Completed I. A Crack in the Armor (Part 1)

[Orion Michaels]

There was a soft confidence about the way this woman carried herself, something that had been missing in the past. There had been a..desperation about her aura in previous encounters, but perhaps that horrific night in the woods had brought about some change in her. Change could be good, but it could be temporary, too, something he knew all too well. Something big could happen, and all you did was cover it up with a smile, violence, or debauchery. For her sake, he hoped it was real, but in the end it had no bearing on him.

Orion didn't say anything further as she spoke, instead listening to her, studying her posture and composure as she spoke. That she could joke about the dangers she found was a good sign for her, unless she was doing it a manner like Orion did. Yet, her's felt like it had an honesty about it, where Orion would joke to run away or misdirect. Unchained, and unburdened by one's past; that was a concept he'd yet to grasp.

There he sat, blue eyes turned down at the coins she'd left behind. He'd not come here to address their history, he'd not come here for her to be able to tell him how she'd moved past it all, but that's what had happened. There was nothing to be done about it now. It momentarily left Orion unsure how to proceed, but he had a drink to keep him company while he decided. Perhaps she could be of use to him now. A bartender or a barmaid, they overheard, they interacted, they could know bits and pieces of information.

Orion bided his time, nursing the drink before him. The ticks turned to chimes, and chimes to a bell before he finally finished the drink, uncertainty grasping at his heart. The longer he thought about what he was doing, what he was to do, the easier it was becoming to convince himself it was okay.

They don't pay us. What am I expected to do? Emily can't live with me in the dorms. And it's nothing illegal. I'm just finding out if Weaver Tellas is the one breaking any laws. Surely the knights would approve of that...

"Another drink, ma'am," Orion said when Shiress was again in earshot. "And I insist you let me pay for this one." He pushed the same coppers towards her, a gentle smile on his lips. Blue eyes looked up at her, his left eye framed by the two red scars which were absent their last meetings. "How much longer until you're off? I've got a few questions, but I don't want to bother you with as busy as it seems. I'm in no rush at the moment."

He hoped she was on the morning shift, as he and Lyla frequently worked in years past. After the lunch rush was over, they would be done. Though it was entirely possible that they'd changed how things run. It had been over a year. He'd not cooked in the depths of the tavern since before the Djed Storms, after all.

[Shiress]

"Yes, Sir." She replied, pulling the empty mug from the bar and replacing it with another, freshly topped, one. "I have about half a bell left to my..." Her words trailed of as she was interrupted by Carmen clearing her throat as she stepped up behind her, snatching the towel from her hand as well as the empty mug from the other. "Her shift just ended." She said, handing Shiress her bag and nodding her head in the direction of the empty stool to the left of Orion. "Take a load off, Lady, I'll see to getting you an ale."

Shiress swung her bag playfully at the nosy waitress, missing by a mile, and, shaking her head annoyed, she made her way around the bar. Deliberate steps leading to the squire's side were somewhat reluctant, not because of who the squire was, but more so, the fact that he was a squire. The look about his face and the tone in his voice convinced the girl he was on a mission of some sort. Not to mention the steel hanging by his side was more than convincing.

She had wondered in the passing season if the authority of the city had been waiting for her to completely heal before slamming her against the back wall of the tank. The Spring and Summer had been quite full of mischief for the barmaid. A stabbing, of her doing, occurring in early Spring at The Spinning Coin and a rather harsh beating of the same company, also her fault, in early Summer at the Great Bazaar. Furthermore, seeing as the mother of his child was in company for one of those unfortunate events, It made sense for Orion Michaels to volunteer for the questioning. To Shiress it just all fit. She was ready to defend herself tooth and nail if she had too, the bastard had it coming.


Clearing her throat nervously, she planted herself unceremoniously beside the squire, her eyes lingering sideways at the man before lifting to find the waitress. "Hey, Carmen." She called, situating herself comfortably on the hard stool. "Better make that a water. Green eyes slid to Orion again. "Better to be safe than sorry. She added with a grin.

Shiress' attempt to defuse the tension, even if it was her own she was attempting to defuse, failed miserably, leaving her feeling more awkward as the tick's passed. No one other than this man right here could gather such nervousness in one barmaid. Despite the fact she'd killed a man and now was sitting by a very curious, overly observant squire, Dr. Orion Michaels had the ability to shred every nerve in the girls body since the first day she'd been flopped on his surgical table near dead.

