Closed I Don't Believe In Coincidences [Pulren Marsh]

[Sherashadiss]

Shadiss had brought her form forwards when he only seemed puzzled by her words and she briefly wondered as to why he was so interested. Her plans were not his own, for she would be staying within Sunberth until she perished. It had been her original goal and she didn’t plan on changing it for no one, for she had moved to Sunberth for a reason. That reason being that she could practise her poisons in relatively good silence without people sticking their noses into her business and calling her a serxesnas. Which in Dhani, meant fang in the dark, someone who turns on their nest. The stigma of how she had bathed in the blood of her brothers and sisters followed her constantly, which was why she had moved to Sunberth. To be left alone, however now her own kind was being hunted for clothing, clothing. The thought made her blood boil and she had missed the signs that would indicate that Palaren himself had leaned forwards in his own chair, before taking her hand into his own. Her crimson eyes blinked for a moment at the suddenness of the man’s sudden want to hold her pale hand. Had he been sudden, or was it because she had been too distracted to have even noticed the subtle signs? Or had the subtle signs been subtle at all?

The man asked for her trust, wanted her to spill her secret to him and with that she stared at him, just simply stared at him with a stunned kind of silence. Get a grip of yourself, Shadiss hissed at herself and she realized that she had begun to sway upon the balanced edge that she constantly walked on a daily basis. She yanked her hand out of his own, her lips turning downwards, never could she bow to the emotions of the mind, never would she for it meant weakness. Weakness that Shadiss had been working to exterminate from her life altogether, bit by bit. She drew in a long slow breath, feeling the oxygen expand her lungs, before she exhaled, her crimson gaze returning back to the man before her as she stood up from her seated position. ”I cannot tell you my sssecret, Palaren and that isss all there isss to it.” The woman turned and began to walk towards the door of the tavern, her hands pulling out the black gloves that she had stuffed into her coat pocket. She slowly worked these on, wiggling her fingers a little to allow the material to slide over her bare skin. As she did this, she scolded herself, the woman should have seen the signs…

She paused for a moment in her walk, before her now gloved hands lifted to grasp at the hood of her cloak, to silently pull it up and over her grey locks of hair, essentially shadowing her pale facial features from view. One would have to get close to even note her crimson gaze for they had since taken on a darker shade because of the hood of her coat. Why had Palaren persisted? She shook her head as she pushed out the door of the tavern and on to the dark streets of Sunberth. The city had been her salvation and although she had enjoyed her time with the man, she could not emotionally invest, because she couldn’t trust a soul. Never had she trusted anyone before and she wouldn’t do so now. Especially now, it was too dangerous to trust someone, especially one she barely knew. She glanced down one of the streets before she turned in the opposite direction that she had casted her gaze, her booted feet softly thumping down upon the street underneath her. The dark cool night, wrapped around her for and she pulled the warmth of her coat closer as she walked.

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[Pulren Marsh]

It was rather surprising to Pulren just how bad things could go in such a short amount of time. This fact should not have been so surprising at all, considering the many Wizard run ins that the man faced off against in Zeltiva. Mercurial and deadly, each and every one of them. However, for such a hazardous air to surround what he thought to be two burgeoning friends in a pleasant atmosphere? That unnerved him.

Her hand being ripped from his light grip, her face turning down and scowling at him, the matter of fact way that she refused to tell her secret. All of these things confused and startled him. Her standing up and leaving just like that? Another matter entirely. He watched her with incredulity as she put her gloves on and walked out, his hands already reaching for trident and shield. No way was he going to let her just walk out on him like that. No way!

She was already sliding the hood over her head and pushing her way out of the tavern door as he was making his way through. He wouldn't call out after her as he was just utterly stunned by her manner. Once outside, he looked both directions, sighting her as she continued to casually move down the street. Shaking his own head in disbelief, he took off after her with a jog, the alcohol fueling his footsteps. He ran past her and dropped the trident, tines up, into the street, blocking her path.

