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It was a bright sunny day, not a cloud to be seen as the sun beat down and the waves crashed over the beach. Birds circled overhead, occasionally diving down into the water to catch a fish or some other small creature for a quick meal. The breeze was gentle, just barely whipping along the coast every now and then as Aliza walked down the shore. The scene was simply picturesque, exactly as if not more beautiful than she imagined it would be.

The Mo'ahna islands were one of her favorite places in all the realms, though this visit was coming to an end fairly soon. The window for fulfilling her contract was quickly approaching and Aliza was in the middle of starving herself of blood to prepare. It was a practice necessary to access her bloodlust form, one that always put her just a bit on edge. The beach seemed like the perfect spot to go on a walk to quell some of her angst, once she got far enough away that is. As she continued along, Aliza came to a large boulder jutting out of the otherwise barren shore, almost too perfect of a spot to meditate. As the thought of doing so crossed her mind, an earlier encounter on the islands prodded at her.

Arranth was a defender of the Honua Clan who she had met while exploring the islands. She had met plenty of dralic in her times traveling to the Mo'ahna islands, but Aliza had never met anyone quite like him. A blind warrior who 'saw' through his connection with the earth. Aliza could never understand how a person who had lost their sight could ever hope to become a warrior. But this dralic, and his entire clan, had been able to adapt their connection with nature to not only be able to see, but seemingly gain an advantage in combat.

Aliza's brief sparring session with him all but demonstrated his skill and power to her, even if it was a bit of a lopsided matchup. If he was who he seemed to be, she never expected to win the engagement, not without using her bloodlust form anyway. Her style of fighting focused more on quick and precise strikes rather than the brute force needed to stand toe-to-toe with someone like him. But even with her quick movements, Aliza felt like every move she made was easily countered before she even made it. It was as if removing the aspect of sight gave him just that slight advantage in reacting to her.

Valkte did have a similar connection with the wind, so the concept wasn't unfamiliar to her. The fabled Wind Shapers were able to sense even the slightest change in the air currents. But Aliza's connection was in no way as strong as theirs. She would often feel the wind blowing through her fur long before she sensed it. It was almost breathtaking how Arranth was able utilize his connection so effortlessly, a clear result of years of training and dedication.

"Adapt what you are given. Hmm..."

Aliza pondered out loud to herself, repeating the wisdom her father ingrained in her. Before the two parted ways, Arranth had advised her to learn true meditation; to meditate with the wind. Maybe there was something to be had in doing so. Aliza had adapted her control over her bloodlust form to kill her targets quickly and quietly. What if she could adapt her connection to the wind? Could she really use it in some way that would be an asset to her?

Aliza shook her head, what was the point? Wind Shapers spent years meditating to strengthen their connection to the point they could utilize it how they did. Even if she had that kind of time Aliza could only picture a few scenarios where it would actually be an advantage to her. Still, any advantage she could find was an advantage nonetheless, and meditating itself often helped her clear her mind. She still had a full week to prepare before the target date, what did she really have to lose?

Aliza let out a conceded sigh, then climbed atop the rock, sitting down with her legs crossed and her tail hanging down motionless behind her. Closing her eyes and emptying her mind of all thoughts, she concentrated solely on her breathing. In. Then out. In. Out. Gradually it calmed and slowed, adopting a relaxed pace as she entered a meditative state. Her focus moved to her heartbeat. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Steady, methodical.

Normally Aliza would focus on parts of her body, but this time she turned her focus to the wind just barely whipping through her hair. While she was familiar with the feeling, it was nonetheless a strange one. Ribbons being pulled across her body, shifting and churning in tandem with the winds around her. She could almost visualize it in her mind, strands of varying white and greys against the darkness, all but disappearing as the wind died down.

Aliza sat on the boulder for hours, silent and motionless, focusing on visualizing the bands and familiarizing herself with how they felt as they moved around her. When the wind died down she concentrated even more, trying to sense even the smallest of currents. Every day that week she repeated the process, either going back to the beach or finding a secluded spot in the forest. Whenever she wasn't eating or sleeping, she worked constantly on heightening her connection. If this skill was going to be any use for her at all, Aliza needed to be able to sense the slightest shift in the air.

