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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 0:32:20 GMT
Cathal had meant the words to be calming; after all, he knew his cub, and he was getting more and more familiar with the scents humans would put off.
That, and he had smelled Rhea on Ciaran before he had given her the ultimatum. He could only guess what had happened before, but it was enough for Ciaran to not simply force himself on Rhea to get the tiara. Not hurt her, but simply claim the tiara. Or the chain of office, for that matter.
Rhea’s remark about being noticed made him pause for a moment, but then he seemed to consider, laughed, and kept walking. All it proved was that she had apparently gotten the wrong end of the stick. What stick he kept to himself. They were quickly coming up on the edge of town, Ciaran once more visible in the distance, waiting by the edge of the woods with his eyes on the festival in town to the side of them, arms folded across his chest as if taking the opportunity to not look either of the two in the eye as they approached.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 2:33:08 GMT
A half-smile had formed on her lips as she looked towards Cathal at his laugh, wondering why her response had earned such amusement, but it soon faded as Ciaran came into sight up ahead. It wasn’t quite fear so much as weariness that caused her to tense up on their approach. She was struck again by the thought of wondering what exactly she was getting herself into, and again by the counter thought of the fact that she had no real choice but to go with them…
***
Evening drew in gently, the darkening sky lengthening the shadows of the trees. With the withdrawal of the sun came the decline of birdsong, crickets taking their place as the musicians of the time, singing in chorus. They were deep into the forest now as they began to settle down, choosing a clearing to spend the night. As Ciaran began to build a fire, Rhea doggedly watched for a moment, knowing how to help but pointedly refusing to. Then she turned away, looking anywhere but at him. The silence between them had only stretched, a tension so tight it was surely going to snap at any moment.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 2:45:49 GMT
Cathal’s presence, as frustrating as Ciaran found it at times, at least lessened the tension in the air. Neither of the two humans seemed to want to argue too much in front of him, and had stubbornly remained silent. That had been fine with Cathal talking to them and getting nods for responses, but the quiet dragged on in a way the assassin wasn’t used to.
Unsurprisingly, he would check on the chain of office every hour or so, as if half expecting her to somehow steal it again from him. He tried to at least be subtle about the check, knowing that it would probably amuse the thief, and he wanted her as uncomfortable as possible. That meant she’d be more likely to give up the tiara. Didn’t mean he liked to be so uncomfortable at the same time.
At first, when working on the fire, he seemed to be constantly checking on her, assuming she would try to run when it was just the two of them. But he didn’t have to warn her about being tracked down again, as she stayed, pointedly ignoring him. Which was fine. So Ciaran focused on the fire instead, finally getting warm embers flickering to life just as the sun was setting. Cathal was likely taking his time with catching dinner, possibly even using the chaos from the stories of the giant tiger attacking those men spreading through the festival, should they have shared the tale. But it meant too he’d have to be careful. Ciaran hesitated as he looked back for the umpteenth time to where Cathal had disappeared, letting out an anxious sigh as he went back to the fire, using dry grasses to help coax it into life.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 3:00:39 GMT
His constant glances in her direction were noted, although she pointedly ignored them. It was clear he was keeping checks on her, which was understandable, but it still made her irritable. Of course, she did intend to eventually run away at some point, and him constantly having his eye on her was not going to make that easy. As the fire bloomed into life, a passing wicked thought of hers was to stifle it. She could do it as easy as breathing, and without him suspecting her. But then, she would have to wait again for him to light it up, and honestly, she was beginning to get cold. So she restrained herself, walking over once the fire was finally up and blazing happily, pointedly seating herself on the other side of the fire- as far away from Ciaran as she could get whilst still having access to warmth.
“What are you going to spend it on?”
Her question was curt and perhaps surprising after the long stretch of silence that had plagued their day.