"Hold up!" He looked at the hooded figure and his face held both anger and confusion."Don't tell me your secret, Viper. That's fine. It's not like I believe you were born with the name Viper either, but are you seriously going to just walk out on me and treat me like a stranger over it?" His emotions were boiling and venting, much like a hopper full of brewing kelp. "Do I mean that little to you? Just explain it to me. I deserve that much. You mean to tell me that I mean nothing to you?"

[Sherashadiss]

Shadiss didn’t expect anyone to follow her, no she didn’t expect Palaren to follow her at all. So for him to have expended energy to chase her down the street after she had left the tavern and then block off her path while shoving the tines of his trident into the ground, left her a little surprised. Her footsteps came to a stop and she lifted her gloved hands to simply slide into the pockets of her pants while she angled her head slightly to the right, her shadowed gaze peering up at the man in silence. What she couldn’t work out, was why exactly was he worked up? It wasn’t as if they had some exclusive thing going and she thought that he realized that when he didn’t stick around afterwards at the Springs. Her gaze slowly slide over his form to try and determine as to whether he would now be considered a threat to her, as to whether he was enraged enough to consider harming her. She noted the anger, but what made her pause was the confusion that also seemed to be present upon his face. What is there to be confused about Palaren? She silently questioned him as she took one simple step back away from the man.

The moment that the man mentioned that he didn’t think that she had been born with the name Viper, made a smirk fall upon her lips. Indeed, she hadn’t been born with the name, but the title was exactly what she was, she was a viper Dhani, born and bred. However, instead of interfering with the man, she remained silent and he continued to rant, claiming that she was treating him as a stranger when that was exactly what they were. They basically knew nothing about each other, she was a poison-crafter, a dangerous craft to be practising in any city but especially dangerous within a city such as Sunberth. On top of that, she was also a Dhani, a Dhani that would be a hunted one if anyone found out. This man before her? Obviously was some kind of fighter and enjoyed activities of the flesh, but other than that, she didn’t know anything about him. Silently, she rocked back onto her heels as she glanced around them, taking note of the people that were beginning to take notice of the man that was obviously drawing attention to them. She would then press her lips together as she tried to work out a solution, for she honestly didn’t want to be talking in such a public place where there were prying eyes and ears.

She lifted a hand to then rub over her face, as she tried to work out as to what she could do to get the eyes of Sunberth off of them. She would have to persuade the man before her to go somewhere quiet, somewhere dark so then people would notice them less. They could go back to her room, but she didn’t exactly want him to know about her profession if she could avoid it at all. Finally she decided that if he wanted a show down of words upon the street, if he wanted to confront her in the open street about emotions then she would simply address them, but she addressed them in a simple spoken voice, her gaze moving to watch the trident. ”I don’t do emotionsss Palaren, I never have. It makesss thingsss complicated and I avoid them asss much asss possssssible.” Her gaze that had been viewing the trident then slowly rose to look into the man’s green eyes. ”I don’t know you Palaren, I know your name but that isss basssically it. Can you really fault me for that? For not telling you sssomething that would endanger my very life?”

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[Pulren Marsh]

She was very silent as he spoke. She did stop, however, so that was worth something. She looked very annoyed or cautious, however, her eyes darting from the people in the streets to Pulren's own trident. The looks at his weapon angered him somewhat because for her to even barely believe that he would hurt her was so ridiculous that he couldn't comprehend it at all.
Soon her words came and with them some understanding for Pulren.

He had been very selfish and one sided in his approach to the situation. No one had ever gotten inside of him at all and now here she was, pushing him away because she didn't do emotions. It was sort of funny, if anything, though he didn't dare laugh. Her eyes thankfully left his weapon and rose to meet his, the crimson pools inviting him to dive directly into her mind, if he could ever have the opportunity to do so. He couldn't fault her at all in her words and in her concerns. He also had information about himself that could prove damning if not fatal, so maybe he could exchange one for another? First, he had to calm her.

Nodding, he spoke in a lower voice, his body language calmer, his shoulders down and weapons at ease. "Listen, I understand what you are saying. More than you know.If you will come with me to my home at the Quay, we can talk about things. We can do so in private, behind lock and key. If, after that, you still feel the same, I will never trouble you again. Will that work?" He was putting himself out there and it didn't make any sense at all. His mind thought it was perhaps the dumbest thing he had ever offered. Good thing that emotions didn't reside there.

