Seducing a Theif

[Caddy Twist]

24th of Fall, 512 AV Caddy stepped into The Silver Sliver. Her breathe was immediately consumed with the residue of tobacco pipes. The first thing Caddy did, was assess what there was. It was a small tavern, and at this late at night, it was busy. The tables in the main floor were filled, and so was the bar. Barmaid's wove between the drunken men and women who cheerily talked nonsense to each other. Caddy in a tavern was a rare sight so the first thing Caddy did was assess the fortunes, out of habit. Mostly working class men, and a few woman occupied the room, noone had anything worth stealing. Caddy slipped past a Barmnaid. She lifted an unnoticed empty mug form the table beside her. As soon as the Barmaid passed, holding the tray a little higher than her head, but just below Caddy's, Caddy slipped the mug onto the tray and pulled a full one from the it. Caddy eyed the barmaid breifly, making sure she didn't notice the stealthy exchange. Caddy glanced in the mug breifly, smiling at the very alcoholic Silver Sliver sloshing in the cup. She then turned walked towards the bar. A drunk man slumped in the very corner, swirling his fingers in the silver liquid that he had spilled on the counter. He held his head low, and his shoulders slumped in an obviously depressed way. Caddy could see his mouth moving as he kept mumbling 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry''. Walking up to him, Caddy swiped her foot under the chair, making it wobble. The man looked at her. "Your wife wants you home, she says she knows you didn't mean to." Caddy said, holding her eyes level with his. The man's eyes widened, taking in her multicolored iris's. "How do'ya knnoooow 'bout m'wife?" The man slurred not taking his eyes off of hers. "I know things." Caddy said, inwardly patting herself on the back. She was glad her little stunt worked. "A-are'ya a . . . wisshh . . .?" The man slurred, already preparing to stand up, as he placed some coins on the table. "Sure, you could say that." Caddy muttered, watching his stumble away in fear. Sitting down at his now warm stool, caddy started to sip her Silver Sliver, closing her eyes at the alcoholic bevrage went down. She hated the mockery, fear and stares she got form her eyes. Opening them, she caught the eyes of a bartender who had been watching her. Perfect. She thought, downing another drink. Apparently her mood was letting observations slip her mind.

[Amatus]

"'Nother ale, aye?!" The bay was a droplet into a pail bursting with raised declarations, many commanding of his consideration, craving frantically his attention to their needs. There was no thrust farther, no demand as to incite insult. In fact it was a quiet evening, steaming the cool of fall by the throng around the tatty lumber structure that alienated them from him, consumer from provider.

Without response, thin digits looped the sea glass stem of a bottle raising it from the counter. His fingers twirled it between flexing knuckled knolls. Pale eyes trotted over the peaks of heads across the room, his thumb popping the cork from its burrowed grotto to pounce upon his shifting feet. There were those that had rutted in as codfish too old to continue downstream and venture from their routine of a decade-old ritual of visiting the Silver Sliver, long before Amatus could very well reach the top shelf liqueur in its iridescent crystal faced vessels. Others were newly recruited to the taste of ale, with empty heads and raging libido, easily woed by a few carefully constructed sentiments. His eyes instead chose to meander mercilessly over the backend of a barmaid as she bent to lift uninhabited mugs from the tables. His smile erupted, pitting shallow hallows in his cheeks, as a throat cleared as a gentle reminder and he speedily and fluently poured a glass of the signature silver syrup.

Amatus was only as amiable as he contented, a young and soft exterior was one he wore as misleadingly as his row of flattened pearls peeking out in a grin at all who found themselves at his bar, his stage. "One ale." he called, gliding the container down the slab in a pool of its own condensation, waves of sloshing molten silver peered over the edges but never fell.

Little thanks were obligatory. A bill left over the splintered surface was the appropriate extent of appreciation. Amatus drew back toward the forsaken maid, now erect with an assortment of fresh and discarded ale sundry upon her serving tray. All that dallied across his mind was her very daft and simple minded nature as he eyed her tray. It was in that happenchance he observed a dainty hand slither up and exchange one mug for another. Self-assuredly and quickly so he almost lost the figure among the crowd until she sauntered to the worn wood platform of the bar.

