Cassian nods. "Looks to me like we can exchange stories. I'm the guest, so I'll go first. There's a gang called the Blacknapes. They specialize in kidnapping, usually highborn children, and don't always give their charges back in one piece. Kidnapping's a nasty business, and should be stamped out anyway, but they also went and killed one of the only honest dottari in the city. I want to bring the gang down."
"This is where you come in. I want to give the Blacknapes a target, specifically one of my people disguised as the spouse or grown child of an upper class family. My master of disguise would have to observe the person being mimicked for a time, to get all of the mannerisms down pat. It would be an inconvenience, but one for ultimately a good cause."
"What do you say?"
"I want to find out who you are," he murmurs. "I want to know you. All of you."
He pauses, the next part clearly causing him difficulty. "I'm not good at fidelity. Sexual, I mean. I never wanted to give up any of my freedom... and the truth is, I don't really want to give it up. But I would. For you. If you asked that of me."
He shakes his head, chuckling. "I don't know what you did to me, Crosael, but I'm glad you did."
The shape created is something of an arc. He stares at it critically for a few moments. "Not a circle, but I guess it makes sense since almost everybody would live to the south and south east. Maybe somewhere along this line?" he looks up at Cassian, then Janiven and the others. "Anything of significance in the area that you know about?"
There are also a few old manor houses and a graveyard in the area, but the guard tower is probably in the best condition.
She casts Tongues and her usual set of spells upon herself, and teleports up to the ground floor.
"May I help you?" she asks politely if she sees the goblins.
She looks uncomfortably over his left shoulder, not quite meeting his eyes. "It'd be better if we asked Arael to send to them... don't you think?" Biting her lower lip slightly.
The age lines in Mauro's face deepen, his shoulders slumping a little. "You're talking about Iltus, aren't you?" His smile is bleak, "They did a good job covering it up their involvement, I'd heard it was a Hellknight action."
He picks up the heavy crystal cup he dropped earlier, looking at it like the multifaceted surface might hold some answer. Finally he nods, "Goddess of light knows that his family is gone through enough this year..." He chuckles darkly to himself, "I have an uncle who is absolutely convinced that he will be kidnapped. He normally comes to me to change his personal staff every other month. I always assumed the old man just wanted some attention, but I could tell him that I've learned of a plot against him and that I'm having a double stand in to protect him. He might even enjoy slipping out of the city for a week or so incognito."
He looks Cassian in the eye, motion to the glass, offering the rogue a drink, "Would that work?"
"I want to find out who you are," he murmurs. "I want to know you. All of you."
Croasel's eyes and smile light with that most fragile of emotions, hope.
He pauses, the next part clearly causing him difficulty. "I'm not good at fidelity. Sexual, I mean. I never wanted to give up any of my freedom... and the truth is, I don't really want to give it up. But I would. For you. If you asked that of me."
He shakes his head, chuckling. "I don't know what you did to me, Crosael, but I'm glad you did."
The hope doesn't fade from her eyes, but worry or fear lurks beneath. The darker and lighter emotions fighting, until her hand tightens around his. "I... can't ask you for that."
The hope, just a little thing, grows in her smile, "Not yet. Not before either of us really knows." Her eyes are gold as they find his, "But..."
"Yes."
One, a male who skin is cris-crossed with puckered flame-licked scars and newer marks, immediately pulls a violently green glass vial.
There is a pause, a moment of silence then on of the other males steps just a tad forward. "We have been sent by King Whitechin to retrieve his pet. Deliver it to us and we are allowed to possibly let you live."
Cassian grins. "Like a dream. A bit of a challenge for my master of disguise, but I think she'll be up to it. If not, she'll make me up as the man."
The rogue's face turns serious. "Is that what's troubling you? I sensed something when you spoke earlier."
Relief floods over Cassian's features. He takes her gently by her cheeks and crushes his lips to hers. He breaks away, murmuring, "When you feel better you can help me christen this bed. In the meantime, you're staying here, all right? I can have a room made up if you'd prefer, although I'd like you with me, at least for now." Two kisses brush the base of her horns.
He pulls away just far enough to look into her gold eyes. "Gods you're beautiful." A smile, then: "Sorry, lost my train of thought. I was trying to say that you're a member of the Golden Monkey Syndicate, meaning this is your home too. Your enemies are our enemies." Another affectionate kiss, his fingers tracing the delicate spots on her flesh.
"I feel like I should fetch you some fresh clothing. Because if you keep being naked in my bed, it's going to be tough to concentrate."
She's about to say something else, cuts herself off abruptly.
And checks herself quickly to ensure that the girl didn't lift anything in passing.
