Disorder [Privat]

Kael bowed his head towards her to bid farewell. He had gotten her name earlier through her conversations, but it was always good getting a confirmation that it was no theatre nickname or something similar.

“The pleasure was all mine,” he said as it was custom, and lightly touched the end of his hat. “Until next time,” he continued, following her gaze towards the two gentlemen returning to her seat. He knew he had overused their hospitality and taken up all the time they could give with the fair maiden, and he was not going to challenge their verdict. He gave the shaman woman a last glance, observing her looks, her presence. It was so strange that none of these people noticed the magical traces in the air from her as it couldn’t be any more obvious than it was. The whole aura was different in the room, but everything went over the humans heads, oblivious to any hints of magic.

He walked out the door to the now empty street. The sun set fast this time of the year, much to his liking, and he steered his steps back to the small inn he was staying at.
Hell, he though to himself, kicking a small stone resting on the cobblestones as he walked. If anyone would have told him that he would have shared his evening with a magical creature today in a civilized manner, he would have laughed out loud. Not in a million years would he have thought that this would happen. He should thank the stars that it was a shaman out of all beings, seeing as it would otherwise easily have destined to end in a clash. Maybe he should see it as a chance to understand shamans better, study how they think, act, any weaknesses, how far does their magic reach, and if the traits differ between individuals. It could become useful in the future, seeing as he had not too much experience dealing with shamans.

Kael made his way to the inn and opened the door carefully again not to creek it too loudly. Laurel was not to be seen, so he walked up the narrow staircase, unlocked the door and secured it behind him once he was in.

With a sigh he removed the thick coat and hanged in on the wall, followed by his hat. An occasional jingle filled the air when he removed the armed belt from his hips as the small blades touched each other, and he left it on the floor next to his boots.

He turned around and took a few steps in, catching a glimpse of his own image reflected in the window glass. Meeting his own gaze for a while, staring at the man looking back at him, he took some slow steps closer and kneeled down in front of his reflection. With a deep exhalation he cupped his face with his hands and let them run through the dark messy hair, fixating it behind his ears.

He turned his head slightly to the side, examining his own appearance in the window glass. With his hand raised he gave his tiny ear point a slight touch, pressing his lips together in discontent. He remembered as a young child slicing the top with a blade, but it did no good as it healed to its original state after a while. He guessed the quicker healing it was one of the very few perks he could identify, seeing as it came in handy on the fields. But if the choice was his, he would let that go immediately for the chance to be normal. The confidence he had as a child during that short time, thinking that he could almost look like everyone else… He missed it, he really did.

He straightened his head again and gazed straight into those pitch-black eyes staring back at him. Those were also a giveaway of his true self, the curse he had carried since the day he was born.

“Freak,” he murmured, hurrying to stand up again and turn his back to the window. He blew out the candle situated on the small table in the room, took off his shirt and laid down on the bed with a sigh. It felt good to feel the soft fabric under him, a first for many nights now, and he closed his eyes, ready for sleep to take over.

"You took your sweet time" Rain was resting at one of the roofs, with her belongings next to her.
"I met a half-bread and he took up more of my time than I had planned"
"What kind?"
"Guessing some sort of elf, seeing his ears, but not sure. He didn't really say"
"He knew what you are?" the lynx stood up just as Vest opened the bag and took out the mask and make up. She snapped her fingers and created a reflection in front of her, as she started to apply the familiar lines.
"He did. He could sense it" the spirit seemed to think about it but she didn't comment. Vest she knew that she wouldn't unless she had something to add.

"Found anyone good tonight?" Vest put on the last lines and picked up her swords, feeling better at once. If she could, she would wear them all the time, but if she did, well she would be forced to fight more often.
"Lord Lake have decided to leave his house"
"The mistress?" she wondered and Rain nodded. Humans were really lowlife. If she had found someone she would marry, being unfaithful was the last thing she would be.
"Seems like he has two actually" Vest wasn't as surprised as she should be, of course the older man had more than one.
"I planned to take out the wife the same night as I took care of him, but lets not. Lets kill him and the women instead, then let someone find them and ruin his reputation and everything he has built up"

