Poppy blocked the evening sun from eyes by placing her delicate hand over her forehead.
She was in an awful panic, feeling her chest rising and falling at rapid speeds as she tried to find her way out of the Coliseum.
She shoved and evaded through countless crowds, that was until she felt a huge brick wall slam into her, knocking her onto the ground and almost into the legs of a little kid.
She caught herself, barely avoiding the kid while still causing a scene as she had to stand up with every pair of eyes in the room focused on her.
Then she looked up to see a towering figure... A brute of a human, with a well kept black goatee... A black eyepatch with the royal crest of House Durangor... A jaw that could have been rumored to be made of pure iron... And a singular serpentine scarlet eye staring right into Poppy's soul.
She took a frantic step back, and away from the immovable object that was the figure before her.
She blinked.
The man had the broadest shoulders in the world, veiled by a thin gray suit and tie with extravagant patches of metal used as stitching for the old suit...
She blinked again.
The man had combed back black hair and a gaze that had "Killer" written all over it.
Poppy knew who this was.
Fear overtook her body.
"What is it child?" The man asked with a terribly deceiving smile, yet his eyes making sure to let Poppy know fully that he already knew who she was...
Poppy took another step back, only to realize that she was frozen in place... Paralyzed just as she had been when Rider took the head of the man who had truly been Poppy's father figure...
"It is bad manners to shove someone and not apologize... No?" The man's gruff and arrogant voice laced in Fabolous grace and class only tore more horror into Poppy's mind state.
Her mind raced for answers, trying to find a way to get herself out of this, only to come to the conclusion that if this man was right here... At this point in time...
Than he could simply end her life whenever he wished...
This was mockery...
It was playing with your food...
Poppy felt disgraced.
Callahan... Head of House Durangor let out a soft calculating chuckle as he lifted his black gloved hand up towards his face.
"Please don't..." Poppy managed to force out of her lips.
"Dear Bastard... Do you remember what your adoptive father took from me?" Callahan laughed a bitter laugh, lifting the black eyepatch, revealing a terrible bloody gash... The cosmic residue of The Grand Paladin still gnawing at the festering wound...
"He will not care if you harm me." Poppy said flatly, hoping that by simply using fact, she could get herself out of this situation.
Callahan's smirk was erased, replaced only by a bitter and empty expression, far more horrifying than his arrogant approach.
Poppy tried to force her body to move, feeling as if even though Callahan was standing perfectly still as a statue... He was slowly getting closer...
Behind Callahan, another familiar figure stepped through the crowd... This one with a black textured shag and a chiseled baby face that held no threat at all, yet still held up against figures like Lithica and Andrew in terms of looks.
His armor though... Was nearly as shifting of a book cover as his eyes... Which held the scarlet gaze of House Durangor...
But his heavy black plated armor with torn black rags hanging off each different plate like the remnants of a full body cape... These distinct features told the story of The Black Knight of Seh Jenah...
The only child of Callahan of House Durangor...
Oren of House Durangor... The executioner of the Coliseum...
"Father... The syndicate has made massive bets on the main card..." Oren alerted his father quietly, subtly glancing at Poppy with disgust as he did so.
"Damnit all- No matter... They have nothing against us after all." Callahan subtly nodded, flashing his teeth for everyone to see the veteran warlords smile.
The two exchanged glances between each other and Poppy... Before Oren finally read the room and raised an eyebrow.
"Father, shall I escort her to the dungeon?" Oren asked, reaching for the shadow in a jar hanging loosely from his waist.
Poppy's eyes widened.
"With the animals?!" Callahan boomed with laughter.
Oren awkwardly shuffled his feat and forced a chuckle. "Heh, yeah..."
"I will do it myself..." Callahan began to reach for Poppy's shoulder before something suddenly appeared between them.
A wall...
Expensive torn black and dark gray leathers... Subtle orange trims running along the fabrics...
But it was not this fake identity that immediately told Poppy who this was...
But the stupid crimson hair peaking out from his black hood...
"Ah! If it isn't Callahan! My dear business rival... A pleasure..." Jack greeted, his voice laced with sarcasm and obvious hatred...
"Yes... A pleasure..." Callahan frowned... Lowering his eyebrow at the masked rogue before him.
Poppy was now trying to force her body to move ever harder, straining her own mind to force the aura of Callahan out of her catalyst.
"You shouldn't have shown your face here, Head of House Ember..." Callahan made sure to let Jack know before casually turning around with a sigh... Leaving both Jack and Poppy in the center of shifting crowds.
"What...?" Poppy tilted her head, looking face to face at the loser from Phoenix Academy.
"Uh... It's been a while M'lady..." Jack scratched the back of his head, meanwhile Poppy was completely engulfed in confusion.
With questions such as "How had Jack of all people gotten someone as powerful as Callahan to simply turn and leave?" Or Why had he been referred to as "Head of House Durangor..." Or even why he was here right now... At this very moment?
"Oh..." Poppy frowned.
Jack tilted his head.
"You are in on Chase's plan..." Poppy's scowl deepened, just as Kaylynn appeared behind her, embracing her with a big hug.
"I'm sorry Poppy! I seen what happened, but I couldn't move for the life of me!" Kaylynn cried out, making Poppy awkwardly shift her balance as she looked at Jack with disappointment, but...
"Thank you, Jack..." Poppy said with the gritting of her teeth.
"No time for that... I'm afraid we need to get back to your allies..." Jack's eyes were locked onto an Aether screen projected above a vendor along the opposite wall of the long crowd-ridden hallway.
And so the three of them... Could only watch the coming battle with horrible dread... Everyone all simultaneously realizing the consequences of getting involved with this city...
The sun slowly set in the horizon as a bitter laugh escaped the dark alleys of Seh Jenah... Signaling that the battle had begun.