She returns her way to the room where she left Calseinica. ("There was a clear path through the sewer to a room with bodies, a door that lead to a theater, a door that lead to a medusa, and so forth. The Raven told me about that place.")
"I've gotten a promise from Khaz, and since she doesn't actually need to kill sentients to survive, it's a promise she can keep." Here, Cassian's tone is slightly defensive, and even someone slightly versed in his mannerisms would know he legitimately trusts Khazrae, though why is another matter entirely.
At Janiven's words, Cassian nods. "Yeah. I'm surprised Buzz can control the succubus. With Khaz, I had the advantage of being able to be the first person to show her kindness in a long time. That builds a lot of trust. Also, we didn't find Khaz in a room full of people she'd just sex-murdered."
"...yes, I would hate to be called a waterfowl," chuckles.
looks for a boat that he can liberate. Certainly a man of his calibre can find a boat worthy of such a great cause.
He rows across the water to the island.
Stealthily.
While the other two were gone, Cassian and Mathalen got snipets of conversation. Fashion, colors, dress cuts.
When s/he enters the room, Alexia sees three pretty twenty-somethings, all in different styles of ball dresses. Calseinica turns to smile at the door before wincing, one hand going to her temple. The final shopgirl, who had been standing near the actress, immediately moves to keep Cali from falling.
"Nymmi," Alexia's hand goes to her mouth, and she goes to her swooning friend, in the process brushing against the girl who caught her.
("Gods and Men! Missed it.") Gravlax swears over the link.
("That was not remotely subtle, now they know I want Calseinica's lock of hair back.")
"I apologize," Alexia says to the slightly-mauled shopgirl. "Only Nymmi is so terribly superstitious, and I could have sworn that I saw a chunk of her hair catch on your clothing as you caught her."
She subsides into a contemplative quiet for a few minutes more. Then, "I am not the most objective person, fair warning. I went to talk with Zsz a few days after she said that her... friend... was sticking around."
She swallows, "That's when Zsz told me that Joriavah had promised to not hunt in Westcrown." Jan's smile is icy, bitter. "I tried to ask about the people she would be hunting and Zsz's wouldn't answer. Instead she questioned my moral right to ask about killing innocents since I had no problem with taking out those lower down on the Council's totem pole."
Her forehead furrows, "Then there was a whole argument that killing them was just like breaking into her own childhood home and slaughtering her." Janiven shakes her head, "Frankly, I figured she was just trying to avoid the question about her girlfriend murdering people, so tried to bring it back to that, at which point Zsz coldly asked that if I decided to kill her to at least have the courtesy of informing her first."
She thinks for a moment, "I think that was the entirety of it." She shrugs.
And her voice is so-very concerned as she addresses the pair, mostly Calseinica. "I'm so sorry about your stumble, Ms. Nymmis, but I can assure you that none of your hair got caught." She motions to the smooth lines of her own simple dress. "See nothing sharp or catching at all."
The girl's smile catches Alexia in its warmth. Cali looks at Alexia, believing the crossdresser, but the girl sounds so sure of herself.
"I believe you, Miss," Alexia lies, "But I just know that I saw some of Nymmi's hair come off -- look there, you can see this bit is shorter than the rest."
...and the second that the shopgirl's attention glances to Calseinica, Alexia goes for the pocket again.
"Oh, there it is," Alexia says, holding up the hair that she clearly pulled from the shopgirl's pocket. "My mistake, it had fallen on the floor."
"Now how does that superstition go? Oh, yes."
Alexia pops the hair into her mouth and swallows it.
"The things we do for our friends."
He looks at the dark balconey. "Not that it did any good, but I at least hope you noticed the extra security?"
"Ever since we got married, Rosie has been seeing... something. Out on the balconies, outside second floor windows." His dark eyes worried, "Something that keeps wanting her to open the door, window."
"I haven't seen it myself and Rosie," His eyes clouding with worry, "she can't every describe what she's seen, every time it seems different to her." He runs a hand through his hair, disturbing the well-groomed look. "I moved both of us into her maid's room, no windows. And the maid downstairs with the other servants... which she does not appreciate." He stops himself from rambling with only a force of will.
"I grew up with the stories of dark things lurking in the street, I didn't know why they were targeting Rosie, but I hoped if we drew back it would move on." His face grows tight, "What finally made me move us, was I thought I saw something."
He over at Cassian, dark eyes haunted, "Handsome face, blond hair, pompous smile." A pause, "Only I thought Thesing was dead."
Cassian sees his relief mirrored in Crosael's face, and feels her lips curve into a soft smile as he kisses her. At his comment, she looks at the sheets around her, her cheeks flushing with the naughty images that flash in her golden eyes. Then the shiver that travels down her body when his lips brush against the nerves around the base of her horns.