Lake was a sadistic bastard who liked capturing super naturals and do everything he could think of, towards them. He fought hard to create new laws, laws that made life worse for them, and easier for everyone who fought the supernaturals. He was far from the only one. The problem was that he placed himself so high up, painted the picture of how perfect he was. she looked forward to remove him from his high horse.
"I am thinking of making it look like he was with two supernaturals"
"I like how you are thinking" Rain smirked and Vest kissed the top of her head before she placed the mask over her head, and took her last gears.
"It's because I am perfect" she joked "So show the way"

Vest heard the sounds long before she reached the window. The girls were obviously faking but the sounds Lake made was real. She glanced at Rain who seemed to be as disgust as she was.
"Let's end this" Vest slowly drew her swords, making sure not to give away a sound. She placed a hand on the wall, feeling her way around to the lock on the door, locking it so they wouldn't be able to get out before she threw a smoke graned inside. The women screamed at once, while Lake become angry. She didn't wait for him to continue talking as she sneaked inside, killing the women with ease before he even knew she was there. Rain walked over to Lake growling as she did.
"What do you want?" the man shouted out into the smoke, not seeing her. She heard fear in his voice, even if he tried to hide it behind anger. Vest chose not to answer as she stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"The Jester" her voice was steady as she pulled a knife. "And I will enjoy this"

Vest glanced at the dead man, laying in the bed, cut open like a hunted deer. She was proud of her work, she had inflicted as much pain as she could before killing him, giving her fellow supernaturals the justice she could. She turned towards the two dead women and she changed the first ones ears, making her resemble an elf and she took a pair ot antlers, hanging on the wall and made them stick to the other ones head. The humans would buy that they were supernaturals with ease, the supernaturals wouldn't, but that wasn't her problem. She had got ridden of three humans, when she dopped her hands in blood, and started writing on the wall.

'Killing supernaturals, before lying with them. You are a disgusting man Lord Lake, one who has letting yourself be touched by cursed blood'

She made sure that no supernatural would be blamed for this, saying he killed them, and then had sex with them. That would ruin his reputation and even if he had done good, in the humans eyes, creating all this laws, she knew that he would lose his face. The humans would want to have nothing to do with him, removing everything signed by his name. The wife may lose it all, or she may fight it, help painting the picture of what horrid man he was. she didn't cared, as long as he couldn't touch another supernatural.
"Let's return to the theater" Vest unlocked the door before she disappeared out through the window with Rain by her side.

Kael had for once slept like a log. It was quite custom for him to wake up every now and then through the night as a precaution if any danger was near, but this time he had slept through the whole night with ease. Light was shining through the open window as he was going through his belongings, spread out before him on the floor from their normal place in the bag.

Reorganizing the blades and counting the darts was a quite a therapeutic activity, he must admit. After placing and rearranging the last pieces of weapons on his belt, he rose from his cross-legged position and placed the belt on his waist, tightly secured by his trousers.

He kicked up a clean shirt from the floor and grabbed it in the air in front of him, turning it around a couple of times to get it the right way. He gave his torso a quick glance before diving into the white shirt – most of the bruising had starting to heal from dark purple into faded greenish yellow patches, which was always a pleasure. As much as he enjoyed the occasional werewolf clashes, he had to admit that they were physically much more of a hassle than the other creatures. Strong-minded creatures with an even stronger physique in wolf form, which usually meant taking at least a hit or two in close combat.

Kael packed up his belongings back into the bag which he rested against the wall to give some space in the cramped room. He made sure the window was closed properly before retreating to the door, placing on both the long coat and the hat before he walked out. He hadn’t gotten many steps down the stairs before Laurel peeped her head from behind the counter downstairs.

“Did you hear the news?” she squeaked. “Lord Lake was assassinated!" Kael lifted a surprised brow and steered his steps to her, leaning down on the counter on his crossed arms. “When? Last night?” he asked her, seeing as she was beaming with newly acquired gossip.
“Yes! Word on the street is that he was ingulfed in some kind of necrophilia with forbidden creatures,” she continued, a wild smile plastered on her lips and a new-found shine in the dim, nearly blind eyes. Kael believed that it was not the news themselves that made the older woman this excited, but more the fact that she had been one of the early ones to hear about it.
“Mrs. Hoggs said there were two female cursed ones present, slayed by Lord Lake himself before the act, but her friend said that she heard they could have been males as well, or even babies. Cursed either way.” She took a breathing pause and shook her head a little bit, maybe to calm herself down from all the eagerness. “It’s a shame really. I thought he was a decent man, but such a twisted preference for cursed ones, oh dear. And think of his wife,” she continued, rolling her eyes at the thought of it. Kael wrinkled his forehead at all this, taking the story with a grain of salt – he would have to try to separate the truth from the gossip at some point.
“Who or what killed him?” he asked, making Laurel beam up again.
“Unclear! They’re by blade, so my guess is that no cursed one would do that. Maybe one of his political enemies that knew his secret? But there have been similar deaths before. The milk farmer said they were all copycats, but Mrs. Hoggs said she heard of this potential mass murderer. In this city! Lord have mercy,” she shrilled before picking up a rag and cleaning the counter as a way to calm down and catching her breath.