He eyed her, fleetingly, his tongue swaying behind his tines with an assortment of wit bubbling from his overzealous esophagus. The blonde sustained, an empty glass filled here and there with much of the same. He barely overheard her exchange with the drunk, besides his exclamation or perhaps accusation as he abandoned his seat. A smirk tugged up corruptly upon Amatus' face as he faced her boldly. It was not until she turned to return his gaze that his brow raised in intrigue. 'My, my what lovely eyes we have.' he thought.

"Are you enjoying it?" he queried, allotting a pause before he nodded toward her drink towed in hand, “Your drink."

[Caddy Twist]

"Are you enjoyoing it?" Caddy looked at the bartender in the eyes, tensing as he nodded to her mug and took a step closer. "Your drink." The first thing she noticed when she first saw him was a very simple widen of his lids, in curiosity. He was a man one would not want to overlook. Either becuase of his attractive face, that surely woed the women in with out a problem. Or it was becuase they could actually see behind his childish facade, to the confident, clever man who stood behind it. A knowledgable smirk played on the tips of his mouth, showing very small unemerged dimples. He had obvioulsy seen her whole act. Stealing a very quick glance behind her she could see the barmaid she 'exchanged' beverages with, was fuming, and glaring her way. Obvioulsy that bramaid hadn't figured out who emptied her serve, but she had figured out that the attractive male bartender was not eyeing her, but talking to another woman instead. Poor woman is having a bad night. Caddy thought bitterly, she really could care less what happened to anyone but her self. Survival of the fittest. "I wouldn't be drinking it if I didn't now would I?" She perked an eyebrow, wrapping her other hand around her mug. Every nerve in her body yelled "Go away!", as she unconciously glared him down. He leaned against the well-worn wood in front of here, his posture was slouched, ready for a conversation. And he was leaning against the bar, his face coming closer to hers. If Caddy could see his feet she would be able to tell is he was confident about what he was doing, considering what he saw, or if he was angry, or pretty much what ever mood he happened to be in at the moment. Surprisingly most people don't know that moods are given more from the body than the face. But from the upper half of his body she could see that this man was curious, and he was very confident in what he was going to say to her. Whatever it was. Inwardly rolling her eyes, she continued to look into his waiting for him to speak.

[Amatus]

The bartender shrugged beneath the ripple of fluid thread draped over his tapered shoulders, his elbows digging into the wood where he inclined into the gaze over her bicolored irises. His brows arose over lazing lids, "I suppose." his head toggled to the side before he uncurled his spine. His hand crawled under the stiff frame, thinly branched fingers netting hand threaded cloth with a peach coiled pattern from beneath the bar. "Though I've seen youths who find it difficult to stomach the first sample of silver that lurks within your cup." two fingertips slid the cloth over the velvety knots of the bar toward her. A tiny speckle of the ale had adhered into a cozy crook of her plumped lips. Lips, Amatus was sure, had better uses than the likely ruffian generality she would make of him, whether aloud or a tickle of a whisper to sink into the ridges of her palate.

His limbs were briskly busied with a smooth-edged glass, his fingers twirling the stalk so the reflected lantern light was flung across his face, and a bottle he had fetched from a shelf behind him tottered by his side. "Most young women prefer something sweet." Amatus popped the bottle open, the cork conquering air a few inches before he apprehended it in his palm and angled the rosy liquid into the glass. The petite burgundy lake stormed within its restrictions and fashioned swelling ringlets as a skewered berry clung to the rims by its wooden pike.

"I'm sure you, however, find your liking in the exhilaration of the capture, more so than the fermentation in your hand." Near Caddy, a tightly corseted maiden was propped upon the barstool, her flushed cheeks and glassy orbs ruled with smearing charcoal hinted she had her fill. Still, he supplied her the fresh glimmering wine into her awaiting grasps and awarded her with a smile at her collapsing coin purse. “My thanks miss.” He purred to the drunken brunette. Her giggle squeaked and wrinkled her nose in a giddy expression “No, no, no, thank yoooou, Amatus. You take such good care of me.”

“Anything, for a beautiful lady.” He lied with such saccharine smiles and humming tones. Few, but his cousin knew who Amatus was behind closed doors. Yes, only Clara ever saw him for what he was, and she both loved and hated him in the fullest meaning of the words.