But it was a slow process, almost agonizingly so. Up until the last moments on the night of her contract, Aliza sat meditating on the balcony of her room. After the whole week she had only gotten to a point where she could notice the wind current before it just barely reached her, but not much else. Aliza let out her breath and opened her eyes, looking out into the dark street below. She had no more time to spend meditating, she had to prepare herself.

Her target wasn't going to be an easy kill. The leader of a powerful drug cartel with connections across all the realms, their operation targeted poor villages and took advantage of those looking to escape their reality for a little bit on a highly addictive substance. Aliza's blood boiled just thinking about it. How low do you have to be to take advantage of an already desperate situation and make it worse?

She changed into a set of light leather armor, strapping her blue handled knife to her side along with some other daggers on a belt across her waist. Intel had told her the target was constantly flanked by bodyguards, even in their sleep, but did not state how many. They had been seen with anywhere from three to six, depending on the situation. The exact number that night was something Aliza was going to have to find out for herself. She strapped a few more tools on her belt, then looked out over the silent street below. Confirming not a soul was to be seen, Aliza dropped over the railing and down to the street below.

It was not long before Aliza reached her destination; a modest two story dwelling just outside of town with a high wooden fence around it. Aliza climbed into a tree overlooking the complex, taking a moment to observe what she was actually up against. Two dralic stood guard just inside the entrance, both with swords sheathed at their sides. The house itself was dark with the windows covered up, leaving no way to see inside. Aliza huffed, not liking the situation she was faced with. The two guards outside didn't pose an issue, but the fact she couldn't get an idea of what she faced inside the residence did not sit well with her.

But it was now or never. If she didn't carry out her contract tonight there might not be another opportunity for months, if not years. If she could just take out the leader, making it seem like an inside job and creating a power vacuum at the top, the organization would collapse and destroy itself. Aliza closed her eyes and breathed deeply as if she was about to meditate again. Instead, she started to transform. The shards on her shoulders expanded and a skull like mask grew over her face. It was almost effortless for her to transform into her bloodlust form after starving herself for so long. She opened her eyes and jumped down from the branch, ready to start her mission.

Aliza quietly circled around to hop over the fence in the rear of the complex, avoiding the guards at the front. Silently coming up to the side of the house and peeking through a gap in the curtains, Aliza could see two more guards sitting in chairs, doing their best to stay awake as a fire crackled in the middle. She looked around for a way to climb to the second story and peer into a window, but couldn't see anyplace suitable to do so.

Aliza thought for a minute as she weighed her options. There was no back way into the building, only the one door in the front. No matter how she did so, entering the premises was going to alert her target to her presence. She had already scoped out four guards, the chances of there being more upstairs seemed very slim, and even if there was she could probably handle them without much issue.

After a few moments Aliza made up her mind. She circled back around to the front of the house, intending to kill the guards at the entrance first, then sneak up to the door and quickly eliminate the guards downstairs. Then she was clear to move in and eliminate her target. She reached the front corner of the house and peered at the guards, still utterly oblivious to her presence. Aliza waited, biding her time, looking for just the right moment to strike. The guard furthest from her turned away, giving her the go to spring into action.

Woosh. Aliza rushed right past the first guard, slashing at their throat with her dagger as she appeared behind the other. As they whirled around to the commotion, putting a hand on their sword, Aliza immediately slashed their throat open. The two guards both stood there for a moment, grasping at their necks in shock. Blood poured out of their wounds, making them unable to cry out as they fell to the ground with a dull thud. Aliza wasted no time, quickly moving to the door and testing it. Locked, as she figured it would be. She pulled out a leather wallet from her belt, producing a lock pick and carefully sliding it into the keyhole. If her plan was to work, it needed to look like whoever killed the boss was let onto the property without force.