[Sherashadiss]

Shadiss watched the change that took over him, taking note of each motion of his body so then she could decide as to whether she was in trouble or not. However the changes that happened were not of aggression, but of someone seeming to slowly calm down from the angry burst that the man had. His shoulders sloped down a little and his weapon seemed to be more at ease. Is that all it takes to put someone at ease? Tell them that she didn’t know them and they would just simply become at ease? She silently questioned as she angled her head slightly to the right and her crimson gaze flickered over his form once more. However, her gaze was drawn back up the moment that Palaren began speaking once more and she simply blinked for a moment, her crimson gaze watching those green hues in silence. She wondered as to why he was so persistent on knowing. Why was he so… She pressed her lips together for a moment as she pondered upon that thought before deciding that it was unimportant for the present time. What did matter was the simple fact that he wanted her to go back to the Quay, where ever that was.

She couldn’t be too sure as to whether that meant gang territory or a private residence where he could kill her. She just had to take a risk to see as to whether forming ties with this man would benefit her in the long run. The woman doubted that she would be able to ever trust someone, however, if she formed ties with this man, perhaps in would be better off in the long run. However, she would have to walk a tight line and be careful to not let emotions get involved. They were sloppy and brought too many complications to the table. Besides she didn’t need trust to tell someone her secret did she? Or did she need to at least trust them a little bit to tell them? Perhaps, maybe it could be filed under as a ’A topic that she believed this person won’t tell to anyone.’ After a chime or two of deliberation, she finally gave a slow nod of her head, sliding a booted foot back while she held a hand out as a slow smirk fell upon her lips. ”Then lead the way.” However, her crimson eyes still held a weariness within as she glanced to the side, watching the passers as they went about their daily business.

Once Palaren began to walk, she too began to follow the male, lifting her hands to slide into the pockets of her pants. She hunched her shoulders forwards as she drew her gaze downwards, making sure to watch the feet of Palaren so then she wouldn’t run into him. It was then however that a thought occurred to her. If the man before her ever did betray her, not that it meant that she trusted him, she could just simply poison the man and be done with him. Or… She could bite him within his sleep, especially considering that he was leading her to his home, so it wouldn’t be a difficult task to achieve. ”I can’t sssay that I’m very familiar with thisss… Quay of yoursss.” She had felt the need to raise the issue for she didn’t exactly feel like walking blind into some place where traps might be had. Although, she believed that Palaren wouldn’t do such a thing… Mostly she assumed that he wouldn’t lead her into a trap, because of how he had looked before, angry and confused. What criminal would dare to look confused in front of someone of whom they intended to trap?

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[Pulren Marsh]

It was all settled then. Pulren was glad for it, though there remained some lingering questions in his mind about Viper's behavior and how heavy her secret had to be to bring about all the dramatics. She had agreed, though, however begrudgingly. Could he be certain she didn't mean him harm? Could he be certain anyone didn't mean him harm? The only person he could definitely think of that would fit that description would be S'Essy. She definitely seemed to innocent and wholesome to ever think about hurting a fly, much less Pulren. It also made the man a little jealous of Markus, to have someone so forthright.

Of course, Viper was making it pretty clear that she had no interest in the kind of relationship that Pulren seemed to be after. Was he after that? The main definition of this woman versus any other the Zeltivan had bedded was that he hadn't paid her. Really, that was it. She was an excellent lay, but many whores were. Why then was he making this particular joining so momentous and important? As she began to follow him, Pulren started off toward the Quay, trident and shield in hand. He didn't make much small talk as they both seemed to be deep in thought. Perhaps she was sizing him up as a possible threat also. It was only natural, especially with her being a woman and smaller. Before long, however, she did chime in with one comment about the Quay.

Thinking about how to answer, Pulren nodded, saying,"The Quay is the compound where I live, along with some fellow travelers from Zeltiva. We pooled our money and purchased the property. I believe it was once a slaver compound. We put it to much more civilized uses, of course." He snickered a little under his breath. Lying was becoming so easy that the truth was the obscene gesture nowadays. As they approached the gatehouse, the porticuliis was open and torches lit, giving it quite the ominous presence. Pulren walked through the iron gate and stopped, waiting for his companion.