"Golden Monkey?" She asks her voice curious even as her skin goosebumps where his fingers trace her markings. "Your little friend didn't seem particularly golde to me."
The blush, which she seemed to have just managed to subdue comes back, this time it moves a bit further down her body than the first time. She ducks her head a little, the white fall of her hair blocking her face, "I left a package of my stuff in the room I rented, in a secret hollow under the bed. The things that I couldn't take into..." She voice dies with a swallow.
She forces herself to continue, "The things a maid wouldn't have, armor, weapons. And a few extra things to wear." She looks back up at him, "I have enough magic to get there without being seen." Just the hint of fierce pride in her voice. Then a sheepish smile, "But it would take everything I've gotten back."
She pushes some of the hair behind one of her oddly shaped ears, really looking at him, wonder touching her eyes. "I'm a distraction to your concentration?"
She looks down, shame marking her features. But she shakes her head, "No, I don't trust her."
She looks at Azhar, "I don't want her to know where your parents are. I wish she didn't know where mine are, but I can't change that."
She lets go of the heavy breath she'd been holding, "And it is wrong and probably petty, because she hasn't done anything to deserve my suspicion... but..."
His raven guide taps the wood on either side to direct him to island. Once there, she squawks quietly at him and takes flight. About thirty minutes later, she lands back on the boat, directing him up one of the many waterways that cut through Westcrown Island. Not long after that, he spots a barge around a bend in the waterway.
And hears a scream of pain. A male scream.
A happiness that is still very much there when they get back to their apartment and she starts to help strip him down... "For the measuring." Almost managing to say the last with a note of innocence - almost.
"The last... I don't know if it is worth saying, if it is just my prejudice or my mercenary," the word tinged with anger, "outlook."
"She said she didn't care about whatever moral line I'd drawn in what I do or don't do." A bitter smile, "That I don't hold against her, but I don't think she understands good acts or evil, that they have the same moral equivalency to her. So it just comes down to a vague feeling of what she wants." Jan shakes her head, "But I don't know if that is just my own anger at her being right about my own evil."
Then it is gone, and her pleasant, innocent look is back. "Oh! I didn't even notice that broke off." She turns to Cali, "You might want to look into the beauty product line we have Ms. Nymmis. Your hair seems to be a little more brittle than is healthy."
Amaya lets him pull her down onto his lap, even though there is only the fluffy towel between him and her (well, and her armor).
She looks down, shame marking her features. But she shakes her head, "No, I don't trust her."
She looks at Azhar, "I don't want her to know where your parents are. I wish she didn't know where mine are, but I can't change that."
She lets go of the heavy breath she'd been holding, "And it is wrong and probably petty, because she hasn't done anything to deserve my suspicion... but..."
Azhar's smile is renewed at her words, one hand rising to smooth out her hair. "Love, you have nothing to feel bad about. Having a healthy suspicion of someone who has taken up with a murderous, sadistic, evil b+~+* like a succubus warrants some caution. There is a difference between trust and naivete. I understand your not wanting her to know where my parents live," he kisses her on briefly on the forehead, "and though I think they can take care of themselves," he kisses her on the temple, "I also think you are right that we should not take that unnecessary risk." another kiss on the top of her ear, "So in the morning we shall go to see Arael and ask him to send a message for us." he nibbles her ear from top to bottom and back up again, "unless of course, you want to sneak into his place tonight?" he chuckles, his tongue playing around her earlobe, ending in a lingering kiss as he squeezes her tightly into him again. "Um, if we're going to send them a message, do you have a particular date in mind?"
"So did I," Cassian growls. "Looks like I'll be freeing your home of some unwanted vermin as well. Let me gather my people, and then I can wait for your nocturnal visitor and introduce him to a couple of my closest friends." Cassian pats the pommels of his swords, identifying those friends for Mauro.
"Golden Monkey?" She asks her voice curious even as her skin goosebumps where his fingers trace her markings. "Your little friend didn't seem particularly golde to me."
"Figurative gold," Cassian reassures her. "And now that he's the self-styled Monkey King, he's more focusing on the royal aspects of his behavior."
She forces herself to continue, "The things a maid wouldn't have, armor, weapons. And a few extra things to wear." She looks back up at him, "I have enough magic to get there without being seen." Just the hint of fierce pride in her voice. Then a sheepish smile, "But it would take everything I've gotten back."
"Would you like me to fetch them? If not, at least let me get you a new outfit. You can use my disguise kit if you like. Gods know I never use the damned thing."
She pushes some of the hair behind one of her oddly shaped ears, really looking at him, wonder touching her eyes. "I'm a distraction to your concentration?"