Gathering up her hair, she slid it around her shoulders to fall and sway down the length of her back and leaned forward, placing her forearms across the bar top. "You're looking well also, Dr. Michaels, getting a little thick in the muscles I see." She noted with raised eyebrows as she brought the glass of water to her lips. "I do wonder though. She added after taking a sip, motioning her hand toward the man's face. "What woman did you manage to piss off enough to near blind you in that eye. She laughed and cleared her throat, relenting finally to the forthcoming questioning. "So, what are these question's you got for me?

[Orion Michaels]

Well if that wasn't painfully transparent. His celebrity wasn't unspoken of around here, it seemed. It wasn't the first time he'd watched one friend do a favor for another in that manner, but it still caught him off guard. It was like a couple of teenage girls working together to get a girl and a boy together. He wasn't sure if it was cute or godforsaken annoying. He wasn't really in the mood for playing games, but if it's what things came down to, there were few better at playing that Orion Michaels. He'd get his information one way another.

"Thanks for your kindness," he said, flashing a grin to Carmen as she gathered up the empty mug. "The Stallion has certainly set about hiring the most lovely of ladies, I see." He gently nipped at his lower lip with his top teeth, the pink flesh shifting to a red as he added the momentary pressure. "I can't say I disagree with this policy."

"Flatterer," she replied bluntly, turning to go about her business.

Orion chuckled softly to himself as she ignored his sweet, dangerous words. Carmen had long since grown used to Orion's advances. Seasons ago, when the former doctor spent evening after evening with one hand on an ale and another up a lady's dress, the barmaid too had dealt with his crude, yet effectively charming ways. He brought out a side in people, a wild, crazy, and impulsive side, and it never seemed to end. Even people who knew who he was still succumbed to his charisma. Whether she’d played that game or not, a lady never kisses and tells, but she’d certainly not give him the time of day tonight.

Orion was used to seeing the nervous ways of people, so have Shiress approach him so cautiously was far from unexpected. Whether it was a patient who didn’t want to admit the stupid thing they’d done to have to come and see him, or some fair maiden who couldn’t believe what she was about to do, Orion had seen it all in his time. ”Don’t listen to her, Carmen. She’s way too uptight. Make it an ale, my treat.” Orion let his gaze rest on Shiress, a challenging smile crossing his face.

”So forward? My goodness, I didn’t expect you to make a move so quickly. I’m shocked.” He tilted his head to the side slightly, eyes twinkling mischievously. She was right. He was filling out a lot more than the last time they’d come across one another. A steady diet of cafeteria mush, endless drilling, and an Akalak who wouldn’t let Orion stop lifting weights had begun his transformation from scrawny doctor in to a warrior, something he never expected to be able to say. ”I thought I was the one trying to get information from you…” He trailed off for a moment before answering her inquiry.

”I wish it were a woman who did this to me. Might have meant we were having a little too much fun,” he stated, rolling his eyes as he spoke. ”I know, I’m simply the worst.” He took his drink from Carmen as she brought them over, her arrival offering a natural break in the conversation as he decided how to go about inquiring. It seemed that she was open to talking, though she was extremely uncomfortable around him.

Orion’s lips touched the frothy drink. He hated how warm it was here most of the time. It’s one of the reasons he’d switched to wine as his drink of choice, though that was proving to be too expensive a habit to maintain. ”Down to business, I suppose,” said Orion, placing the wooden mug on the counter top. ”It’s nothing too crazy, I promise. I’m trying to find a one Weaver Tellas, and I’ve been led to believe it’s possible that he frequents this tavern.” Orion turned his head to look out all over the crowd of people, sociable or otherwise. ”He’s a fairly successful businessman, and I’ve got a few questions for him. Thing is, he’s evading us, so I’m seeing what I can dig up.”

Keep it simple, that was the key to things. It wasn’t entirely the truth, it wasn’t entirely a lie. He could pass it off as knight related work without every claiming it to be so. ”So, have you heard anything on him? We can find some way to make it worth both our whiles if you have, no worries there.” Vaguness of reward, plainness of information. Just keep it focused on the main idea, which was Weaver Tellas. Perhaps she’d manage a description if nothing else. That would at least get him on the right track. All he had to do was get on the right path and Orion was confident he’d find a way to get the job done.