"Last chance to make a run for it." He smiled and chuckled, flourishing toward the large house.

[Sherashadiss]

Small talk seemed to most definitely not be either of their forte, in fact, silence seemed to hang between them like a heavy cloak and Shadiss definitely felt like a fish out of water. This was new territory for her, trusting someone and she wasn’t exactly sure where to begin. However, just before she had told herself that she wasn’t trusting him, that she was only forming ties that would benefit her in the long run. However, she did have to question as to what benefit that would be, for she could see this going numerous ways and any way that it went, she didn’t like. For it were paths that meant breaking her own rules and if she broke them, what would she be? For so long she had lived by three Ps. Pain, pleasure and poisons. Then she met Palaren and he seemed to be the catalyst that sent her small little perfect world out of shape. He made her think about things that she had never even pondered before and he gripped so hard onto whatever it was that they had, which was very little. Why did he grip? She wondered for a bit as she followed the man towards wherever the Quay was.

He had said that it had been a slaver compound, but she was hesitant at first and then he seemed to snicker. Was he joking? She absolutely hope so for she didn’t exactly feel like being led into a trap and she drew in a deep breath exhaling as her right hand lifted to tug at the edges of the hood of her black coat. Viper did this, for she wanted to make sure that her identity wasn’t viewed by those on the street. As they approached the gatehouse, she paused and her crimson gaze watched the man walk through the gates and she stopped when he spoke. Did she really want to step through those gates? She hesitated for a moment before she stepped in through the gates, pausing before the man. Viper turned to face him, her right hand lifted to gently slide a hand along the man’s chest that was covered by his studded leather armour. She felt the bumps of the studs as her hand moved downwards and slowly she peered up at him as a slow smirk slid across her lips. ”Palaren, should anything happen to me in thisss houssse and I manage to sssurvive…” She paused for a moment as she leaned up towards him so then her lips caressed his ear lobe as she whispered. ”I’ll make sssure to come back and kill you myssself.”

Slowly, she gently placed a gentle kiss upon his jawline, before she took a step back from the male, her hands lifting to slide back into the pockets of her coat. Yes, she still wanted him, for she still wanted to experience the sexual experience all over again with this man. Yes, she was attracted to him, but she didn’t want it. She wanted to squash the attraction in its path, however she didn’t even know where to begin with that. Perhaps there was a poison for it, to make someone unfeeling. She drew in a long slow breath as she took a few steps forwards but then stopped for even if she did enter the house, she wouldn’t exactly know as it which room was his. She glanced back over at her shoulder towards him and she pulled a hand out of her pocket to wave it towards the building before them. ”You will have to show me the way, otherwissse, I may just acccccidentally ssstumble into one of your sssecret roomsss that containsss all of your prisssonersss that you experiment on.” Another smirk crossed her lips as her crimson gaze watched the man while she angled her head towards the building that she would soon enter. Even if they did store prisoners and she managed to stumble upon them, she would be sorely tempted to eat one.

[Pulren Marsh]

He was glad to see her trust was minimal but present, her red eyes the only thing visible for a brief moment as she passed through the gated threshold. As she stopped before him, he felt he touch, though it was only the pressure of her hand and not the soft skin. He listened to her veiled threat and smiled down on her, a slight shiver sliding over his neck with the heat of her breath. "Not much into jokes, I see. Well, can't say I don't know something about you now."

It was time to continue and when he did hear her comment his head cocked slightly, though he shook it off much like a slight cold chill. What a strange notion, that he might have prisoners stored inside. "What kind of places do you visit, Viper?" He chuckled and produced a key from inside his armor, unlocking the front door and entering holding it open for her. "Welcome to the Quay."

