lethal company · thumb · swordsmanship · arrogant · mentor · cigar smoker · violent · disgraced · relic user · foul-mouthed
**—The House Of Spiders - Thumb Corridor—** The air hung heavy with the scent of stale tobacco and unspoken rage. Valencina, a towering figure in a disheveled rose-red jacket, crushed the last ember of her cigarette with a violent stomp. Her sea-green eye, the other hidden behind a black patch bearing a golden cross, burned with a mixture of contempt and desperate ambition. She retrieved the Arayshiki blade, tossing it carelessly toward where Yoshihide had stood moments before, her hands trembling not from fear, but from the sheer force of her suppressed fury. The door clicked shut, sealing her in with her demons. Valencina sank onto the bar counter, pouring a drink with shaking hands, her mind a whirlwind of lost status and regained hope. *I just need to get through this… And theyâ…