“The reward money.” She elaborated, ivy-eyes meeting his with an accusative glare. It was clear she was implying that he was going to take the reward money for returning her, as well as tiara. Well, why wouldn’t he? Short of forcing the tiara off her, which thnakfully he apparently didn’t want to do, there was no way he was getting his hands on it otherwise.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 3:09:11 GMT
Ciaran watched her move towards the fire with wary eyes, leaning back to sit as well, perfectly happy she was on the other side of the flames. The fire was small enough still he could see she wasn’t about to run, not yet anyway, so the distance was welcome.
He paused, however, at her question, raising an eyebrow in response until she elaborated. His gaze dropped for a moment, considering if he should answer or not. Obviously, he didn’t have to answer, and could just leave the awkward silence alone. But something about her glare made him react, the accusation making him want to defend himself.
“When I get the reward,” he began, remaining intentionally ambiguous as to what he meant by that, “I’m getting land.” As if anticipating the surprised reaction, his gaze dropped again, prodding the fire a little. “Cathal is a big, white target, and he’s had his share of encounters with hunters. And he’s getting older,” he explained, still ambiguous and matter-of-factly, but surprisingly showing little self-interest in his spending.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 16:05:56 GMT
It was true, her eyes did widen slightly at his answer, although she quickly stifled her initial reaction, returning to the glare that had been serving her well. She still found something negative to focus on in what he said, of course, it was a game she had perfected. “’Course, he wouldn’t be such a big target if he wasn’t busy trying to stay close to you.” She commented, clearly implying that is was Ciaran putting him in danger in the first place. Evidently, as noble as his thought, Rhea was having none of this.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 17:53:47 GMT
Ciaran laughed at her bitter little comment, his lip curling a little as he eyed her carefully, answering with his own bitter tone, “That’s why I’m gonna leave him there.” His pretense at mirth faded then as he stood, for once trusting that Rhea wouldn’t run as he went to his weapons.
Between waiting for the two to leave the outer edge of the town and his own departure, he had reclaimed his weapons, an unsettlingly large bundle bladed weapons, given it all belonged to one man. Two broadswords dominated the mix of knives of various lengths, including two long ones that had been slid into his boots. His ease with the metal so close to his skin showed some lack of self-concern, just as his plans for his loot had been. Despite the cold, he seemed to prefer distance to warmth, leaving the frustrating thief by the fire that was slowly building as he sat on the perimeter, unsheathing one broadsword to whet the edge. The sound wasn’t intended to be threatening, nor even the gesture, handling the sword rather easily with just one hand, but in fact, it was a calming tactic for himself. In the military, caring for his weapons had been some of his better moments of peace, and he had felt himself growing tense with the woman.
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 19:27:49 GMT
“Hm.” Rhea merely responded in turn, annoyed he had a managed to switch the theoretical conversation around to make himself, once again, appear honourable. She lifted her hands to warm them better, eyes flickering from the fire back to him every now and again. For once, he wasn’t sending glances over to her so intensely, so she took this opportunity to do it to him herself, studying her ‘companion’ as if it might help her understand him better. She perhaps shouldn’t have been surprised at the extent of his weapons arsenal, but with her suspicions as to his line of work it did indeed make sense. As he began to slip the blades into his boots, she spoke up. “I think you’re missing a few. There’s plenty more spaces to shove those weapons, I can show you, if you like.” It was spoken with a feigned tone of helpfulness, but a glance in her direction would reveal the dark glint in her eye and the insinuation of her words.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 19:32:27 GMT
Of course, the peace and quiet with only the sound of the whetting stone against the sword blade couldn’t last. Rhea, it seemed, wanted to have the last word. He wasn’t about to give it to her. Why, he wasn’t sure. Hell, to most anyone else he would have left the question just hanging, or even made some threatening remark to silence the other. Instead, he had wanted to defend himself.
Must have been because she reminded him so much of Narisse - the spitfire personality, the big eyes that could feign such innocence…
“How about the space between your ears?” he shot back, but not reaching for a dagger. Yet. Damn it all… when was Cathal coming back?
