfered from the old temple years ago, a knife with a wicked looking blade in hand. This was not the picture Feng had been expecting, but he could see red rings around her pale wrists from where his men must have tied them together just a smidgen on the tight side.

"Why hello there. Mister Jingguo, I take it?"

It took a lot to surprise Feng Jigguo, and he would grudgingly admit that he was surprised. The girl before him couldn't be much older than twenty, for while her features and body were mature, there was still plenty of youth in her face. There were four clicks, his men had all cocked and raised their guns, the barrels all pointed directly at the strange girl with the knife. The girl frowned, spinning the knife in her hand. "Now, do we really need to pull those out? They didn't do your friends any good, so I don't see why you think they'd help you." she had a point, and if she had wanted to attack them, she would have done it before they'd been able to draw the guns; she was obviously fast and efficient, if she could handle all six of his men and still not look tired. Feng raised a hand, and his men lowered their guns. "I'd like to speak with you. Alone, if you don't mind." she stood atop the pedestal, the movement making Feng's men twitch. As if sensing their discomfort, she grinned. "Actually, even if you do mind." a strong wind blew, ripping at Feng's close and the large doors slammed closed. Feng along, with one other man, were the only ones left inside; the others had leaped out of the way of the slamming doors, forgetting that their boss had already stepped into the room. Feng's man raised his gun once more, earning a knife in the arm. He screamed, dropping the gun to reach for the knife. He ripped it free, letting it drop to the ground before clamping down on the wound with his other hand. "I don't like guns pointed at me. Especially when the people behind it are prepared to shoot." she leaped down from the pedestal, landing lightly on her feet beside the collapsed body of one of the advance team. The man groaned, signalling he wasn't dead, and she stepped carefully out of his reach. "They're not dead. And if we can hurry this along, your friend won't bleed out either."

"You're a witch." Feng finally spoke, paying no mind to the bleeding man beside him. He took a step forward, freezing in place as the girl whipped out another knife. She seemed to have a lot of those. Still, the man smiled and let out a small laugh. "Did you use magic on them? That would be fantastic." his men couldn't call him crazy behind his back when they'd had magic used on them instead. "And you used magic just now. To close the doors. Didn't you?" he sounded fascinated, but he didn't move as she was still pointing a knife at him. He raised a hand to brush his dark bangs away from his face, looking more excited than anything else. The girl was watching him with only a trace of a smile, as if amused by this man while also attempting to maintain her composure. "You want to talk? I'll talk. I'll talk all you want. What's your name? Why are you here?" despite his excited expression, his eyes were hungry; hungry for the power that he was convinced he could get from this girl.

"I'm not a witch." the girl clarified, twirling the knife in her hand. All good assassins knew to never play with their weapons, but she was no assassin and Jingguo was no threat. "And no, I wasn't using magic. Do you still believe in that sort of thing?" a hint of condescension slipped into her tone, and she smiled as if at a young child. "My name is Rina. And I'm here because I've heard some very bad things about you." she took another step forward, her elbow coming down hard on the head of a man who was attempting to get back up; his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed once more. "I hear you like to play with 'magic'." she used her free hand to form air quotes, and Feng frowned. "Don't you think you're a bit old to be chasing fairies?" she laughed quietly, the sound light and musical. Feng's frown deepened, he didn't like her tone, and he drew a slip of paper from his pocket.

"You don't believe me? Then would you be willing to take this charm?" he held up the slip of paper, an intricate design on it. Rina's eyes examined the paper, scrutinizing it, before a smile broke across her features. She extended her free hand, and Feng moved across the room to hand it to her. She waved him back, and he did so as she moved out of reach of the man she had just knocked out. She looked over the charm, slipping it into her pocket without comment. "If you aren't a witch, then are you a fairy? I've never met a fairy." this caused the girl to frown, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Feng took another step back, hands raised. "Not a fairy then. My bad." he turned at the sound of banging on the door, it seemed something had sealed them closed, turning back to find one man across the room getting to his feet. It seemed the girl did not like being called a fairy, but this gave him the hint he needed. "A pixie, maybe? A nymph?" he sounded even more excited, leaning towards her now.

"No. And, again, no." she wasn't smiling any more, no longer amused by this man. "None of those things are real. Have you suffered any brain damage recently?" she asked, sounding far less friendly at this point. The man was grinning now, as if he knew something, and Rina was beginning the lose her patience. A noise behind her caught her attention, and she turned just in time for a fist to connect with her jaw. She dropped, hitting the floor and whipping out her leg to knock the man on his back. He fell, striking his head on the stones, and Rina turned just in time to come face to face with Feng Jingguo's gun. She didn't move, knowing better than to give this man any more of a reason to hurt her. "You should really put that down, Mister Jingguo." she spoke calmly, setting her knife carefully on the floor.