He waggled his brow at the exposed bandit at the bar. "Ravok breeds the best of greed and lust, and talent in both. I’m delighted to meet such a lovely one as you sitting before my humble bar."

"What is it I am to call you dear thief?" He flung another glass about, preparing a daringly similar concoction as moments before. When finished, topped with the same reddened berry ornament, he slid it toward her. "Usually it's only the first drink I offer for free. You did well enough to work for that mug in your hand though I suppose."

[Caddy Twist]

Caddy raised an eyebrow at the remark on her age, as he wiped a clothe over the wood, he suggested wine for young women. Though Caddy agreed, wine was for children, she was not a child. Cursing her looks again, she realized why he made that remark. But as he spoke, if he had not spoken of her age, she would probably be drooling, like any other sane woman. He eyed her lips for a second as he spoke. Making her swallow the remaining drink down, that he had distracted her from consuming. "Most young women prefer something sweet." His inviting voice, kept her watching his every move. He seemed to be enjoying it, the attention, and the power he had over her. But Caddy couldn't help it. "W-well its a good thing I'm not young." Caddy tried to keep up her defiant demeanor, but this bartender was crumbling her wall. He turned to another lady next to her, and Caddy watched him put her in an almost into a love-trance. Or should I say lust-trance? Caddy asked herself. She was almost embarrassed at the thought of falling for his cheesy charm seconds earlier. Licking her lips, she eyed The man as he turned back to her. "Ravok breeds the best of greed and lust, and talent in both. I’m delighted to meet such a lovely one as you sitting before my humble bar. What is it I am to call you dear thief?" He asked turning towards her again. He began to pour her a glass of the sweet smelling wine as well. "First of all. I'm not from Ravok." Caddy said giving him no further information. "Second of all, how old do I look to you? I assure you I am your age if not older. And third of all, Do you really think that will work on me? That . . . charm?" Caddy spoke bluntly, turning the wine away as he handed to her. She couldn't help a small smirk form on her lips as she gauged to see if he would be stunned or if he was prepared for this jarring surprise.

[Amatus]

A chuckle emanated into a draft of sizzling wind and danced only far enough for Caddy’s ears to grasp onto. She was resolute, as if he had insulted her with the bargain of a cold drink and she now was attesting to the fact that she wanted nothing he had to offer. Amatus was not so effortlessly dissuaded, though he could not help but to find her a budding reflection of a hostile woman he had met only a season past. A girl that had left her displeasure carved into his willowy neck, an ash pink band from his association with confrontation. A shudder dribbled down his spine at the thought of her blade curled into the crook of his neck as she whispered her seductive melody of loathing. He caressed his throat with long hesitant strokes. The faint scent of copper from his own gore still plagued his nostrils.

His expression hardly budged, a pleased tranquility blanketed his features. He relished it, more than he would ever care to confess: the tension of fear as lungs inflate and fingers shake into an uncertain end, but a laugh still coos into the dense air pleading for an outcome. Clara would be startled to learn that bit of his soul. Perhaps she would revive her undertaking to repair him. Now this girl before him knew nothing of any of this, she was an odd-eyed thief with a jagged tongue. At that moment she was still the most interesting entity he had spied, that was what ignited his desire.

Amatus' sapphire orbs hove back toward her, and lagged against each shade of color that so extraordinarily contrasted the other in her own eyes. It was not as hard as she believed to see her as older than one would first appear. He only needed to look a little clearer. Though he had seen many young women whose physique betrayed their immaturity. It was never really an issue he felt he needed to address. All with coin in their pocket were allowed passage to a seat and his service.

"I see. All the better then to face the charming canals of our fair city. I would worry over such a pretty face being gobbled up. I would know. My business is the people of Ravok." a smirk still tugged at his mouth as he eyed behind her where a few men had noticed her perched upon the bar and ravenously inhaled the subtle curves of her developed body. Certainly they were fantasizing as to what lay beneath her garbs. His intents were not so different, though it was the conquest that brought him the most pleasure. “You must forgive me then if you believe me of trying to lure you. I only wish to serve the needs that brought you to this bar.” Amatus stole back the glass he had prepared and now sat, dejected, in a ring of condensation. Upon his face he wore a deceivingly pleasing grin,

"Where is it you are from then?" he inquired, the skewered berry now twirling by the tips of his fingers. "Is it very far from here?" the berry popped into his mouth, his lips gliding the fruit from the flattened sliver.

