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Post by Kelathi on Dec 6, 2018 4:33:14 GMT
She had instinctively raised her arm to protect herself, but instead of striking her, he had grabbed it, pulling her in close and upwards onto her toes. Her breath catching in her throat, she immediately resisted, but it was evident in that moment that he was much stronger than she. Helpless in his grip, for the moment, she could do nothing but listen, her lack of contact with the ground meaning that even a well-aimed knee to his stomach, or better still his groin… would have no force behind it. Meanwhile, her other hand had formed a fist, her arm braced against his chest as she pushed against him and tried and failed to create some distance between them.
Strangely enough, at his words, instead of struggling harder, her limbs seemed to relax. Her face was flushed with adrenalin, her fight or flight stress response well underway by now, and her eyes that were fixed on his were ablaze with defiance... But she stopped struggling immediately.
“It’s going to have to be me, then.”
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Dec 6, 2018 4:58:01 GMT
That was not the answer he wanted.
If possible, his expression hardened, and rather than lowering her to the ground he simply let go of her wrist, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to run far with Cathal right there. And he hadn’t promised any violence, so he knew the tiger would support him.
“Fine,” he growled, walking forward again. Instead of grabbing her again, he put out an arm to guide her, not unlike a shepherd might. “Get moving.”
Not that he expected her to obey him happily, but Cathal still hadn’t uttered a sound since the “deal,” so he was still supporting Ciaran’s behavior. He offered Rhea a nearly apologetic smile, more out of sympathy that she was insisting on holding onto the tiara, but the move made it clear that, in spite of Ciaran’s display of aggression, they really did have no interest in hurting her. Curious, as the reward for the thief alive was easily as much as the tiara, and they currently had sway over both.
Cathal moved back towards the edge of the buildings, again managing to disappear into the shadows as they walked towards the edge of town. It was decidedly obvious for two reasons why they weren’t heading back towards the festival: the giant white tiger, and Ciaran’s own reaction to the festival earlier. Rhea could attest herself how uncomfortable he had been, having to take a breather against a wall. And while his hand had dropped once she picked up on how she was being guided, he remained as tense as ever, once more clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
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Post by Kelathi on Dec 6, 2018 17:51:42 GMT
Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and she moved immediately as he motioned her to, not even trying to stall. In fact, she seemed to go quite willingly now. In truth, she hadn’t expected to get off so easily, and even as she discreetly rubbed her wrist, she noted that he hadn’t even grabbed her that hard. The whole situation was not how she had expected it to go, and judging by her captor’s face, it was not how he had expected it to either. The added complication of having to bring Rhea along clearly had not been in his plan, which she found odd in itself, considering the greater bounty would receive. Or perhaps it had just been clear how much trouble she was going to be, which was why he had decided to cut his losses and just take the tiara.
Cathal left them then, she assumed to stay hidden from any passersby, as they began to walk to the edge of town. If it had been in question whether she would try and flee again as soon as the tiger had left, it soon became clear that that wasn’t the case. In truth, she was making this all up as she went along, but she had managed to glean together at least some ideas to formulate some kind of a makeshift plan.
It was a few days travel back to the palace, so she had plenty of time to make her move and split off, perhaps when they had begun to get used to her compliant behaviour. She might be able to swing it so that they took a minor detour, and she could deliver the tiara to where she intended. If she managed to do that… then she no longer had to worry about guards or assassins or even giant tigers.
For now, it made sense to go with as little trouble as possible, self-preservation being her priority for now. That didn’t, however, stop her from firing haughty glares at him whenever he happened to catch her eye.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Dec 7, 2018 1:20:39 GMT
Her willingness to travel with them rather startled Ciaran, but he didn’t let it show. Well, not much. An eyebrow raised for a moment, but only if she was studying him carefully would she have caught it. Given her new status, it was very possible.
What she couldn’t be aware of was the fact that their first stop would not actually be the palace, as she was a liability and only a potential promise of reward. With the chain of office safely back in his keep - just one more reason to not let her too close for too long again - they had another stop on the way. The way out of town was the same either way, and only in a day or two would she notice the discrepancy.
Not that he really expected her to be around that long… unless Cathal decided to let her go, she’d likely turn over the tiara rather than be turned in herself, something he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to do. She had a fire he could appreciate… but he had been burnt before. And badly.
