Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 15:52:30 GMT -5
And still, Kirithis just slept there, breathing slow and deep. It had taken her years to be able to sleep without moving too much, and all she had to do was cover her ears before she slept anymore. As long as she didn't move too much, nothing would be revealed. For having lived as long as she had, she had damn well have been able to master that little trick. What would he find beneath the beautiful, soft red locks? Well, he would have to find out, now wouldn't he?
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 16:00:06 GMT -5
He fully intended to, hesitating only to stop and consider exactly how he was going to bail himself out of this if she woke up for some reason. That was assuming she didn't hide a blade of some sort under the pillow and hadn't been trained to kill anyone that roused her from slumber. Aeryn wasn't too fond of that idea, but he had a good amount of confidence in his abilities, and was fairly sure that he could just move a small amount of hair without her noticing.
He took a deep breath and knelt at the side of the bed on which her head rested, being especially careful since he knew that the slightest vibrations could awake the feline and subsequently Kiri. At best, he'd have to explain why he was watching her sleep, and probably come off like some weirdo in the process. Still holding that breath, he reached out his hand, intending to slowly swipe away the strands covering her ear.
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 16:07:10 GMT -5
"Do you always spy on women when they're sleeping, or am I just lucky?" Kirithis asked suddenly, voice low enough to not wake the cat, but just loud enough that it would probably startle him. Crimson eyes opened then, and she smirked gently as she looked at him. After a moment, she gently pulled herself up by her arms, sitting up and resting against the headboard. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know. Buuut.."
She grinned mischievously. "I'll answer your question if you answer mine."
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 16:11:45 GMT -5
Startling him was a bit of an understatement, since he practically had to swallow down his heart after it tried to leap out of his throat. He felt back into a sitting position and placed a hand on his chest, hair falling into his face again; the single blue that remained actually looked faintly resentful towards her for scaring him like that. He should have expected something like this, and was disappointed in himself for not doing so. "If you were awake, you could've just said so when I came into the room."
He whispered, as if he was still afraid of waking her, even though she was probably never really asleep. Was she onto him, then? The way she posed her question, he couldn't think of any other possibility... "Fine, I guess..."
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 16:18:06 GMT -5
She shifted to sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed, smiling at him with a glitter of something in her eyes. "Oh, no, you misunderstand," she said. "I was really sleeping, I just know how to listen before moving when something wakes me up." She ran a hand through her hair, in the wrong location to really show him anything more than an earlobe, which wouldn't answer his question.
"Someone wants me dead," she said, eyes keen. She wasn't playing around with this one, but she wasn't so stern as to appear threatening yet. And she hadn't drawn any knives. That was a good sign. "Badly enough to hire another assassin. Who hired you, Aeryn?"
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 16:25:27 GMT -5
Aeryn was an accomplished actor, but like anyone who knew that their game was up, he couldn't really maintain a convincing facade under pressure. That didn't stop him from trying, though. "What are you talking about? You're honestly implying that I kill people for a living?" There was the right amount of indignance, but he couldn't help the faint flush on his cheeks for being found out. If nothing else did, that would probably give him away. "You've got a lot of nerve accusing me of something like that. You're the one that killed someone yesterday in mere seconds, not me."
The one eye that was showing narrowed now, and she could probably sense that he was about to shout something to the effect of "get out of my house!" He didn't though, at least not yet, biting the inside of his cheek as he considered his choices.
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 16:32:28 GMT -5
Kirithis's own look hardened, and she spoke in lowered tones, dangerous, yet giving him another chance. "No normal person allows a killer into their home," she said. "I should know. And after you asked me if I'd killed the man.. Normal people would have screamed and tried to get out of my sight, especially after I mentioned the graveyard."
She watched him with scrutinizing eyes, studying him for the faintest of reactions. She knew he was lying. "I'll only ask one more time," she said. "Who hired you?"
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 16:39:22 GMT -5
Aeryn muttered something rather obscene under his breath, glancing up at her a moment later with a smirk on his lips. "I'll admit that you've figured me out, but I'll have you know that I've shared a room with far worse people than you. Not here, though. I guess that makes you special." If he could get to his feet he might be able to get out of here, but he didn't even want to try that - he was almost positive that Kiri had a weapon within reach, even if he couldn't see it.
"I didn't bother to ask a name. Why should I, when he was already offering money up-front before I even agreed to take the job? Just another fat cat with enough shiny things to attract someone like me. Probably would've told him to pike off, but the down payment helped me finish paying for this place. Couldn't pass it up." He tilted his head back against the wall, brow raised. "Someone who hates you, I guess. I didn't really care enough to figure it out."