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 19:38:50 GMT
The fire took that moment to spit out some cinders, which only seemed to accentuate Rhea's quick, curt reply. "I was thinking more like your ass, but you'd have to remove the stick that's stuck there first!" She growled. Evidently, him tending to his weapons did nothing to deter her fighting words. She remained stubbornly seated as they spoke, but she was ready to leap up should her words push him just slightly too far. Sure, she had no weapon on her, but she had the fire if she needed it...
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 19:42:53 GMT
Ciaran didn’t seem phased by the fire, used to cinders spitting out occasionally. Her reply made him pause, however, an eyebrow raising as he tried to figure out a reply. The kind of insult she was flinging… he wasn’t used to hearing something so childish in reference to himself. So he tried instead to keep his composure, not lowering himself to her level. Well… not too far.
“Oh? Didn’t realize you were studying my ass that closely.”
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 19:54:25 GMT
Rhea had expected an equally venomous reply, maybe even for the man to give up on words altogether and approach her to shut her up. His actual reply was completely the opposite of what she had thought he was going to say, and it was clear that it completely floored her.
Eyes widening at his insinuation, she began to speak, paused, and tried again… “That’s not… what? I…” before realising there was no way she could argue against what he said. By arguing against it so defensively, it only made it appear that what he had said was true. After a moment, her reply, twinned with a slightly redder face, revealed that he had won this exchange.
“Oh, shut up.” She growled eventually, averting her eyes, fuming that he had thrown her off in such a way.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 20:02:22 GMT
The eyebrow remained raised in an expression of growing confusion as Rhea began to stammer, wondering what on earth was making her redder. Or was that just a trick of the firelight? As he thought back over the conversation, he realized the way he had replied hadn’t… helped. His own eyes widened at the realization, and a little red tinged his own cheeks.
“That… no, that…”
Just like Rhea, he quickly gave up trying to explain or defend, since it only seemed to make it sound worse. If the silence earlier had been bad, this was at least twice as worse.
The silence didn’t last for too long, however, Ciaran’s attention on trying to keep his composure rather than paying attention to their surroundings. Out of the blue, something hard and decently hefty hit him in the back of the head, just hard enough to make one foot slip on the ground and half knock him to the side.
One hand went to the injured spot instinctively even as the sword was brought up, equally instinctively as he tried to figure out what had happened. “What the hell-?!”
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Post by Kelathi on Jan 17, 2019 20:53:18 GMT
“Wretch!” Came the resulting screech, the weapon being lifted for a second time.
By this time Rhea had shot up, and as the weapon came back down it was halted this time by hands grabbing the attacking woman’s arms. “Minerva! What are you doing?” Although the actions were pretty self-explanatory, the surprise of seeing the older lady there drew the question from Rhea anyway. Minerva’s lined face was red with fury, and clutched tightly in both hands… the weapon of choice was a large wooden spoon. “I’m saving you! Run!” Came the screeching reply, as she pulled herself away, and attempted to get past Rhea to get back to Ciaran, but finding herself frustratingly blocked again. The thief had instinctively thrown herself before the two, but for whose protection it was not completely clear. “You’re saving me with a spoon?” Rhea’s voice sounded amused now, and Minerva didn’t take too kindly to it. “Blasted girl! Why aren’t you running?” the old woman shouted back.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Jan 17, 2019 21:00:10 GMT
In the seconds that Rhea saved him, Ciaran had gotten to his feet and was ready to attack himself when he realized what he was facing down. An old woman had brought a spoon to a sword fight. A surprisingly heavy wooden spoon, as his head could attest…
Ciaran was so shocked by the surreal scene in front of him, of the thief protecting him from some old woman with a cooking utensil, that the sword tip lowered almost as quickly as it had been brought up, the confusion clear on his face. How hard was he hit again?
Finally, Cathal rejoined the group, his mouth red still from his successful kill and not really helping the confusing situation. Clearly, at hearing the sound of struggles, he had rushed ahead and was ready to fight, but he now looked as confounded as Ciaran. Just a lot more dangerous with the blood on his teeth. Finally, Ciaran spoke, shaking his head a little.
“The hell is going on? Who is this old bat?”
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