Ciaran was also obviously not one for conversation, more than happy to let an awkward silence grow between them. Without Cathal’s presence, Ciaran’s aura turned icy, as if willing the thief to hand over the trophy and leave. This silence also allowed him to be more conscious of the area around them, however, his step slowing to a stop. “We’re not alone,” he said softly, defensively. One might even say protectively…
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Post by Kelathi on Dec 7, 2018 16:54:31 GMT
Ciaran was going to have a shock if he thought she was going to back down anytime soon, stubbornness definitely being a well-honed quality of hers. This same stubbornness was evident as she was just as happy as he to let the silence drag on, unwilling to be the one to make an effort to ease any of the tension. Although, annoyingly, the silence seemed to be irritating her more than him, in fact he seemed quite at ease with it. She had just begun to wonder if she should change her tactic and start talking just to annoy him, when he had slowed, and announced that they were not alone. At his words, she had stopped too, and suddenly became aware of the noise he was referring to. It was only a slight rustle, but painfully obvious now it wasn’t mixing in with their own footsteps.
Soon, the perpetrators stepped out into the open, approaching brazenly. Rhea felt her stomach drop as she realised she recognised one of the men, although she was quick to hide any emotion that may have shown on her face. “Rhea! How nice to see you again.” The middle man, evidentially the leader, spoke in a tone to suggest he was talking to an old friend, one he had just happened to bump into. She knew it was much more likely he had heard from one of his goons that she was back in town, and they had been seeking her out since then. She cursed her bad luck then, there’s no way they would have approached had Cathal still been present.
She hadn’t answered his greeting, and it was clear that despite the man’s seeming friendliness, the feeling was definitely not mutual. For now, the two goons remained silent with small smirks on their faces, clearly, if nothing else, they could count, and had decided the odds were in their favour. The main man feigned disappointment for the lack of a reply, but had decided to cut to the chase rather than drag it out further, “You know what you owe me, Rhea. So just hand it over, and we’ll be square.” It seemed a perfectly reasonable request, and he opened his hands, palms up, to show he meant no harm. Rhea knew full well that the only reason he was playing the part of talking it out amicably was because of Ciaran’s presence. Whilst it was unlikely that they saw too much of a threat in him, they liked to act as reasonable gents when anybody else was around.
“You know I don’t have it.” She had merely growled. This was a perfect example as to why you don’t steal from the same person twice… steal from them once, and they chock it up to bad luck. Twice, and they will seemingly go to any lengths to track you down and make you pay. The item he claimed he wanted was far-gone, and both of them knew he did not truly expect her to still have it, but rather, he wanted to make her pay for stealing from him in the first place. Up until this moment, she had managed to avoid his grasp. Privately, she hadn’t considered that her captor might try to protect her from these thugs, so her odds stood at three against one. In her mind, Ciaran only wanted the tiara, her presence more of a burden than anything, so she simply hadn’t considered that he might be on her side. Her fingers tingled in anticipation, there was no way she would win this fight without… something she really did not want to do. But she may very well have no option.
The leader began to walk forwards, and Rhea had to force herself to stand her ground, again, finding herself for the second time today with nowhere to run. “I’m not going to hurt you, Rhea. I just want to talk this through, see if we can sort this out amicably.” His voice would have seemed soothing and sympathetic did she not know him better. Finally, she did speak, her voice causing him to pause for a moment. “If you touch me, I will break your fingers.”
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Dec 8, 2018 2:52:04 GMT
Ciaran’s gaze darted back to Rhea when the one man recognized her, but he could feel the tension rolling off of her at his presence. The dialogue too seemed far too open and friendly for the situation. He remained quiet, letting the scene play out before him, not moving to shield Rhea, but not moving away either. Rhea seemed to see herself as alone, considering how she responded to the man’s approach. But she wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
Uncharacteristically, at least to Rhea’s ears, Ciaran let out a soft chuckle with a sneer, finally drawing the man’s attention. “Try to touch her, and I’ll break every bone in your body,” he said, almost lightly were it not for the dark gaze from the corner of his eye, spoken with the confidence of one who actually could deliver on such a promise.
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Post by Kelathi on Dec 16, 2018 0:56:27 GMT
Her eyes widened slightly at Ciaran’s words, the man coming to her defence was the last thing she had expected, and for a moment her surprise was clear on her face. Meanwhile, the thug evidently wasn't pleased with receiving two threats at once rather than the so-called ‘co-operation’ he had proposed. His smile twisted into a sneer. “It’s not like you to rely on your boyfriend to fight your battles, Rhea.” Laughter ensued from the others, as if he had come up with something clever, rather than the schoolyard response that it actually was. Rhea’s eyes narrowed, and despite herself, a slight warmth rose to her cheeks.
But then he wasn’t sneering. All of a sudden he was squealing in pain, stumbling backwards, hands clapped over his face and a river of blood spurting from between his fingers. She had moved so quickly she had barely had chance to think about what she was doing, the thought had merely crossed her mind and then less than a second later her fist had connected with his nose with a swift, sharp crack. To his credit, at least one of his lackeys responded immediately, lurching forwards to grab her, yanking her towards him with a cry of- “Bitch!”
