Opportunity Knocks (Aeron)

[Iskessah]

25th Spring, 512 Location: Tarsin's Boarding House Iskessah made her way briskly to Tarsin's boarding house, a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hands. The sooner she delivered the message, the sooner she could go back to sleep. She had delivered messages here often enough that Tarsin recognized her, and readily informed her of Mister Aeron Darkhair's whereabouts. She stood before his door, and calculated. She considered just sliding the note under his door, assuming he'd get it eventually. That would get this done quicker, and even if the Darkhair fellow never got it through some twist of fate, her client would have no way of knowing that she was at fault. She chuckled to herself and shook her head. Maybe she'd save that potential disaster to her reputation for another time. The walk over here had woken her up a little, and now that she was here she might as well do a good job. Before the lure of a warm fire overshadowed her brief desire to perform with excellence, she raised a hand and knocked sharply on the door.

[Aeron Darkhair]

"By all the gods combined," Aeron muttered. His head was pounding, and his mouth tasted like cheap wine. He couldn't remember much of the night before. Had he gone out drinking, or had he just drowned his inadequacies by himself? It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he got to the door and made the damn knocking stop. He rolled out of the bed and glanced down.

"Well that won't do will it," he said, digging in a pile of clothes to find his breeches. He pulled them on and fumbled with the laces for a few seconds before leaving them undone. He searched fruitlessly for one of his shirts before swearing under his breath and making his way to the door. Hopefully his guest wouldn't be too terribly offended.

He opened the door quickly and leaned against the frame, giving the woman at the door a quick up and down.

"Hello lovely."

[Iskessah]

Iskessah noticed the direction of Mr. Darkhair's eyes, and suddenly she felt like she had found a new toy. Quickly calculating, she decided that she was in no particular hurry to get back, and as long as the message got delivered, she saw no reason why she shouldn't have some fun along the way. She smirked lightly, giving Aeron a look that was supposed to seem mysterious and inviting all at once. She leaned against the door frame, twirling the piece of paper in her fingers. When she spoke it was in a low voice, almost a whisper, which helped to hide the slight hiss to her words. "I have ssomething for you...but now I think it would be boring to jusst give it to you." She looked at him through her eyelashes (which she could only accomplish by lowering her head, given that they were the same height), and added, "Maybe I will make you take it from me, if you can." She followed this with a secretive smile, wondering whether the man would take her bait, and play her little game.

[Aeron Darkhair]

A mysterious one eh? At least that's what the look she gave him said. He liked it. Under the mystery there looked to be an invitation, and if it were his lucky day -which it may very well have been- it was an invitation that he would hate to ignore. Anything to take his mind off his headache.

He watched as she leaned up against the door-frame and he took another appreciative glance at her body. His eyes moved to the paper in her hands -the one she was twirling in her fingers- and wondered just what it could be. He doubted it was from anyone at the estate. His mother would have simply come to visit and no one else had a reason to stay in touch.

"That would be a little simple wouldn't it? I'm sure we could reach an arrangement," Aeron said. She was looking at him from through her eyelashes and he found himself inexplicably drawn towards her. "I may be able to wrangle it from you. I have my ways," he said, winking and stepping back from the doorway. "Why don't you come inside and we can discuss this a little further?

[Iskessah]

Iskessah had to stifle a laugh at the man's attempts to be subtle. It took her a few full ticks to come up with a course of action that would advantage her more than dropping the note at his feet and walking away, but she finally realized that her purposes would be better served if she let him believe she was following his lead. So, she slipped into the room, closing the door behind her with her foot. The fewer prying eyes they had, the more unconfirmed rumors she would have to work with later. ...Of course, she hadn't thought much beyond that. Most of her experience in conversation was learning which words NOT to say, to minimize the risk of someone recognizing her sibilant voice. She tried to recover from and disguise her momentary uncertainty by leaning back against the closed door, looking around the room with an apparently disinterested expression (though paying attention to every detail). She continued twirling the paper in her hands, intending to keep him focused on it, and also to make sure she wouldn't forget her own reason for being here. She had lost her momentum, but she had not necessarily lost control of this encounter. Now she would let her target make the next move, and she would be ready to exploit any weaknesses he revealed. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she said idly, "Well, here I am. What did you want to disscussss?" She mocked the tone he had just used on her, though some of the effect was lost in the hiss. She tried not to wince, as that only made it more obvious that she had done something out-of-place. She would just have to hope that the man failed to either notice or care about her inability to disguise her voice as a normal human's.

[Aeron Darkhair]

He watched as she looked around his room, feigning disinterest. He wondered briefly who she was working for. Everyone in Ravok worked for someone else. That was the natural order of things in the city. Was she a spy, or was she simply looking around for some information that she could sell? It didn't matter either way. Half the people he passed on the street were selling information to someone or the other.

"You. I'd like to discuss just what a person like you is doing with so much freedom in a place like this," he said, dropping down on his bed and smiling. It was her mockery that'd given her away. All those extra s-sounds at the end of her words had made him think. He'd only met one or two Dhani before in his travels with the merchant and they all spoke in the same lisping manner.

"Would you like a blanket to sit under? I imagine you get grumpy when you're cold," Aeron joked. He knew very little of the Dhani, but he knew enough of snakes to know that they liked to stay warm. "Why don't you have a seat and we'll palaver? I've got nothing to do today but read whatever you've got in your hand."

[Iskessah]

Iskessah's expression darkened at the man's words. He knew she was Dhani? If that information leaked, she could be in trouble. She did not know how far citizenship of Ravok would protect her if word got out she wasn't human. She could not risk staying any longer to confirm what might only be suspicions. What had started as a game had quickly turned into something that could threaten her freedom, and her life. It was time to finish this meeting. With a clearly displeased expression, she wordlessly threw the paper to the floor. She then opened the door and left, walking quickly away from the man who somehow inexplicably knew what she was. When she had left the tavern, she broke into a run, needing to be as far away from that man as possible. She would have to avoid him in the future, lest he carry his accusations too far and jeopardize everything she had. If he bothered to pick up the paper she had dropped, this is what he would see: Aeron Darkhair, You do not know me, but my contacts speak of you to me. My name is not important right now, all you need to know is that Rhysol's Agent has taken an interest in you. I believe you can be of use to our god, and with his Agent as a benefactor, you stand to gain much. If you so desire, meet with me at the Studio of Yae Varone tomorrow on the twenty sixth of this spring, when the sun reaches mid-day. You will know me by the seal that adorns my robes, as well as this letter.

[Verilian]

Iskessah Kosun +1 Seduction +1 Observation Lores: Playing Games with Human Men, Aeron knows of Dhani Aeron Darkhair +1 Seduction Lores: Iskessah might be a Dhani You Question My Logic? : Couldn't give a lot here.. but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me. Notes: Okay, so everybody always seems to be able to spot Dhani instantly. Yes, the put extra S's on things, but that wouldn't instantly flag them as a snake person. Remember that races other than human are very rare in Ravok, and it would be irrational to instantly assume someone was of another race without further investigation. It's a shame this thread didn't go anywhere, but oh well. Keep writing! Notice As per the request of the Founders, threads cannot be graded unless your CS is up to date. This means you need to add threads to your thread list when you make new threads, keep your skills up to date, ledger, living expenses, ect. If you aren't up to date, you'll get a PM from me before i grade your thread. If you are up to date, disregard this notice.