[Sherashadiss]

Shadiss hesitated once more at the door as her inner thoughts warned her of potential events that could befall upon her within. She knew that houses with two floors obviously had an owner that had money and lots of it. This structure would have needed time to have been built, how much, she didn’t know. However, she suspected that Palaren had probably not been here long enough to have such a building built already. Well, not that she knew of anyway. Finally, she stepped into the house, if it could be called as such and kept her staring to a minimum as she quickly glanced around her before turning to view Palaren once more. ”Why thank you for allowing me into thisss home that you ssseemed to have made for yourssself.” Indeed the Viper was fishing for information, attempting to gain information without having to ask the question itself. Slowly, she lifted her hands to grasp at the edges of the hood that cloaked her facial features and drew it back. Her grey hair streaked with black could be seen once more.

Keeping her movements slow, she angled her head to the side as she pressed her lips tightly together. She wanted nothing more than to push up against the male, to run her hands over his chest, but she kept this to herself. ”Tell me Palaren, where isss thisss bedroom of yoursss?” The thought of his bedroom made her tongue dart out to lick her lips before she turned her gaze back to the main entrance room. It was odd, she had never expected that he would have lived in such a place, but she guessed that appearances were deceiving. Shadiss knew that better than most people for she mostly lived in plain sight and no one had pegged her for a Dhani… Yet. Beneath all of the layers that she had spent creating, was someone who feared the worst from those that she had gotten close to. Palaren was the only one that she had gotten some what close to which was why she was being so cautious now. While she loved to discover how certain ingredients within poisons had certain outcomes, she didn’t like to do the same with people. The Dwoman didn’t even pretend to know everything that made a person’s mind tick, in fact, she had preferred to distance herself. Until now.

That was only because Palaren had been so damn persistent, a persistence that had begun to make her think about their initial meeting. Had something happened that she hadn’t noticed? Had there been some little signal that she had missed? Whatever it was, she was now having to face it, face the slight attraction that she had felt at the Springs but had dismissed it at the time. Shadiss lightly bit down upon her bottom lip as she simply followed Palaren to his room. The moment that that door closed behind the both of them and she had taken a moment to view his room, she crossed the room to the window, standing before it and turning to face Palaren. Could she really tell him? No… That’s not the real issue, she silently told herself. The issue was the simple fact that she was crossing into territory that she did not know of and the fact that she was just about to tell a complete stranger about what she was. She drew in a deep breath feeling the air rush in before she quickly exhaled, her crimson gaze gauging the space between them. Could she stay out of his grasp long enough afterwards to escape? ”I’m Dhani, I’m apart of a sssnake raccce that isss currently being hunted down within Sssunberth.” There, it was said, now the ball was in his court.

OOCSorry, I figured that it would be better for both of our posts if I pushed it along for a bit. Just let me know if this is not ok.

[Pulren Marsh]

As the pair traveled through the front rooms and arrived at the partition door, he pulled another key and unlocked it, revealing a small staircase. Once the door was closed and locked again, he proceeded up the stairs. "As I said, it is myself and some partners from Zeltiva. I only have a room, but it is fitting for what I am used to." Some clucking came from his throat as they climbed the stairs and her question of bedrooms came about. By then they had arrived at the door to the room in question and entered, closing it behind them.

He watched as she surveyed the room and looked out of the window. It was a pleasant view of the Bay, even at night. He opened the wardrobe and began to remove his armor, the shield already being placed inside its confines. The trident went to a corner of the room nearest the head of the bed, should it be needed in the night. "Sorry about the lack of lights, I don't care for oil lamps or candles around so much wood. Keeps my night vision fresh as well." He shrugged and got the armor off, putting it inside the wardrobe as well. As he turned on his heel and watched her gaze from the window, he was suddenly surprised when she turned on her heel and made an announcement. A revelation.

"A Dhani? The snake people who came from the sea earlier in the season?" Looking at her, he found himself chuckling and shaking his head at himself. Red eyes, flexibility, the lisp. "By the Gods, I thought you had a speech impediment. You are really a snake woman, huh? That's something else." He stepped closer to her, observing her red eyes which made much more sense now. "I had never met anyone of your kind before, hence my stupidity. My apologies for any assumptions I have made. I never took that bounty. Killing things because I don't understand them is not the Zeltivan way." He embraced her, his arms holding her tight for the moment before stepping back and having a seat on the bed. He motioned for her to take the chair at the desk. Yes, the bed was there, but he had more interest in learning about her. Things just kept changing and changing with this one.