LuLu stalked the streets. Anger raged from her body. It didn't need to have an aura hanging around, it was coming off her like heat waves from the street's black stones. It also jumped off her black outfit. A shirt that was long enough to be a dress draped on her torso. A black netted veil was pulled away from her face and pushed into her long, black, tangled hair. Loose, black pants shuffled down past her shoes and were catching dust and pushing it up her legs. She was basically covered in dust up to her knees. Her brown eyes flashed around angrily.

Why was she so angry? It would have to do with her.

Her as in Keychain. The mysterious ashy red headed girl. The one with the creamy colored skin. The one with the brightest blue eyes in the world. The one who was known to be hanging around her cousin, the one who left his great chances of being a knight.

That idiot.

Where was Jasper, to begin with?

That moment, LuLu saw her and she wasn't so pleased with it. Her hair, her beautiful dark red hair, was pulled back tightly to show the bare neck. The hair, even if it was short now since the last time she heard the rumors rushing through the castle about this girl, was still pushed over the shoulder. She was talking to someone. A boy with dark skin. A handsome young man with the greatest caramel colored hair. He was facing LuLu's direction, and she got a glance from his brown eyes. Almond colored brown eyes. She could have melted just looking at him.

So why was he with her?

Approaching them, LuLu could start to hear traces of their conversations.

". . . . Really, it's a shame. Sometimes, I wish I could do more for you, Key. You have too much on your hands, and having Aqua up and disappear doesn't help matters anymore. Sure, she left a note, but that doesn't give her the right to not say where she is going," the boy said. Even though his brows were creased and he was looking at Keychain with a worried look, his voice stayed even, only with hints of the asking in his voice.

A sigh came from the girl, Keychain. "I told you before, Evan, it won't help matters at all. I'm just--I'm just a scholar."

"And I'm a clothing shop owner. Your point?"

LuLu took her chance to butt in. "Are you Keychain? The only girl who has a name like that, Keychain?"

The girl turned around. Indeed, just as the rumors had said, her eyes really did stick out from the rest of her body. Large like a child's but with the wisdom of someone who is older than a youngster, and brighter than any blue eyes ever to be seen. It was almost impossible to have eyes like her.

Almost, but there was still a small chance.

"I am, is there something you need from me?" she questioned. Her eyebrows drew together, as if she was trying to figure things out. Thoughts like, Who is this girl? and, What does she need from me? and most importantly, Why does she look so angry?.

"My cousin is living in your house. You know, Jasper, and I want you to unleash your claws from his grips! If it wasn't for you, he would still be able to become a knight! By now, he would be a knight!" LuLu shouted. Keychain took a step back, surprised. "And don't tell me that you don't know! If it wasn't for you being his spouse--"

"Spouse? You think I'm his spouse? I'm not even sure I'm old enough to be considered a woman! I'm not his spouse, got it? I'm just his friend. He ended up living with a few friends and I after he had no lead to someplace he could live." Keychain shrugged. "How could you think that I was his spouse?"

LuLu started to sputter. "Well--you see---it's a difficult story."

"I think I can handle it." Keychain crossed her arms. The boy, Evan, seemed interested in hearing things as well.

"Rumors, how about that?"

Sometimes being a Blade, and therefore a telepath, lost is benefits. When one could read and comprehend what almost everyone is feeling nearby, it can get pretty bothersome...

And when it comes down to it, when you're sensing how one adventurer is being angry over how another is living with her cousin and thinking thoughts like them being spouses, such a Blade would always wonder if there was such thing as a medical treatment for what he was born with, from his father's side.

But soon Nogare, the Blade in question, realized that there was more to this than what was being presented on the outside, from that glowing aura of fury over there. Someone was missing, and those present in that circle of conversation seemed eager to find the missing person...

He re-focused his mind back to how any other non-Blade would see the world; outside the minds of everyone nearby. He sighed and focused within the one mind that mattered to him; his own. He had just come back from a journey far from North Castle, and this was his return home. Would this never end...?

He didn't even want to think about it.