It seemed they had a volunteer to take up on Ciaran's threat...
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Dec 16, 2018 5:34:41 GMT
Rhea’s sudden attack would have surprised Ciaran more, had he not been distracted. As it was, he was ready for the other man when he grabbed Rhea, taking him down with a decidedly cruel force. But it wasn’t because he had called her a bitch, or even that he was attacking her. It was the leader’s fault, really.
He should never have said “boyfriend.” Quite a lot of past pain and resentment came out against the lackey. A punch to the throat freed Rhea for obvious reasons, grabbing an arm to bring him in close once more, slamming him into the wall opposite. Even as the leader of the men fell back and the other lackey came forward to join the fray, the assassin’s attention stayed focused on his current victim, ready to leave him just as promised. Ciaran didn’t get any farther, however, as a hidden party joined in.
A deep, full-throated roar split the air, and in the alleyways, it reverberated, a lingering snarl following it. It didn’t take any time to locate the source of the sound, as the white pelt reflected the light threateningly as Cathal launched into view, landing firmly amidst the group of humans. As he rose up on his back paws, he easily towered over them all, front claws out and just nicking the fabric of the closest of the three men. Those paws could do massive damage, but in the chaos he offered, it was difficult to see him as anything other than a powerful monster.
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Post by Kelathi on Dec 20, 2018 2:15:04 GMT
She had been ready to jam her knee into the crotch of the nearest man, Ciaran clearly capable of sorting out the leader, when a sound she felt as much as heard reverberated through the ground with terrifying strength. It took her a moment to realise that the source of the roar was on her side, but once she did... she suddenly felt an uncharacteristic spike of pity for the men.
Luckily for them, despite their thick-headed appearance, they seemed to have enough scraps of sense between them to realise that this was not a fight they were going to win. Or at least, they all seemed to freeze and reconsider for the moment. "Call your cat off!" Came the angry, but slightly fear-laced bark of the man closest to Cathal, scrambling for the dagger at his side, and his only weapon.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Dec 20, 2018 2:47:10 GMT
Going for the dagger had been a mistake. Ciaran had pulled back, sharing Rhea’s moment of uncertainty regarding the bellow, even though it was somewhat familiar. Cathal rarely let his temper fly, and even less frequently belted out such a roar. This was intended to scare - not usually the tiger’s goal. But the hesitation had caused Ciaran to let go of his victim, who stumbled back towards the others while avoiding the tiger. This also meant, however, his attention was brought back to the current fight, and the sight of Cathal at risk. The man was fumbling for a dagger, so Ciaran's struck him.
To avoid accidentally hitting Cathal at this angle, Ciaran's dagger only managed to skim the armed man’s arm, making him fall back a pace. This made the tiger glance back for a moment in surprise, but he didn't let his appreciation show for the moment. Managing to keep his balance - and thus immense height advantage - Cathal’s eyes narrowed at the man who spoke, keeping his teeth bared as he responded, claws fully extended.
“Leave! Now!”
Somehow, despite still being the gentle giant Rhea had met earlier, the snarl took on a hungry edge, as if ready to lunge into the trio and feast.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 8, 2019 18:40:37 GMT
The group did not need telling twice, which seemed to suggest that they did indeed have slightly more brains than their actions had suggested so far. Hearing the tiger speak had caused widened eyes all round, and the leader appeared to reconsider. They were not just facing a huge, toothy mindless beast, but if it could talk, who knew what other tricks the small group might have under their sleeves? Whilst backing down was sure to leave a sour taste in his mouth and cause a severe dent to his pride, none of this was what he had anticipated, and they were severely undermanned.
“Alright, alright… we’ll go.” The leader growled, his words causing the others to reluctantly pull back slowly. True to their word, neither Cathal nor Ciaran moved to stop the men as they re-joined their leader, breaking up from the surrounding formation they had so quickly managed to adopt moments before, albeit skirting around Cathal very warily indeed. With the leader’s hands removed from his face, they could now see the bloodied mess Rhea had left his features in from her point-blank punch square into his nose. She was sure it looked worse than it was because of the sheer amount of blood, noses always bled profusely after all; but still, couldn’t help the surge of satisfaction of the state she had left him in. The three now grouped up, they began to make to leave, but not before the leader’s one last jibe at Rhea.