Sure, this confidence was without foundation. He’d never done anything like this before. He’d actually better pray that she knew exactly where Mr. Tellas was and point him out right in the Rearing Stallion. Then he could move along with things and actually get out from underneath Peyton Morothon’s finger, take his coin, and forget any of this ever happened.

[Shiress]

"I wouldn't say worst." She mumbled, eyebrows twitching as she lifted the mug to her lips, bubbling the surface of the ale with a chuckle.

Swiping the sleeve of her blouse across her chin she gave a long and hesitant blink, taking a good swig of the mugs contents before returning it to the bar as the squire began speaking again.

OK, Shiress, you had to do it. He didn't give you much choice....blame the Nuit..

God's, what a relief she felt as Orion continued to speak. She could have hugged and kissed the blue eyed man right then just for his questioning not having anything to do with her. But instead, the girl nearly drowned herself in the ale to hide the relieved smiled spreading across her lips when he looked away.

"Weaver Tellas? Yeah, I know him, well, know of him. Tall man, maybe a bit taller than you, has dark hair and always carries a cane but doesn't have a limp. He does come here quite a lot, but it has been a while since I've seen him. She paused in thought, sipping her drink. "As a matter of fact, the last time he was here, he was carried out after a fight with another man, a stranger that I had never seen before, roughed him up pretty bad. Actually. She added, shooting a glance across the room. "I know the man who helped him home that night, you may be able to get some helpful information from him, but you'll need to get him boozed up to talk, I'm sure."

Sitting back, the barmaid rested her hands in her lap, green eyes locked in a curious glare. "But tell me, Doctor, what's this worth whiles you speak of?"

[Orion Michaels]

Orion ignored her comment; it didn’t really matter what she thought about him in the end. His self-depreciating jokes were for his own benefit.  He just needed to keep things moving along, and it seemed that it wouldn’t take much to get the information he needed. He watched the woman speak as she gave a description of Weaver Tellas. It was actually a pretty thorough explanation of the man, more than he’d expected to get. There were only so many people in Syliras who made use of a cane, and not terribly many who were taller than Orion. So he had a name and a description to work with. That was better than where he’d been.

Of more interest was the tidbit she added at the end.

So he’s got someone roughing him up, hmm? Orion was observant as far as picking up the initial reactions of people, but when it came to analyzing information, it was another thing all together. The possibilities of just what that fight could have been were endless, and it was difficult to come up with an outcome without more information. Orion wondered if it was a result of a simple misunderstanding between two patrons. Maybe there was a little bit too much drinking; Orion knew all about how easy it was to have a drink turn into ten. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t done it before. Still, the nagging feeling that he had was the concern that the fight was related to Weaver’s work. It would be a baseless claim to make though, so he’d have to come up with more information than that.

Orion smiled coyly when Shiress asked him about his offer. She’d gone about it all wrong if she’d wished to bark up that tree. ”Your negotiation skills are lacking, my dear. You shouldn’t offer up the information so freely if you wish to explore alternate means of exchange.” With a quick wink Orion stood, picked up his drink and downed it, and then set out to be on his way. After he placed the coins for the drinks on the counter top, of course. As he passed the brunette haired woman, he let his hand brush against her arm, giving her a sideways glance as he did so. ”Thanks for your help.” This was a good start. He’d need to go around to the other places which Peyton had mentioned before he could hope to get anywhere with things. If he didn’t have to deal with the man directly and could still get the information which was needed, that would be all the better.  He was almost entertained by this little game he was playing.

If it weren’t for the sickening feeling of taking a job from Peyton Morothon.

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Orion Michaels:

XP Award:

• +4 Socialization
• +1 negotiation
• +2 Flirting
• +1 interrogation
• +4 Investigation

Lore:

• Peyton Morothon: A simple job for 30 miza’s
• Death before Emily is left penniless
• Shiress: Penchant for trouble

Notes: am loving how you can manage to play a character that is not extremely Moral, Or extremely Amoral. It is hard to do sometimes, to run that road of the middle where one does bad things but isn’t necessarily evil. I think because as humans we only want to think Evil people do bad things. Um not that Orion was doing anything bad in this thread..just an overall opinion I have gathered over grading in Syliras today




Shiress:

XP Award:

• +3 Socialization
• +1 rhetoric
• +2 observation
• +1 negotiation

Lore:

• Orion Michaels: No longer seems as Important
• Example 2

Notes:I.

Comments :

Pm me if you have any concerns about your grade. Please remember to edit or delete your grade request.

TAYLANI