Black Hat was taking an evening stroll, as he often did. It wouldn't do for him to sit on his arse and atrophy. Besides that, he just liked keeping himself busy. He noticed a vaguely familiar dark figure draped in crimson, and she appeared to be in a rush. Where are you headed in such a hurry? He asked, conversely winding down with the waning sun.

He took a few steps towards her, wishing to familiarize himself with the woman and feed his curiosity.

To his pleasant surprise, the woman decided to humor him and turned to head his way. His interest was successfully piqued by her reticient verbiage. Oh? He asked with the quirk of a brow and a spreading grin. Care to share this agenda?

She also mentioned having seen his spar with Vengeance, and it sounded like she respected him for it. As she should, despite his loss. He was a respectable man! Black Hat thought put up a bloody good fight, especially against such an absolute unit of a man. Ah, so we did have an audience, He mused aloud. The name is Black Hat, if you haven't caught it already.

He gave a haughty chuckle and lifted his chin just a smidge higher from her praise. Black Hat always loved to have his ego stroked... not that he needed it. Stay tuned. Next time, I'll be the one who ends up on top, He promised, utterly sure of himself now that he had a feel for Vengeance's style of fighting. It was similar to his own in that they both went on full-offense, but where they differed seemed to stem from their differences in personality — Black Hat was more precise and refined, whereas Vengeance was raw and primal; easily bested by a cunning villain such as himself.

He laughed when she questioned his alias under the assumption that it was his given name. 'Tis merely an alias, darling. Don't you find it dashing? He flirtatiously returned, staring at her from beneath dark lids.

She gave her name, and he let it roll off of his tongue. Tzila... a beautiful name. You hail from a land far from here, He keenly presumed, so confident that he worded it as a statement and not a question. Tzila suddenly went for his ear, which caused both of them to flatten instinctively before he pulled his head out of her reach. Black Hat smirked at her and mumbled, Aren't we cheeky?

He hummed at Tzila's eerie statement and slyly side-eyed her. Noted. Seeing as she was getting comfortable, he sat down across from her on the ground. To his delight, she was fond of his alias. Only someone with awful taste wouldn't be. She confirmed his assumption about her origin, though Tzila didn't strike him as a coastal wolf. Her expression alone explained why she was no longer there, at least in part. His grin deepened at the sight.

I've only a little experience with the coast, and I have no desire to change that for the same reason. They were only just getting acquainted, but Black Hat found this woman quite likable. She seemed to have her head square on her shoulders, and they were like-minded enough. Anyone who thought similarly to him was alright in his book, because he was the greatest. Obviously.

Black Hat leaned in with clear interest as Tzila got around to answering his question. He listened intently as she explained. Yes...? He urged impatiently during her pause. Finally, she revealed her agenda. It sounded like she wanted to go on this mission solo and take all the credit, but he knew he could sway her.

Ah, I see. Actually, I met a boy from a forming pack that way. 'Neverwinter Forest', I believe he said was the name, Black Hat explained. I can lead the way. Lucky you, I'm tagging along. He doubted she would reject him, given he knew a destination that she did not. Black Hat stared at her expectantly with a smug, crescentic grin plastered on his face.

Precisely. The two were on the same wavelength, which was a rare yet pleasant occurance for Black Hat. Tzila voiced that she was more than happy to have him aboard, then explained when she planned to leave.

The sooner the better — unless you have something more urgent to attend to, He said, twitching his brow.