Missing person. Check. Possible need for his assistance. If this Aqua was someone of importance to the fate of Hyrule, her rescue was obviously a priority. But then was the awkward part; having to justify how he was listening, and how this was likely none of his business, how he should bugger off, etc. A desperate hero. Desperate for survival. Desperate for a sense of what freedom he had left. Freedom to serve. What other choice did he have? ... There was no other choice. Alternatives were just a bad way to have nightmares.

He gained his courage and a sense of dignity and approached the group. "I'm sorry to intrude, if this is none of my concern, please excuse me, but I overheard that someone is missing... I'm a decent hunter, and a mercenary who won't ask much for the service of searching." That's it, Nogare, that's it, make yourself look like a desperate jerk who happened to be listening in, you weren't even close to here a second ago, you pushed through the crowd to reach this place, and you're prying their money out of their pockets to hide the truth of why you really need to help them. Smooth, Nogare, smooth... He had no choice just let it sit. If they turned him down, at least he had tried, and there would always be another handful of people who needed his protection and service for setting out on what would likely become a dangerous quest. That's the best he had. That's all he was good for now.

OOC: I hated writing this, but I didn't know how to approach it. The situation is hard to enter, but it seemed like it was intended to go somewhere. And Nogare has his reasons for helping people too at this stage of his HA2 career, until we learn more about him, so here, this is the best I could do to enter the topic... I think that's why no one replied, it's a tricky one to enter... That's my opinion at least. But it looks like it'll get interesting. I hope that wasn't as much of a disaster of a post as I felt it was as I wrote every word. Nogare was way too desperate IMO to sound like his usual self. But anyway, let's carry on ^_^.

LuLu, new to everything, glanced between Evan and Keychain. The tall male looked down at his scholar friend. Between the two friends, they knew how violating it was for someone to be eavesdropping on a conversation. But when they decide to stand in the courtyard yapping away about such a thing, it was hard for someone to not listen in to their conversation.

"Technically, she's not missing. I've got a letter to where she decided to go, why she decided to go, and what got her to want to go," commented Keychain. "If you want to read it, I've got the letter tucked way in my pocket." She patted her shirt, a secret pocket where she placed light items so that no one would know was hemmed on the inside of the shirt. A small, tricky smile twitched on her face.

Evan scowled lightly. "Which I don't know why she decided to leave. Aqua knows she has a duty to help you out and--"

"Evan, shush," snapped Keychain. "I'm stronger now. It doesn't matter whether or not Aqua is here. She left on her own."

"But why? You never even told me what the letter said, but you are offering to show it to him?" Evan clamped a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small push.

"You never asked, so just shush up for now." Keychain stared at Nogare. "I know who you are, but I don't think you have approached me often enough for me to remember it."

Nogare could not be in a worse position, but he adapted as best he could. "Thank you, I'd like to read it, but if Mr. Evan wants to read it first, I'll wait. My name is Nogare, i'm a Blade... But all I'm here to be is a bodyguard for those who need one, and it's possible that you need one too. You could assume that Aqua was captured, or that she was escaping to somehow protect you from something or someone. I'll read the letter over, but no matter what it says, there's almost always a second layer to what's really at work."

Keychain shrugged her shoulders and smiled lightly. "I don't know why he's throwing such a fit about it. I've told him everything in words. Maybe I left a few things out, but that's because they aren't very good to be speaking about. Well, for me that is."

"Is it--"

"Yes."

Evan's mouth opened wide and he nodded his head, finally understanding what Keychain was talking about. His eyes darted to Nogare with interest. "It's just Evan, please. I'm not used to any of those formal words. No one calls me 'sir, Mr. Evan, Mr. Johnson,' or just plain 'mister'. Now, Keychain, are you sure that you want to show him the letter? It's hard for you to even talk about certain sections of it, since it mentions Luis." The small, sad smile on his friend's face made him stop talking. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Do you...want to see the letter? I do warn you, Aqua doesn't have very good hand writing, so you may not understand it very good," commented Keychain.

Nogare nodded. "I can read my own handwriting, I can probably read hers."

He offered his hand out to take it, still leaning on his spear (which he seemed to be leaning against more than most guards seemed to). His hands shook as they waited, and his hands focused unwaveringly at the letter that Evan held. There it is... my key... as long as there is danger, I'll be fine...

OOC: Tiny post, sorry... Not much to say.