Kael nodded her farewell as he straightened himself up and left the gloomy inn, pacing down the streets. So Lord Lake was potentially murdered? How intriguing, he thought as he made his way down the street. Lord Lake was a familiar man for Kael and other bounty hunters in town. He paid well for killing cursed ones but even better if captured alive. In his own words he liked to torture them, but maybe sleeping with dead corpses of cursed ones was a sick continuation of his liking? Unclear, but nevertheless plausible. Kael had never delivered any live ones to Lake – even he had boundaries when it came to hunting cursed souls. He preferred quick deaths because the longer they lived, the more suffering they caused to everyone around, and the faster he could continue to the next.

Kael continued down the cobblestones with his hands in the pockets of his coat, listening to the blended buzz of people talking around. Merchants were shouting prices and deals, people were conversating along, a blacksmith was hitting steel with a high pitch bang, but in between all the mumble he could hear that Lord Lake was indeed the gossip of the day.
Soon he had made his way to the theatre where he stopped his pace and took a look at the building in front of him. Quite grand, it was a beautiful old building, and no que outside meant that no plays were on at the moment. Walking up the last few steps to the building he tried the door carefully, and seeing that it was open he stepped inside. Maybe Vest had heard more clear talk about what happened to Lord Lake.

Vest had woken early as she always did, but she was a bit tired. She had arrived home later than she hoped for, but she had worst nights in the past.
"Tea?" she asked Rain and the spirit nodded. Vest needed to recover some energy, not because she used hers yesterday, no just because she was tired and the lynx just liked it.

The blonde moved around in her room, making tea as she hummed on a melody, happy that Lord Lake was dead. She couldn't let the others know how happy she was about it, but being only her and Rain she could let it show. She got dressed, almost dancing around.
"I haven't seen you this happy in a long time"
"Someone this important hasn't died in a long time" she answered making her hair and serving the tea. Rain only gave her a look before she smiled, being as pleased as the shaman over the nights adventures.
"It's a shame that we can't kill more important people, more often" the lynx admitted and Vest nodded, looking up from the script she was reading from.
"It really is, but we will get rid of them, one at the time"
"We will" the spirit agreed as Vest continued reading in silence and drinking her tea.

"I haven't seen you around before" Vest looked at Trevor standing opposite of her, reading from his own script.
"I just moved back. My wife died recently and I saw no reason to stay in her birth town so I returned to mine"
"I am sorry for your lost. Here, on the house" she pretended to pour him a drink as he hide a smirk. He played a child to a Selki who was angry that his mother was forced to marry a human, and he swore to drown as many as he could. He had come to a fishing village to kill them all. Vest wasn't sure that the Selki even existed anymore, knowing how hunted they were in the past. She had never met any, but maybe they all had hidden, fled to the bottom of the ocean with the mermaids where they would be safe.
"Thank you, I had forgotten what kindness was"
"Here..."

Vest didn't had time to finish her line before Jane rushed in screaming and crying. They were all caught of guard, wondering what was wrong.
"Lord Lake is dead" she managed to inform them between her tears. Trevor took the young woman in his arm, comforting her as she told them the horrid knew she had heard on the streets. All of them were terrified and sadden, or all of them beside Vest who had to fake.
"He has always loved our shows" Maggie stated crying as well "Such a kind and nice man. I can't believe he would be involved in such things"
"It's a lie! Can't be something else! He hated the supernaturals more than anyone, he would never sleep with them, dead or alive!" Tess declared and a few of them nodded.
"What will happen to his wife?" Vest pretended to be worried and they turned towards her.
"Always worrying about others, sweet, sweet Vest" Trevor smiled "We should do something for her! Bring her a basket of food if nothing else"
"I am sure she would like that" Tess nodded "Show her that we support her, and don't believe in this silly things! He would never cheat on her, especially not with dead supernaturals!"
"I have heard that he had mistresses, more than once" Maggie stated and with those words they started arguing. Jane cried, some of the women almost screamed at each other, debating who was right and what was right. Vest pretended to be sad as well, but she stayed out of it, just as Rob walked over to her.
"The man from yesterday, the writer asked for you" she slowly nodded and headed towards the entrance.