"You aren't human. Tell me what you are." he cocked the gun, a bullet sliding into place in the chamber. "Tell me." there was a crazed look in his eyes, and Rina just managed not to sigh. She spoke again, encouraging him to put the gun away. Feng laughed, shaking his head. "I don't want to hurt you. Just answer my question. I could make you rich." The girl said she didn't need his money, instead suggesting that he lower his weapon. "We could be partners. We could rule over the humans." he says, causing the girl to raise a brow. She doesn't want to rule, she says. She just wants him to forget everything he knows about magic. He says he can't do that. It's too late. She says he had better, else he might get hurt. By who? She can't hurt him. He's the one with the gun. She sighs, giving a small shake of her head. I never go crazy hunting alone, she says. Feng's eyes widen, and before he can turn a sharp point presses against the back of his neck. He lowered the gun, and Rina snatched it from his hands. The sharp blade retracts, and Rina stands quickly, punching the gang boss hard in the stomach. He wheezed, collapsing to the floor.

"Was that really necessary?" the young man asked, sheathing the long knife at his side. He had the same white hair as Rina, long and tied back from his face in a low ponytail; his eyes were an icy grey blue, and he surveyed the scene. He had been hidden away when the men attacked, following in silence when the girl had purposely lost the original fight. It had been hard to let her take the hits, but he knew that she would be underestimated in a way he would not; she was just under five and a half feet, a little on the short side, and slender. While he was built in a similar manner, he stood tall at just over six feet. His partner in crime shook out her hand, having punched harder than she expected. "What's wrong, lovely sister of mine? Punch too hard?" he was grinning, brushing the dust off his pants.

"Shut up and wipe their memories." she hissed, pulling the paper from her pocket and looking it over. "This is a charm, but it's not what he thinks it is." she laughed, ripping it up letting the pieces scatter outside. Her brother set to work erasing memories and implanting new ones, and Rina began hauling people over to him, retrieving her knives as she did so. "Remember to heal the guys I had to stab." this earned a sharp look from her brother, and she cocked a brow. Do it yourself, he suggests. "Alright, fine. But healing isn't my forte." He knows, he says. Rina rolled her eyes, bending down to investigate the wound she had inflicted on Feng's bodyguard. She placed a hand over it, her hand glowing green.

The two worked diligently, the brother wiping minds and the sister healing just enough to prevent fatalities. With those in the room taken care of, the girl turned to face the door. The men outside were still attempting to get in, and Rina waved at her brother to indicate that he should unseal. He moved to stand against the wall in the shadows, allowing her to do what she did best. The doors swung open, the three remaining men stepping in with guns raised. They rushed across the seemingly empty room at the sight of their boss on the ground, and this is when Rina jumped the slowest one. He went down, dropping his gun that then skidded across the ground. She jumped up, ducking low kicking one man hard in groin. He yelled, falling aside as the final man shot at their attacker. The first bullet only clipped her cheek in his haste, the second gouging her arm. The third flew way off course, as Rina had slapped the gun away; the bullet dug itself into the far wall, the gun flying out of his hands. The girl grinned wickedly, punching him hard in the throat. He collapsed quickly, and her brother stepped from the shadows to complete his work. Rina remained quiet as he wiped the last three minds, cleaning her knives with a rag as she waited. "Done." the brother stood, wiping his hands off on his dark pants. The unconscious men had had all notions of magic as a reality wiped clean, and memories of a drug exchange gone wrong implanted in their place. "And you're sure they'll believe this?"

"I've already made arrangements to corroborate." she was spinning her knife again, her other hand scattering some interesting things about the area. "That's where I was last night. Taking care of the second in command and the set up." putting away her knife, she straightened her coat. "The other gang is taken care of as well." she flashed a smile, causing Icarus to frown. There was something about that smile that made him shiver, knowing full well how reckless the girl could be. He surveyed the scene, dropping the items in his pocket and scattering them with his feet as if in a scuffle. With that done, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked expectantly at his sister. She was standing over the boss, scrutinizing him.

"We have to leave before they wake up." the brother encouraged, sounding less patient now. Rina nodded, tearing her eyes from Feng Jingguo's face. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen him before. Something about him had made her pause, and when he'd gotten close and held that gun to her face. She sighed, bending to slip a gold bracelet from his wrist. Her brother looked confused, and she tossed it to him. He inspected it, noting the carvings around the interior. "This is enchanted." he looked up, studying his sister's face. "You could feel it, couldn't you?" his sister nodded, and he handed back the bracelet as she approached. When he got close she could sense it, she explained. His eyes widened, and he shook his head. "That means it's Sylphid magic." She says she's aware of that as she tucks it away in a pocket, stepping over one of the men on her way to the doors. Rina was still uncomfortable, this Jingguo fellow made her skin crawl, but she would let it go for now. He'd been taken care of, and he wouldn't be able to threaten their reveal again. At least, that's what she told herself as they slipped silently from the temple and into the sky.