Memories Between Friends (Private: Rose)

A step in the right direction? Perhaps. Eyes of blue had spent most of the day serving the purpose of scouting every inch of Kaipo's sand swept streets. All in search of a single thing, or rather person to be more specific. However, even after the most thorough of searches, it seemed that the one in question would not be found by the naked eye or even by the trained for that matter. The young maiden which was sought at the moment had done an excellent job of concealing herself. Right up until this moment. It should have been obvious, if not bluntly clear that she would be here, but the seeker of the maiden had all but let the idea of this slip her mind. And it continued to be void of her knowledge until the sun had begun to sink below the horizon's line, inch by inch, it's light fading into the darkness of the night slowly. Looking into that last glimpse of light as it was replaced with gentle darkness, complimented by a blanket of brightly shinning stars, made it click into the seeker's mind. And so, here they were now, almost face to face. The maiden the seeker had been hunting for all day was finally in reach and she wasn't about to let her escape.

Atop the highest point of a well designed fortress, otherwise known as the den of the assassins, a single woman stepped out into sight. Clad in a set of brilliant white robes, with hair as dark as the shadows, skin as white as snow, and eyes that were as blue as the sky in the daytime, she looked out to a grand view. From this height she could see everything, the entirety of what was the village of Kaipo drenched in radiant moonlight that shawn ever so brightly from above. As much as it was a pleasing view, it was not the one she was seeking this night. No, there was an much more enchanting view awaiting her if she could only find it. This was the last place she could be, besides her bed chamber, but Hana wouldn't dare enter there. Especially after the last time. It nearly cost the loss of some essential limbs. But enough of that. If Rose was not here then Hana would call it a night and retire to her own chamber for the night, continuing her search tomorrow. Pulling her gaze from the view of the village, Hana took a steady pace along the rooftop, her steps light and almost inaudible, as she let her eyes scan every inch. Even the shadows, especially those. Rose could be lurking anywhere, especially if she was going through so much trouble not to be found.

A few minutes or so in, Hana's search was interrupted by a lone figure off in the distance. It was too dark to really tell exactly who it was, even with moon shinning as brightly as it was, but her eyes were able to recognize a brief flash of white in the distance when Hana leaned in to take a closer look. Could it be, had she been here this whole time? Taking a few silent breaths, Hana hesitated for a moment but then advanced forwards towards the person, her steps still as light as ever and barely audible to the ears. If this was in fact Rose, then her search had finally come to an end.

[OCC: REPOSTED; Let's get this topic moving sister...]

Indeed, the figure that had caught the attention of the new arrival had been none other than Rose herself, not that one would be able to tell this from first glance. Hidden in the safety of her robes, hood shrouding her face, as she was curled up with her knees to her chest. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to find her right now. She assumed she had made this abundantly clear this morning when she had left the brotherhood without leaving a single trace of where exactly she was going, not that she went anywhere in particular anyway. It had been a full day of drifting from one place to another all in the pursuit of not being caught by anyone. Even now she was still hiding herself from everyone around her, or at least attempting to do so.

Little did she know of Hana's presence behind her until the brief moment where the slightest sound of her steps caught Rose's trained ears. It hadn't been instant, but as Hana neared closer and closer, even with her steps being as quiet at they were, there was still that off step that caused a disturbance in the peace of the night. At first Rose assumed that it might have been the steady breeze passing through the village, gently rustling the leaves of the trees. But that couldn't have been the case, especially when more slight sounds continued to appear, one after another. There was no way that could be a coincidence cause by the wind. Rose's body tensed up when she realized the potential of someone actually being behind her. By this point she felt like just jumping from the height of the roof to make a quick escape and run away yet again. Honestly, she didn't want to be around anyone, no matter who it was. But the mere thought of that idea, as much as it was inviting, was also rather idiotic when put into perspective. Then again, the same could be said about this entire day's events. Why had she been running from something she promised herself she would come to grips with. Yes she had demanded that much of herself even though, so far, it wasn't exactly working out as she had planned it to. So much for that plan. Although it didn't show, Rose was brooding. Over what exactly? The anniversary of the day destruction had been laid upon their brotherhood was fast approaching, being only in a week's time. It was decided a year ago to the day that a ceremony be held to honor those who didn't make it away on the fateful day of the attack. It was a memorial service, to remember their sacrifices in the line of defending against the Baron bastards. And now, another year passed, the ceremony was to be held again.