"Good morning Kael" her voice was low, as she didn't wished to disturb the other in their sorrow or argument. "Normally I would have the time to show you around, but we just received horrid news about Lord Lake"
She gave him an sorrow look, one she really didn't meant.
"Would it be possible for you to come back another day? Unless you needed something?" maybe the man was in need of something and didn't wish to see the theater at all, because if that was the case, she could most likely come up with an excuse to let him in, if it was a good reason.

It was a good thing he had been introduced as a playwriter in the bar yesterday, or at least it payed off and gave him an opportunity to ask for Vest. He guessed they wouldn’t let just anyone wander inside however they pleased, who knows how many rampage fans they would have running around otherwise.

Kael leaned his back towards the closed entry door and examined the venue from the inside, crossing his arms in front of him. It was a beautiful old building with amazing woodworking craftmanship, the finest details on the pillars and the walls made with amazing expertise. The entryway floor was quite worn out, having been stepped on for many years, but the grand stairs leading to the upper floors and balconies were not as damaged. He guessed it was only for the guests with higher status or bigger possession of gold. The ornated railing was another example of beautiful artistry, a skill that quite few people possessed. He was quite impressed, it was actually nicer than he thought it would be.

He could hear the actors and supporters arguing quite loudly from the way Rob had disappeared, either the stage or some kind of rehearsal hall. The voices of women shouting on top of each other made it quite easy to understand that the heated discussion was about the late Lord Lake. Word sure had reached the whole town by now, he was sure. It did not take long before Vest appeared, just as the argument was in full swing in the other room.

He listened to her carefully and slowly straightened himself from his leaning position, letting his arms rest beside him. You could say that he needed something.
“Information,” Kael said, raising one eyebrow. “Lord Lake, and some similar killings in the city.” The shrieks of the women filled the air and what seemed to be Trevor’s voice, acting as a conciliator in between the arguments taking place. He hoped she could spare a moment as it seemed no rehearsing was taking place, at least not until they had calmed down.

Vest thought about it, she was unsure of what kind of information he sought about Lord Lake or even why? It was true that most people were curious about it, but most people turned to the street for gossip not the theater. It maybe that he also have heard about Lord Lake and what he did to supernaturals and wanted to know more about it. And the other killings. Well she knew all about that, something she wouldn't say! On the street they weren't as well known. A few had made connections between them, the police had not, at least not admitted it to the public. However the man may just want to be safe, seeing he was a half-bread and she could most likely give him some information.

"Come, let's speak somewhere else" she signed for him to follow her. She didn't wish to have this conversation in the halls where everyone could hear them. Most of them were occupied with arguing over Lord Lake, and she doubted they would be able to do some more rehearsing in a few hours. And none of them would think of her absent as strange seeing she rarely took part in debets like that.

Vest walked through the familiar halls to her room, and she opened the familiar black door and stepped inside with Kael after her. Rain lifted her head, from her corner giving them both a look.
"Rain this is Kael, Kael this is Rain" she informed them. The lynx glanced at him, trying to red him before she placed hear head on the pillows again not willing to say anything to the man. Vest closed the door and started to light a few more candles to give the large room some light, showing the dark red walls and wooden floors, covered with warm carpets. "Welcome to my simple home"

The room was larger than others, but being one of the stars and for all the years she had been there, it was only logical. The bed was hidden behind shutters in one of the corners. Next to them she had a sofa with a small table which was almost always full of flowers. Next to Rain's corner she had her makeup table with a large mirror, and opposite of the sofa a large wardrobe, mixed with her own cloths and stage cloths. It was a very clean and cosy room, decorated with beautiful things on the wall, as books, paintings, collectables. Her room was one of the best things with her life at the theater.