It was deathly silent as she worked, the crackling of the fire the only sound as she worked methodically, trying to make no noise. It felt almost like an eternity prodding the pick around inside the keyhole until she finally got it. Click. Aliza held her breath, unsure if the guards inside had heard her or not. There was only one way to find out. She gripped the knob, slowly turning it until the bolt was flush with the door. Wham. With all her force, Aliza crashed through the door, startling the guards as she rushed up onto them. It was almost effortless for her to slash their throats, leaving them to die silently in much the same fashion as the guards outside.

If it was not known before, her presence was certainly all but known now. Aliza turned her attention to the stairs leading to the bedrooms above, rushing towards them to find her target. Suddenly, she felt just a very slight tinge, the faint rush of grey ribbons from the balcony above her. Almost instinctively she jumped back, looking up just in time to see a fifth guard falling onto her with his sword drawn.

"HAAA." They slashed the sword across their body at Aliza as they landed, just barely missing her as she dodged back.

"And who the hell are you? A bounty hunter? Assassin? No matter. I'll commend you for taking out the other four and dodging my attack. You certainly have skill, but this is as far as you go."

Aliza glared at them for a moment, crouching slightly as she adopted her stance. Their movements were more precise than the other guards, leading her to believe they must be the cartel's personal guard. Regardless who they were, they seemed all too happy to let their fellow guards serve as bait while they waited upstairs, which only infuriated Aliza.

They jumped forward, swinging the sword over their head and down at her. Aliza stepped to the side and slashed at his wrist, cutting the tendons and letting the sword crash into the floor next to her. They stepped back, stunned by how quickly she had rendered their hand useless. Left defenseless, Aliza advanced forward, first slashing up across their chest and face and making them reel back, then going for their throat before they had time to recover.

Thud. The guard dropped to the floor, a pool of blood quickly forming around them. Aliza stared at him for a minute, but she didn't have much time to think about what had just happened. She rushed up the stairs, her target had no doubt been woken with all the comotion, and she needed to make sure they didn't escape. Aliza ran down the hallway to the room at the very back, slamming into it with her shoulder and busting it open. Wham. She came to a stop in the middle of the bedroom, immediately scanning around for her target. They stood in the opposite corner near the window, holding a long dagger out in front of them.

"W-who are you? Who sent you?"

Aliza smiled. Seeing how badly the dagger was shaking in their hands only meant he posed no threat to her.

"It is quite simple really. I have a contract for your life and I am here to fulfil it."

Their eyes wided, fear mixed with panic rushing through their veins.

"P-Please, whatever the contract is I'll pay you double - no triple! I have connections everywhere, I can get you whatever you desire!"

Aliza slowly moved forward, showing no fear as she moved in, intimidating her target.

"Oh but this is what I desire. To see the person behind so much suffering and anguish brought to justice. You have gone around this world taking advantage of those already struggling, hooking them onto your 'product' for nothing but your own personal gain. Your actions have led to many families and lives being wrecked. Selfish people like you only ruin the world, and it is my pleasure to remove you from it."

Aliza walked right up to the dagger, knocking it out of his hands in one swing. His face was consumed by fear, unable to move or speak as she held her dagger in her hand. She brought it up to his neck as the helplessness and fear sank into him, before finally slashing open his throat. Aliza watched, expressionless, as he slumped against the wall, the life slowly draining out of his eyes. Her contract was complete.

Aliza returned to the inn and climbed back onto the balcony as the first rays of light started to appear. She started drinking the stock of blood shards she had, quenching the desires of her bloodlust and reverting back to her normal form. As her mind calmed Aliza thought about what happened, and how she could have been dead. The guard who jumped onto her had not made a single sound while on the balcony above. Had she not sensed the ever so slight rush of air from him jumping, Aliza never would have known he was there in time. As small as it was, there really was some benefit to be had in strengthening her connection with the wind. For now, it was Arranth's idea to meditate with the wind that had just saved her life. As she finished gathering her belongings, getting ready to leave the area, Aliza smiled to herself. Something was bemusing about the idea of a blind man opening her eyes. Maybe one day she would be able to thank him for doing so.