“Renee, you better not be breaking anything up there!” called out a voice from downstairs. The one called Renee was in her friend's home, going through his homemade bar out of sheer boredom.
She stifled a small laugh, “I’ll think about it!” yelled back Renee. Tucking a strand of her long red hair behind her ear, she snooped through the large assortment of alcoholic drinks. Couldn’t he get the good stuff instead of this crap?, she thought to herself. Stilleto was a known alcoholic and boyfriend of her best friend, Atalanta.
Unfortunately, Atalanta was out of town for a while and left Renee in charge of making sure Stilleto didn’t get stranded out in the street, drunk off his ass. Her attention was then grabbed by an odd colored bottle on the top shelf. Standing on her tip toes, Renee stretched in an attempt and grab it but fell short since she is well, short. Her height barely reached a grand total of five feet and often gets mistaken for a child despite being nineteen years old.
Giving up on the bottle, she finally heard the low mumbles of Stilleto talking to someone downstairs. She found this odd since they’re the only people in his home. Was Atalanta home?, wondered Renee as she crept down the stairs. After a few steps, Renee sees her friend talking with a woman. The stranger appeared to be in her early thirties with coal black hair and bright emerald green eyes.
Strange. She didn’t recognize her which was concerning since Renee has usually seen everyone’s face at least once. This is due to the fact that she enjoys going around town, eavesdropping, and finding out what everyone’s business is. Snoopy? Yes. Helpful? Definitely.
Renee observed the woman's actions. She seemed bright eyed and bushy tailed and in awe of everything. She must be new here, commented Renee in her thoughts.
“So, what exactly brought you to my house.." he paused for a moment, "Kalypso, was it?” asked Stilleto in his tired, Australian accent.
Kalypso, huh.? She’s definitely new, I would’ve remembered a name like that.
“Oh! I was looking for a job and accidentally stumbled upon this-..” her voice trailed off, looking around the room at the bland decor and one lonely couch. "..lovely home.”
Stilleto looked at her, completely aware that his home isn’t the best looking but it was his home and didn’t care about the looks of it as long as it had walls and a roof.
“Have you tried the tavern or any of the little shops around the park?” Stilleto asked, running his hair through his light brown hair.
“No, I’m not too sure where it is or any of the shops in that matter.” responded Kalypso, glancing upwards finally noticing the redhead that was spying on the top of the stairs. “Maybe you’d like to show me?” offered the woman with a sly grin.
Renee's freckled cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “The tavern is right across the street and the park is just down the road if you go straight from here!” she quickly said.
“Aww, c’mon Renee, surely you’d be kind enough to show her where everything is?” chimed in Stilleto with a smug grin on his face, enjoying Renee’s awkwardness a bit too much.
“Yeah. What if I get lost along the way?” Kalypso purred as she made her way towards the stairs causing Renee to back up the steps as she got closer.
“I trust that you won’t since they’re literally, right outside and you’d have to have the world’s most horrible sense of direction to get lost!"” replied Renee quickly, watching the raven-haired girl stop in her tracks.
Kalypso laughed a bit to herself, “I suppose that’s true.." she said as she turned back towards Stilleto. "Well, I should get going if I am going to find someone that will have a job for me to do.”
“You can go ahead and let yourselves out, I’m going to head to bed.” said Stilleto as he let out a yawn, stretching. He started to trudge his way towards the stairs.
“Well, it was nice meeting you both. Hopefully I’ll see you two around again..” bid Kalypso as she walked towards the door.
"Yourselves? Meanin' me too?” asked Renee, suddenly having her attention on Stilleto as he passed her up the stairs. “You’re not gonna get wasted, are you?”
“Yes, you too. And no, I’m actually going to bed... I’ve had a long week and I’m getting some well earned rest..” he muttered grumpily, continuing his way up the stairs. Renee sighed softly and turned to leave when she noticed that Kalypso was already gone. Assuming she’s already across the street in the tavern, Renee decided to take her leave and start her walk home.
Passing by the many shops, she watched the various carriages carrying nobility back to their estates. It was getting late after all and not many people are out after dark since it was that infamous time when muggers and sanguine come out.
Nearing her home, Renee glanced down an alleyway and saw Kalypso. She seemed to be walking with two guys. Renee almost didn’t think anything of until she then noticed that one of them wore a dark cloak with a knife-like etched onto back of it. The last time she saw something like that was from the Underground city. On one of her adventures there, she discovered a cult that took part in rituals and what not.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Renee decided to follow the group from afar. The redhead watched the three of them disappear behind the tavern. Finally reaching the corner, she saw that they were gone. Baffled, Renee looked around for any possible clues to where they might have dissapeared to, that is, before tripping over something.
“Ah, what the bloody hell?!” she cursed to herself as she sat up, looking to see what she tripped over. A black handle, sticking out of the ground. It was a hatch though it was not entirely closed but just visible enough to where she could see. Opening it, she felt a warm heat emanating out of the opening. Deciding she has nothing better to do, Renee climbed down into the hatch.