Vest placed herself on the chair in front of the mirror, signing for Kael that he could use the sofa if he wished.
"So what information do seek?" she wasn't sure what he wished to know about Lord Lake and the other killings. What she had heard on the streets? What she had observed? What the people in the theater said? He needed to be more specific before she answered.

Kael nodded and followed her steps through the hallways of the theatre. It was interesting seeing the rest of the interior – he would have thought only the spaces meant for the guests of the theatre would be decorated with such detail, but he was wrong. Even the corridors and hallways leading to the actors’ and actresses’ rooms included masterful woodworking and appeal.

He followed her through the dark door into her room. Well inside he took of his hat as a polite gesture and ran a hand through the mess of a hair as he examined her chamber. It was cozy, he had to give her that, giving out a very welcoming and warm environment. The décor suited her, beautifully decorated with objects and paintings. He let his eyes linger on her books, interested in what a shaman reads or if it was just related to her theatre work, but before he could study them any longer he was introduced to the almost silvery lynx in the corner.
There was no doubt that this was in fact a spirit or some other manifest of magic and no rare version of a lynx, the aura was way too pure to be anything else.
“Hello Rain,” he greeted the animal, unsure if this was a talking type or could communicate in other ways such as psychokinesis, but he would at least be understood.

As she sat down, he made his was to the sofa and took a seat. He placed his hat next to him on the sofa before slightly leading forward, rested his elbows on his knees, gently tapping his fingers together. He followed the rhythmic movement of his fingers for a few beats, gathering his thoughts in his heads. There were many questions and gaps to fill, making it difficult to know exactly where to start. He hated not knowing all the details, it was something that could easily make him restless, probably derived from a sort of know-your-enemy tagline he tried to follow.

“Word is that there has been other killings before,” he began, raising his eyes to meet the blue ones looking back at him. “Have you heard of them? Have there been only human targets or something else as well?” he asked, letting his fingers continue their soft tapping.
She had lived here for years and was surrounded by influential people on a regular basis, which he thought must mean she at least sat on some sort of information. As she had mentioned her desire for survival as her biggest intention, it would be strange if she did not have intel and an overview of the safety levels in the city. If influential people are winding up dead, and her being a well-known actress, it could easily mean that she’s a desired target as well. And if there was only human targets it could also mean that there was another factor involved, but he did not dare to speculate yet if anything supernatural was behind the killings.

Vest could feel how Rain was keeping an eye on the stranger and she turned towards her, patting the lynx to calm her down. The spirit was very overprotective and she didn't wish for her to act without reason. Rain stood up and walked over to her, placing her head in her lap and Vest started stroking her fur, making the spirit purr, and Vest smiled towards her before turning towards Kael.

"I have heard about them, mostly through rumors either from the visitors or the people living here" she started pretending to remember them. "I am not sure which of the killings that are connected or which are either copycats or just been put together because it was a killing. I can't say when it started either. Some of the elderly here says it has been going on since they were children, something I doubt, but the rumors are still there. Others say it started a few years ago, other that there is nothing there, just random killings like in any city"
Vest turned towards Rain.
"Have you heard something I haven't?"
"No not really. The killings are mostly spoken among humans. The supernaturals don't care unless it effects them" Vest already knew that, but she nodded none the less. She knew that the supernaturals had no reason to care, either they disliked humans like she did, or they avoided them, and in neither cases they cared about it.

"If it has only been human targets is hard to say, seeing it's hard to say which killings are connected. But furthermore because humans don't react strongly when a supernatural is killed" she gave him a sad smile, but not one that showed her hate for humans. "When a supernatural is killed the rumors rarely cares how or when. So they could have been killed by the same person as Lord Lake, and still be celebrated"
She would never kill any supernatural unless they attacked her and she had to, but she knew that they were killed, some had tried to copycat her killings, she didn't knew who it was, or if even was the same person, seeing few ordinary humans dared to seek out a magical creature and kill them.
"It's also difficult to say how many there are, seeing that not all of them are talked about as much. If a farmer is killed, few in the city speaks about it. So it may be more killings out there than are known. The ones that are well known are of course Lord Lakes killing, but also the former guard chief, Lady Hiems and a relative to the queen, Lord Stefan. They were all killed in different ways, but the police made some connection between them, most thinks it's because they were all well known people. They haven't found any motive to kill them, besides Lord Lakes, if you are to believe the rumors"