[Caddy Twist]

The mysterious bartender gave a soft breathy chuckle, that Caddy counted as nervous. He brought a tentative finger up to his neck, tracing a small baby pink scar. He seemed to be looking up to Caddy's right, as if remembering something. Goosebumps rose on his arms briefly even though his face seemed pleasant enough. "I see. All the better then to face the charming canals of our fair city. I would worry over such a pretty face being gobbled up. I would know. My business is the people of Ravok." He briefly smirked, his eyes darting down the bar. Caddy knew what he was looking at, it was hard to find a real woman who didn't mind getting dirty in these parts of the city. She tried to ignore them, but the charming bartender seemed to bring everything to her attention tonight, when all she wanted not to see what she normally would. "I see. All the better then to face the charming canals of our fair city. I would worry over such a pretty face being gobbled up. I would know. My business is the people of Ravok." Caddy snorted most un-lady-like at his smooth cover up, though she had to admit it was good. And again, Caddy might have fallen for it had he not made the mistake of doing the same to another woman in front of her. This man was excessively good, and Caddy was almost no exception to his charm. Had she had more to drink, or had she not been able to observe more than the average human, she would be right under his wing and possible in his bed, just the same as the rest. "Where is it you are from then? Is it very far from here?" He said, pulling a stool, and grabbing the wine he had originally prepared for her. Caddy inwardly sighed, she was in for a conversation, whether she wanted or not. Caddy guessed that with this man, it wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, whatever it was. "Shouldn't I know your name and you know mine before I spill my secrets to you?" Caddy leaned forward, attempting to act taken by his charm so she could get this over with. Surely he would see through her poor pretense, but he could possibly humor her anyways. They were each after something, He wanted her in his bed, as far as she could put together, and she wanted in his pockets. His risk, Caddy thought, extending her hand. "The name is Caddy, Caddy Twist."

[Amatus]

As the thief tended forward in engagement, Amatus drew back, straightening in his seat with an ankle tossed over his knee. The crystal glass rose so the brim positioned against the cushion of the bay that docked the bitter taste of the maroon fluid. He listened genuinely, or as much as he could afford, not a lungful out of place as she spoke with renewed finesse and presented a dainty hand and a name.

He contemplated over her open palm and nodded his appreciation of the gesture. "Well, Miss Caddy Twist," he took her hand by the tips of his fingers and lifted it as his glass sank into his lap. "It is a pleasure to meet you." her knuckles were carried to a brushing kiss and a glance up into her auburn lashes scrutinizing him over.

He released her as effortlessly, the glass finding a way back into his moist cavern and pouring down his throat. A pause and a swallow passed before he indulged her own waiting, "My name is Amatus De Gauther." his name took a practiced course as it fell.

"Resident of Ravok," he continued in a playful tone, his finger tracing the brink of his glass so a trill strummed through his words. "Host of this charming business," his hand signaled to the open air of where they now sat and a smile played over his features. ", and an experienced employee. Which is why," he booted his glass in her direction, a nonchalant signal, "I recognized you as something worth talking to." his flattery was thick, but closer to the truth than the lie of what that meant to him.

“Besides that, I have no secrets.” he lied in an airy key. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The inner joke of it all made him bit down on his tongue to withhold the tell in his bluff. He took another sip of his wine and tucked a stray strand of gold behind his ear.

"Let me know, when it's kicking in enough to begin spilling those secrets of yours." he let out a lively laugh with a playful flash of teeth. He stared into her eyes and then looked away with an exaggerated sigh. Her eyes were haunting him. It was an unnatural beauty, something he found as disturbing as he did favorable. He wanted to reach out to grasp her jaw, kiss her crushingly enough to bruise her reddened lips, until the fear curled in her gut and forced her eyes to shut and his discomfort to alleviate. It was a passing fancy, one that played briefly through his imagination.

The bottom of his glass stared back at him discouragingly until his mouth felt arid and raw. He rose and ran his hand diagonally over the pigments of the discolored bar and set the hollowed glass down. A replacement bottle was fetched from behind the counter and set down before him with a resounding clink. “Would you care for another drink?”