He nods emphatically, before a wicked grin splits his face and he leans in to kiss her flat belly. "You see? This is all I can think about right now. Well, there's more. I'm wondering if you shave, for one thing. I'm thinking about our first time together and how much you seemed to enjoy the little swat I gave you. I'm wondering how your mouth will feel..." Cassian trails off, and oddly for the normally sexually frank rogue, color touches his cheeks. "And I feel tremendously awkward telling you this, and I don't know why." Awkward, yes, but the sparkle in his eyes says he likes being honest with her.
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"And that swoon! Oh Nymmi, that's not like you," Alexia attends to her friend for a few moments, then turns back to the shopgirls.
"What did I miss?"
She blushes with a little embarrassment, "I know it's just superstition... but its taian. It's supposed to be lucky to start a life with someone..."
Mauro's shoulder relax just a bit. "You know I'd help you with the Blacknapes either way, but thank you."
Then the look in his eyes sharpens. "He looked leaner than when he was in society... And I can't even be positive it was him, he moved so quickly."
"Uncle Tullio has the little apartment in the back." A half-smile, "When his wife died he couldn't live in their home anymore." A shake of Mauro's head, "Plus I think he likes to watch all the women who are employed here." A shrug, "But all he does is watch when they are outside," A pause, "and flirt with the ones who take him meals."
Then more seriously, "Is there anything from me that would help?"
"Figurative gold," Cassian reassures her. "And now that he's the self-styled Monkey King, he's more focusing on the royal aspects of his behavior."
She smiles, light humor sparking beneath the gold. "Does that mean, if I go looking around this huge place, I'll find a tiny throne room with prostrating simians?"
"Would you like me to fetch them? If not, at least let me get you a new outfit. You can use my disguise kit if you like. Gods know I never use the damned thing."
After only a little consideration she nods, "If it wouldn't be too much of a problem." Just the slightest stubborn bend to her lips, "Since I said I wouldn't leave here until I'm better... And I'd like my sword. Even if having to use it means I've probably already lost..."
He nods emphatically, before a wicked grin splits his face and he leans in to kiss her flat belly. "You see? This is all I can think about right now. Well, there's more. I'm wondering if you shave, for one thing. I'm thinking about our first time together and how much you seemed to enjoy the little swat I gave you. I'm wondering how your mouth will feel..." Cassian trails off, and oddly for the normally sexually frank rogue, color touches his cheeks. "And I feel tremendously awkward telling you this, and I don't know why." Awkward, yes, but the sparkle in his eyes says he likes being honest with her.
The color staining her cheeks darkens a bit, chasing down her skin a bit more. The muscles of her abdomen tighten under the kiss. And when he looks up, he sees delight brightening her eyes.
"I don't shave... I don't seem to grow much hair... anywhere..." She leans up, gently placing a kiss at the base of his brow, right between his eyes. "And," amazement, happy, bright, "I don't have the little voice telling me to hide from you, to lie."
And just at the moment, ruining the moment, and making Crosael wince in embarrassment, her stomach rumbles.
"Oh, we were just going over these delightful designs, and I guess it was just all too much fashion for the lady." A subtle shrug, "The Madame's designs, they are breathtaking."
Tarvi slips into the room at that moment and the girl's gaze cuts over the the petite jeweler. "Both of you slipping out like that." She shakes her head, "I will have to have a talk with Rina, she clearly isn't making sure our guests are properly tended to." She says the last with an apologetic air.
"Some time for the bait to observe Uncle Tullio would help."
Cassian chuckles. "Let me get you something to eat. Then I'll fetch your stuff back from your old place."
He does just that, including the other purchases.
Zsz walks out through the destroyed entrance and begins retracing the route she and Azhar took to find the Black Pudding the first time around.
Amaya gives him a dirty look and a light elbow at the suggestion of creeping in on the dour cleric. She thinks for a moment, her forehead furrowing with concentration. A little shyly, "If you think, maybe, that we can make sure everything is ready by then... maybe Lamashan 2?"
She blushes with a little embarrassment, "I know it's just superstition... but its taian. It's supposed to be lucky to start a life with someone..."
"and close enough to your birthday to stretch out at least 3 days of celebration! I like this idea. Very well, Lamashan 2 it is!" and then his face goes from excited and happy to puppy dog sad. Yes, partially an act, but not entirely.
Alexia turns and catches the gaze of each shopgirl in turn, giving her most dazzlingly vapid smile.
("I think we're on the cusp. Hopefully if somebody catches a knife, it will be me. I should be able to take it. Even more hopefully, we get back to the lingerie distraction.")