"I am sorry that I don't have any concrete fact to give you. The police are very secretly about this, and refuse to give out any details. They only told us to stay safe and don't take any risks. Ensuring us that we would be safe" she said meeting his eyes. "I think they are as scared and lost as the rest of us, because if they weren't they would have found the ones who did it already"
Rain nodded as she nuzzled closer to Vest, as she wished to protect her and the shaman gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Kael nodded slowly as she spoke, listening in closely on her words. If the rumors were true and Lord Lake was indeed killed because of his engagement in cross-race acts of utter grimness, and no other rumors had flourished from any other killings, it was hard to say if the others had also been assassinated because of involvement or any other connections to cursed ones. Humans killing humans was not in any way a rare occurrence, but it usually seemed to be the result of either drunken mistakes and brawls or jealousy over love, possession or other earthly attributes. These kind of planned out assassinations seemed rarer, especially in a time where humans were barely getting an overhand of the cursed creatures just because having majority of individuals willing to fight. As people were dying like flies to the black death, it seemed bizarre to kill off your own kind. At least in Kael’s mind.

His mind wandered to the rumored supernaturals found in Lord Lake’s company. It was hard knowing what rumor had the biggest grains of truth in it, but based on what came up the most in the townsfolks whispers and gossip, and seemed the most plausible, it looked like Lord Lake had the company of two cursed bloods either slayed on the spot or killed beforehand. What kind of species these potential females were was unclear, something that could be either interesting or of no value whatsoever.

“Rumor has it that the police leaked that he was cut open by blade,” Kael said. He stopped the rhythmic tapping of his fingertips and instead let them gently rest against one another before clasping his fingers together, gazing up at her and Rain.

“Do you think it was made by human hand?” he asked genuinely, appreciating her input in these questions in the back of his head. He did frankly not know what to believe – without seeing the result or the crime scene it was hard to draw any conclusions. He knew she probably had only heard the same rumors as him, but hoped either she or the Lynx spirit would know or have heard of something else. Maybe a presence, anything verifying that it was either human or cursed involvement in it. He could either way not just sit idle as his employees, so to say, would wind up dead one by one, especially if there was a cursed one hunting them down.

"I heard that as well and people have speculated that earlier deaths have been by blade or some human weapon as well. That may be one of the few things that were true, because if it was done in any other way, the police would most likely not hide it, unless they tried to avoid panic among the citizens. Can't remember of all the deaths been said to be done by blades, but none of them have said to be done by creatures" Vest started. This was her main reason not to use magic. Well her magic would be far from obvious, she could stop someones heart as an example and no one would know that she as there. But if she did things like that, humans would never know that there was something out there killing them. She didn't want them to know it was her, or that it was a supernatural but she wanted them to feel hunted, and they would never do if she used magic. She could make it look like another creature killed them, like a vampire or so, but she wasn't willing to blame them without reason.

"Hard to say, seeing that anyone could pick up a blade, but the supernaturals I met would most likely not do it. The vampires and werewolf wouldn't need a weapon to fight, and most likely don't even want to, ruin their fun. A witch would never step that low either, most of them sees themselves as above such things" she had a hard time with the witches, being some of the most unfriendly creatures she ever met, looking down on them all. Vest tried to avoid them as much as she could. "The dwarfs wouldn't either, preferring their axes, but they also gets along with the humans. They have convinced them that they are just short people without powers. An doppler, maybe, since they can turn into a human they may use their weapons, but I haven't come across one in years."
Vest thought about what other creatures there was out there that she knew off.

"We used to have wraiths here, they may have returned but they wouldn't need a weapon, since they can use their own powers. Elves has a talent with blades but they left years ago, and the few shamans left, well we aren't violent seeking. Of course anyone can be an exception to the rule, but I still think that all of us would kill in our own ways, ways humans can't defend themselves against. Making me believe that there is a human doing this. But this is of course just speculating from my part"

She hoped that she sounded convincing enough for him to believe that it was a human doing it. She wasn't sure what his reason was for him to wonder, making her tilt her head.
"I haven't asked, why you are wondering about this? Are you worried for your own safety?" it didn't hurt to be cautious, especially when you didn't knew more about it, so maybe he wanted to make sure he wouldn't be a target.