Shadows Never Burn
Summary: The Kingdoms of Menalia and Canisart have a great, close bond ever since the ironic rapture caused by Queen Lizzie years ago; this bond is so close that they even have a joint secret assassins association! ^-^
Characters: Scar, Katherine, Avid, Sausage, and Martyn
Words: 1,035
For more on my AU read here
Cross posted on AO3
The instrumental vinyl scratched as it came to a natural end, this left the main room of the Travern silent save for the sound of a cloth towel being passed over the granite bar counter.
āSorry folks, thatās the sign that the Travern is closed for the day, Iāve even sent my working friends on home early,ā the owner of the Jellie-o Travern was wiping down the bar as a hooded man sat across from him, two others were at a booth by the stage.
No one said a word, no one moved, the air was tense and ready for anything to break out . From the toilets however, a young man stumbled out- his voice loudly announcing from across the room, āScar! I just used the last of the soap, sorry!ā
āAvid, you suck at being mysterious and cool!ā
One of the figures at the booth pulled back their hood, a dark-haired tailor from the neighbouring kingdom, Katherine sighed at the manās announcement that completely murdered the mysterious, cool atmosphere they had tried to create.
Gathering at the booth where she and Menaliaās Archbishop Sausage were, the hand of the Canisart King, Martyn, was the one to start the meeting of the Shadow Association, āAlright, thank you all for gathering for this association meeting. Second of the month, I believe- sorry I couldnāt make it last time, too busy being cool and all, but ShadowMyth handled it well.ā
āThe ShadowAss missed your presence, ShadowEar.ā
āHow are you the head of a church?ā
āLa Luna forgives all!ā
No society is perfect, there is bad and evil around every corner, especially in the dark- which is why a group of shadows formed in the name of the Menalia Queen in association with the King of Canisart via Martyn.
Archbishop Sausage is head of the Church of La Luna, the moon that shines above all and protects everyone alongside the watchful stars, but a New Moon knows to hide in the shadows when need be. He was the one to bring this idea up to the Queen just months after she had been coronated, leaving out the fact he had been running the group for years before that.
The group, under the approval of the allied rulers of the neighbour lands, work individually to take care of any problems that might appear in the cities, villages, or wilderness, within the protection of the shadows. Ironically, none of the associates have any shadow-being lineage.
ShadowPaw, ShadowGuy, and ShadowShock, the three active members of the group that had each been recruitedā¦for better or worse. It takes something real special to be brought into an organization like this, a certain trust and loyalty that must remain as solid and tough as bedrock.
āI donāt quite remember as usual, but once the tracks stopped and I spotted it, bing-bang-boom, the beast fell in just three swoops. Got ShadowSaus to confirm it to the Queen and yeah, the Port of Beri and all the adorable creatures are safe once again,ā Katherine took a long sip of her drink after she finished summarizing her completed task, as much as she could due to the brain fog that entered her mind after each mission. ShadowSaus nodded, ShadowEar poked his own chin as he took the information in and turned to the Travern owner, āShadowGuy, what say you?ā
āWhat say me?ā Scar blinked, āYes- I mean, good job, ShadowPaw. As for my taskā¦I say it went well.ā
Martyn looked around as silence filled the table and gazed back to him, āCare to elaborate?ā
ShadowGuy softly chuckled, āThereās not much to say.ā
ShadowEar then turned to the one who had not spoken yet but who seemed to be ready to pop at a momentās notice, āā¦ShadowShock?ā
āOh stars, it was so awesome, he just one-shot pierced so many pillagers! Just like fwoop- boom, dead! No blood, no nothinā, didnāt even say a word! Their days of stealing valuable tools are over thanks to ShadowGuy! And uh, I helped where I could, of course,ā Avid added more detail to how Scarās last task had gone, one where Avid had gone to provide any assistance if needed (code for: it was Scarās turn to babysit and mentor the newest recruit).
āāRight then,ā Martyn sighed, taking a long swig from his drink and storing all the information in his head to give a summary to his king later on.
Conversation was more casual after the business was done and new assignments were scheduled to be given before the end of the month. The latest fashion trends, films they were excited to see, the annual Embrace: all topics that almost covered up the fact they had been discussing the shadowy dealings of their lands minutes prior.
Katherine and Avid were out first, heading into the city and back across the river to Aqualor on the midnight ferry. Martyn got his last laugh in for the night over Scar before he also set back to the castle in the far out mountains northeast of the city.
āAlways get such a joy when we all get together. Getting a new recruit with us is always exciting, Iām sure Avid will do great. Aw man, I remember when it was just us, it feels so long ago,ā Sausage mused as he slowly stood up and prepared his magical staff, āWell, I guess it was seeing as it has been seven years, huh? Crazy.ā
Scar adjusted his hands over the table, as if not knowing what to do with them, and gazed off at nothing in particular whilst agreeing with the man he had known for almost a decade, āYeahā¦time sure has flown by.ā
These meetings never took long, sometimes Sausage or Martyn sat around a tad for another drink, but each person had a journey back home and they knew itād be better to let Scar rest. A long day of supervising the Travern, dealing with the few ruffians who didnāt want to leave, restocking soap in the bathroom; Scar properly shut down the place for the night, letting the darkness of night settle in like a protective blanket from the stars above, a feeling he was very much familiar with.
