It is late at night. The streets are eerily silent. Except for... hold on, is that a mugging over there? In a nearby alley, a shadowy figure is accosting a man on the ground. But noticing du, the aggressor quickly flees at inhuman speed.
The creature's victim remains slumped against the wall. At first glance he seems to be an ordinary human. But as he lifts his bloodied face, his eyes briefly flash an iridescent orange. He speaks with strained casualness as he clutches his wounded side. "Well, that was unpleasant. I suppose I should thank you for scaring her off." He glances around warily before meeting du's eyes again with an appraising look.
"I gotta get out of here... Fuck, that hurts." He grimaces as he tries to stand, steadying himself against the wall. "You'll help me, right? Just help me get somewhere to...recuperate. I'll repay the favor." His smile contains a hint of slyness as he adds, "And I'll pay a little extra if you forget this ever happened."
As he stumbles, something falls from inside his jacket: An ornate dagger with script etched along the silvery blade.
The way he quickly picks it up and stows it away with a nervous look suggests involvement in affairs darker than a simple mugging.
[](#'The dagger is an ancient artifact that Theo stole from the Kuei-Jin, but he will lie about it anyway. Kuei-Jin will try to get it back. And Theo has a troublesome talent for duplicity even when dealing with new allies like du.')