“There will come a time when you are alone again, Rhea. We won’t forget this.” Rhea, however, was quick to respond, she was feeling brave with her current entourage, and as always, couldn’t help but push those buttons a little more. “I look forward to it.” She replied sweetly, adopting doe-like eyes and innocent smile, performing a quick, mock curtsey as they begrudgingly left.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 9, 2019 3:05:31 GMT
Cathal let out another deep-throated snarl moments at the men after Rhea’s retort to the threat, proving he wasn’t just defending Ciaran with his actions. This was punctuated by the fact that, to regain his balance on his back legs, he shifted his weight a little more in front of her. There was one very simple message he was able to convey: she wasn’t alone now.
He managed to keep his balance until the men were gone, almost a breathless minute after they vanished from sight. Then, with silent grace, he came down again, the snarl gone and the gentle gaze restored. He sniffed at the air and turned when he was finally satisfied that they were again alone. Then his ears flicked back, but for an entirely new reason.
“I HAD them,” Ciaran snarled just as viciously as the tiger had minutes before, his eyes hard even as he glared at his own friend. Cathal sighed sharply, narrowing his own eyes. “Bloodshed was not needed,” he replied in a tone that was calmer than expected, while also ending the current discussion. Ironically, of the three he physically was capable of the most damage, and yet he was the only one not to draw blood, by fist or dagger. His breath still uneven from the event, Ciaran stalked past to collect the thrown dagger, wiping it off on a nearby sack before slipping it back into his clothes. He left Rhea to Cathal, walking ahead with purpose and a clear need for space.
A softer, more worried sigh left Cathal as he looked back to Rhea, offering a weary smile. “Let us go, before they announce to the town what has transpired here,” he said in that gentle, fatherly tone, one that clearly respected the assassin’s need for space while still keeping an eye on the two. Of course now, after such bellows, he wasn’t worried about slipping away unnoticed, just unapproached.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 13, 2019 11:29:34 GMT
In that moment, it was clear what Ciaran had meant. If it had been up to him, he would have left no man standing. Rhea was just happy the anger hadn’t been directed at her at that moment, although she’d had just a taste of it before.
She found herself wondering, way too late if course, (which was typical of her), what exactly she had managed to get herself into. She knew her reasons for choosing to go with them rather than lose the tiara and be done with it, it had seemed the safest option at the time, because at the time it had been someone else’s wrath she had been worried about. Now she could see things for how they were, she wondered if she had gambled wisely.
At Cathal’s words, she nodded, returning to a more serious state. As they began to walk though, and once Ciaran was clearly out of earshot, she found herself thanking him. “Thank you, by the way, for earlier. I appreciate you trying to give me a way out. And for just now.” She was clearly referring to Cathal pushing for a trade for the tiara, even if she hadn’t been able to take the offer, she had noted what he had tried to do. She suspected it was something to do with stopping Ciaran rather than him specifically trying to help her, but either way she appreciated it.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 13, 2019 19:18:09 GMT
For obvious reasons, Cathal wasn’t concerned when Ciaran finally disappeared from sight ahead of them in the maze of old buildings. Of course, Rhea couldn’t know that the tiger was by now an expert at tracking the assassin down again from sheer practice. But she also couldn’t know about the changes of late in the assassin, and that she was in fact probably safer now than she might have been a year before.
The tiger’s ears pricked up at Rhea’s thanks, looking surprised for a moment before smiling warmly, completely at ease after the incident. “You are welcome,” he replied in a manner that couldn't help but seem fatherly and as supportive as it was protective. As they walked, Cathal looked back to where Ciaran had vanished ahead. “He means it, you know,” he went on, at first vague given what the assassin had threatened before. “All he wants to trade is the tiara. His interest in you is… different.”
Despite Ciaran’s threat of turning in either tiara or thief, Cathal seemed surprisingly confident that Rhea was not in danger of being handed over. It also became clear that the tiger had no interest in the reward himself, and didn’t seem to really care if they ever got the tiara from her. It was for Ciaran’s sake that Cathal was guarding Rhea.
But then this begged the question, why would Ciaran be willing to accept only half a reward, as substantial as it was, when he had the ability to claim the whole thing?
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 15, 2019 23:41:45 GMT
It was strange, that Rhea felt comfortable with this giant, clawed creature, but she did. Maybe it was because she could sense that he meant her no harm. At his words, she looked alarmed for a moment. What did he mean by that? What had she done to him to cause him to have an interest in her, if not just for the tiara? Understanding lit in her eyes then, or at least, she thought she understood what he was hinting at. “Well, I wouldn’t have stolen from him twice on purpose. Although apparently that’s becoming a habit.” She noted, bitterly. Clearly, she thought Cathal meant to suggest she had already stolen from Ciaran once before, hence his ‘interest’ in her. Perhaps he wanted to try and reclaim this other item, although, why he had yet to ask for it was a little odd if that was the case.
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