09-11-2018, 06:59 PM
His hand pressed atop hers, smothering that writhing darkness. Was that some kind of chivalry? Utterly unnecessary, but she didn't shrug it off either. It was like he tuned inwards for a moment, pulled at something unseen. Hair fluttered by her ear like a passing twist of wind. She had guessed but the honesty was gratifying anyway. Trust always was.
"That work related injury? Your friends won't get another chance." His shield was redundant; assuming the Atharim had a shred of organisation to their kill cult, her identity already darkened their lists. There was no fear in her, though it wasn't the sort that edged into stupidity. It wasn't arrogance, either, though perhaps it may have sounded so. It was just absence; simple acceptance that all things end. The next time, either they would die, or she would; there would be no compromise.
She laughed, low. "Did you just growl?" A sultry tease lit her expression, but she turned soon after; seeking the source. Dark eyes made a lazy scan, rechecking the dangerous marks from habit, though nothing flickered the remotest concern. Not that there weren't dangerous people here, but nothing that suggested what might have caught his attention.
He resumed conversation soon enough, offering a name she knew but accepted anyway, and she offered her own in exchange. "Nhysa." Perhaps she had another name once; she neither knew nor cared. They were clothes, anyway, worn to a purpose. But this was the one she used for continuity, and for that reason was perhaps the truest. At least until it became a liability, as names and identities usually did.
Banalities (or politeness) aside, she was still amused. Her gaze searched his, intrigued. "Tell me what you saw."
"That work related injury? Your friends won't get another chance." His shield was redundant; assuming the Atharim had a shred of organisation to their kill cult, her identity already darkened their lists. There was no fear in her, though it wasn't the sort that edged into stupidity. It wasn't arrogance, either, though perhaps it may have sounded so. It was just absence; simple acceptance that all things end. The next time, either they would die, or she would; there would be no compromise.
She laughed, low. "Did you just growl?" A sultry tease lit her expression, but she turned soon after; seeking the source. Dark eyes made a lazy scan, rechecking the dangerous marks from habit, though nothing flickered the remotest concern. Not that there weren't dangerous people here, but nothing that suggested what might have caught his attention.
He resumed conversation soon enough, offering a name she knew but accepted anyway, and she offered her own in exchange. "Nhysa." Perhaps she had another name once; she neither knew nor cared. They were clothes, anyway, worn to a purpose. But this was the one she used for continuity, and for that reason was perhaps the truest. At least until it became a liability, as names and identities usually did.
Banalities (or politeness) aside, she was still amused. Her gaze searched his, intrigued. "Tell me what you saw."