No matter the pain held within her heart, Rose would shed no tears, it wasn't in her nature to allow such a weakness. As much as many would argue that tears were no sign of weakness but rather of strength in a person, she thought differently. So it would explain why she felt the need to just run and hide. She had no method to release the rage that the reminder gave her each year. But she would never admit to such feelings, to no one... Well almost no one anyway. There was only ever one person that knew what Rose was going through during this time of the year, but that was only because said person was very attentive, able to get into Rose's head and read her inner feelings like an open book. Hana, she was always nosing herself into Rose's personal business. But then again it couldn't be helped. The two were like sisters with the strongest of bonds tying them together for what seemed like ages now. If one was troubled then so was the other. Especially in Hana's case, when a person as close as Rose was troubled then she made it a point to find out what was going on. She cared, and sometimes just a little too much, but it was nice to have the kind of support. Not too many were as lucky to have such a thing as they did. For a second Rose's mind did spare a thought to her good friend, almost tempted to go and find her. Perhaps she would be able to help shake this mood before the day of the ceremony would arrive. First things first though, Rose would have to ditch whoever was coming up behind her and take a leave from this lonely rooftop.

Listening closely as the footsteps continued, Rose picked herself up from the spot she had been sitting in and slowly rose to her feet. For a moment or so Rose kept her back on the individual who was coming towards but soon turned to face them. Giving a small tug on her hood to make sure it was still there and masking her face, she waited, wanting to see what fool dared to interrupt this place. She assumed one of the rookie assassin's going for a simple night stroll, but that idea was quickly dismissed when the features of the person started to become clear to her eyes. Was that white skin? There was only one person her mind could associate that tone with. So, she had been watching this whole time. Typical Hanamaru type move. Not that Rose could complain, it was expected if anything. At least now Rose would not have to track down Hana, she had come to her. How convenient. Folding her arms into each other, crossing them, Rose sounded with a lowly sigh. Her head sank a bit as she looked off to the side, unable to look Hana in the face. "Following me again are you? You should know, I'm in no mood to deal with your foolery today Hana." Rose's tone was absent of it's usual cocky twist, a clear sign that she was bothered to no further end.

The fact that Rose was able to tell that Hana was approaching was no surprise. She was trained well enough and as such it was nice to know that the effort wasn't wasted. However it was easy to tell that Rose wasn't happy about Hana's presence here. Just in her voice alone it was a simple feat to tell that Rose's emotions had a strong hold over her on this day. They were dragging her down and very well at that. But this was to be expected at this time of the year. It was a sensitive time where memories of loses became evident in the mind of Rose. It was something that she couldn't overcome. Not just yet anyway. Not that Hana could have said the same a year earlier. The difference being that Hana refused to let the memories haunt her any longer. They had caused enough strain on her mind but no longer. Rose however was still working on that. Hence why every year Hana made it a personal point to keep Rose from circling the emotional drain full circle. This time though it would appeared to have slipped her mind. A worse case scenario in a way. So already Hana was failing to fulfill her promise to Rose this year. Time to make up for a days worth of failure. Slowing her approaching on her dear friend Hana raised her arms in an assuring manner, waving down Rose's tone. Well hello you too, was what Hana would have resorted to saying. But given the type of situation that wasn't exactly the most appropriate thing to be saying.

"Come now Rose. Surely you must see I bring no ill will here." For Hana to say that was a bit strange. Considering the usual antics which took place between the two of them it would be understandable for Rose to doubt her words at the moment. Although if Rose could push past that fact and look a little deeper then she would see that Hana did mean well by her being here. Hana gave a look of sincerity towards Rose before lowering her arms. Once she was certain that she had gotten her point across Hana took a few more steps forward until she was standing at the edge of the fortress. Looking out onto Kaipo once more Hana gave a sigh of relief. "An exceptionally beautiful night. Wouldn't you agree?" The small talk was to continue the notion that Hana meant no harm by any means. But she would get to her point in time. "And so is the act of day vanishing into the shadows of night. Much like someone else I know." Hana motioned with her hand for Rose to join her. Although she doubted at first that she would. But Hana would hope that Rose would take the offer. "You worried many of us today Rose. Even mentor was inquiring about you. You shouldn't just up and disappear like that. It gives the wrong impression." Before long, as she continued to talk, Hana realized that she must have sounded like a lecturing jerk. As if Rose didn't get enough of that treatment every single day from their mentor. The last thing she needed was to hear more of it. But a point needed to made clear. Her all day vanishing act had set many assassins on edge in many ways. So she needed to know that whatever she was going through affected not only her but those around her as well. But enough of that. Hana figured Rose got the point.

Rose. I know your still hurting. Which is why I am here. I've been searching for you everywhere. I wanna be able to help. You know this by now. Why didn't you come to me? We've been there for each other through thick and thing. Why stop now? Please Rose. Don't hide from me of all people. I just... wanna be there for you." If there was one thing Hana took serious it was caring for those around her. Even though sometimes she proved overbearing, if there was friend in need then she would be there trying to do what she could for them in any way. It was in her nature.