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 16:42:13 GMT -5
Kirithis smirked again. A vague answer. Yay. "How much did he pay you?" she asked. A plan was forming in her head, one that could keep her alive, get him rich, and make whoever had hired him give up.. It was intricate, and required a lot of trust.. But maybe.. just maybe, it would work. It all depended on what Aeryn said and did within the next few moments. If he still planned on trying to kill her, then it wouldn't work.
Unless he liked money more than honesty.
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 16:48:22 GMT -5
"A couple thousand Ka. It's gone already, though. I used it to make sure I'd get to keep this place, since it's the only one in all of Edarin that actually means something to me. I was supposed to get five times that much after I bagged you." He really should have known better than to bring her back here. There was a reason he didn't do business in Blaire, and the one time he decided to it was going to get him killed. Figured.
"Apparently I'm not as good an assassin as I thought I was, but I'm also a better host than I originally assumed. That's somewhat comforting to know before I die. Should we get on with it, then?" It was somewhat of a bluff, but if she did come at him, he'd probably only have a very small moment to move. He intended to take it. Even if it compromised his home and his private life, that was still better than being dead.
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 16:52:30 GMT -5
"I wont kill you so long as you don't kill me," Kirithis said, frowning and sighing. "Besides, I owe you a question or two, now don't I?" That, and she had an idea to propose. She would propose it later, after he'd asked his or not. As long as he didn't try to kill her, she would let him live. If he did try, then she had no intention of letting him live. Never surrender, never die, was one of the more popular of Scorpion proverbs. If you got caught, you brought down as many as you could with you if you could not escape and were going to die. You did not go quietly into that good night.
"And I have and idea that might be beneficial to the both of us," she added. "Take your pick; questions or my idea first."
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 17:01:12 GMT -5
Well, since they were being relatively honest with each other, he didn't mind being blunt about things. "Why would you go through all the effort that must've gone into learning how to sleep in one position all night? There's really only one reason I can think of, and I do believe I was in the process of discovering said reason before you so rudely frightened me. What are you hiding under all that hair?"
He knew it was a little strange that she could keep her ears covered all night - there had to have been some kind of special instruction for her to be able to do that. It wasn't something you learned for the hell of it. It was kind of ironic for him to be asking such a thing, however, since he covered his own distinguishing features with hair.
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 17:09:49 GMT -5
Kirithis smirked in amusement. Of course he would want to know that; he had been trying to move her hair when she was sleeping, hadn't he? Yes.. It seemed he had been. No wonder it was so easy to scare the s**t out of him. Withou much hesitation, she pulled all of her hair back and up, some strands still tumbling down, a fairly sexy look for one lacking a proper shirt, exposing her ears in all their glory.
From the right angle, they could pass as human ears, but they were not. Not wholly Elfin, yet not those of a Deus, either. The pointed ears were small, not nearly as elongated as a full-blooded Elf, nor even as long as a Deus's ears. Yet, the fact that there was Elvish blood in her veins was undeniable. How?
"I'm a quarter Zhoan," she said, turning her head to show him better. "My father was human, and my mother was a Deus. I don't like people seeing my ears, because it's easy to recognize me by them. Not many quarter-Elves running around, if you know what I mean. Especially not with hair and eyes like mine."
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Post by Aeryn on Jul 8, 2007 17:17:03 GMT -5
A quarter-elf? Nope, can't see he'd ever even seen one before. He'd rubbed elbows with quite a few halfies before, but even those were usually obvious. It made sense now, why she covered her ears... it was hard to make her out as anything but human otherwise. "Yet another first. Not only do I let you into the house which I keep strictly separate from my business, but it turns out you're a quarter-elf. Never even heard of such a thing." He let out a long sigh and actually laughed a bit, a silly grin on his lips.
"That's all I really wanted to know. I guess we should get on to this plan of yours, though I doubt it'll work. Anyone with that kind of money probably has even my neighbors in his pocket. They'll figure it out sooner or later, and I'd bet on sooner."
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Jul 8, 2007 17:21:47 GMT -5
Kirithis grinned, letting her hair fall down again, not worrying over whether or not he saw her ears now. It wouldn't make much difference. She was impressed he'd figured out most of her plan already, but there were still a few things he didn't know of.
"What are the chances that your neighbors would know who I am?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "And what I have in mind, your neighbors wouldn't be a problem with." Another of those mischievous grins. "It all depends on what proof he wants that I'm dead. Obviously, if you were to haul a body or even a head there, it would look suspicious. He'd want the body disposed of, right?"
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