Unlikely friends
Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:57 pm
80th of Frost, 4621
Her eye lingered on his gaze from where she stood before she turned her one eye to the desert horizon and shook her head. “I wanna join your gang,” she said with a shrug, sheathed her thumbs in her pockets, and leaned back a little as if to pose herself. “I can do all sorts, I can fix chariots, clean wurmblood-.”
Arkash lifted a hand to stop her. “Don’t have a gang,” he said with a shake of his head, then tossed her firearm back across the sand as he slung his rifle over his back. A warning glare shot her way while she bent down to collect her weapon, and she stowed it at the hip.
“…For real?” She asked with a furrow to her brow. “Where ya from?” Came her second question while she looked him up and down. No doubt, the Badlands was where she expected to find some sort of monstrous lizard. it must have been irregular to find someone who was unaffiliated in the wasteland.
“Nivenhain,” he answered half honestly, it wasn’t likely that she knew where that was, he reasoned.
To his dismay, she furrowed her brow and asked “Lorien?” With some degree of recognition in her tone.
“Yeah…” he answered suspiciously as he stood, and adjusted the strap of his gun. “How’d you-”
“-I’ve been there before,” she answered. “’Used to do lots a’ travellin’.” She nodded while she continued to look him over, then looked to the mess of rags and such that surrounded him. “You’re a stranger to these lands ‘en, eh?”
“I know my way,” he answered, still reserved. He gave her gun back, that didn’t mean he owed her anything. “And I’ve been here long enough to know it’s not normal for people to come up and ask to join you for no reason, so what are you really after?”
She squinted with a sort of half-smile and held both her hands out with open palms. “What?” She asked, apparently confused. “No, dude, it’s totally normal here. People jump ship all the time!”
Arkash rose a brow in her direction. “Sound suspicious.”
She shook her head, locks waving “no, it’s normal,” she assured.
Arkash hadn’t known the woman for all of ten minutes, but he knew she was lying. “You’re a shit liar,” he called her out.
Her eye widened at the declaration, and her lips parted just a second after to scoff. “You’re callin’ me a liar already!”
“Because you are,” Arkash returned with a grin. There was something that tickled him about her reactions to things. She was blatant, emotional, impulsive. Even if she was uttering falsehoods, she had so many tells that gave her away.
“Okay,” she started with a huff and a shake of her head. “So I skipped to the point a little bit, but that doesn’t mean my reasons aren’t genuine.”
“I don’t know your reasons,” Arkash said with a shrug. “Don’t even know your name,” he added with a tilt of his head.
“Izzy,” she answered after a second of thought. “You?”
“Ark,” he returned with a bow of his head. He caught the squint of disbelief that came with the furrow of her brow, but let it go when she dismissed her doubt with her eyes.
“Well, Ark, wanna start a gang with me?”
“No.”
“Dude!” She called and threw up her arms. “What are you so fuckin’ rude for! Don’t just shoot me down like that! Why not?!”
That same amused grin painted his features while the black flame in his mouth poured from his lips and dissipated in the air. “I don’t fuckin’ know you, that’s why,” he said with a shrug and a shake of his head.
“So what?!” She returned, voice ringing like she had a bell on every tooth. “We can exchange stories and stuff on the road! I'm useful, you're strong! What's stopping us?!"
Again, he shook his head and crossed his arms while mindful of his quills. His brow furrowed, and he looked her up and down. It was true, she would have been helpful there in the desert, but he had no desire to form any sort of hierarchy with her. What was more? Why had she brought attention to the fact that he was strong? Was his strength what drew her in? Did she recognize his cardinal abilities? What use could she have for his strength? "What are you jumping ship for?" He quizzed with a turn of his burning claws. "Your last gang, why are you running?"
The question seemed to rob the wind from her sails, and she paused to think, then pulled an uncomfortable grin with the corners of her lips. "Well... I might'a... sort'a... Cut the boss out of a deal," she began to explain. Arkash raised his brows, an indication to continue. "A client wanted our gang to refine some wurmblood. Well, it was a lot of wurmblood. I handled the contract and took just a smidge more than my fair share when I got the pay... And he just found out about it."
"And he's pissed?"
"Pissed?" She laughed loud a single breath. "He's fuckin' FUMING!"
Arkash furrowed his brow. It was easy to imagine that she implied that the Boss was prepared to kill her for her transgressions. She wanted to side with him for protection, he realized. "...All that over a little extra cash?"
She pulled her features in a sort of half squint and bobbed her head from side to side. "Well... It might've come to light that I've been doing that for a long time, too," she affirmed with a slight nod. "I might actually owe the gang a lot of money," she continued her explanation.
Arkash smirked. "What gang were you with?"
"Like I'd tell you," she retorted and crossed her arms in a similar fashion to the Rath. When his brow rose in response to the aggression, the woman scoffed. “I’m not gonna just tell ya who to sell me out to.”
Smart, he thought with a deep exhale through his nose. “Alright, that’s fair,” he added with a nod. “So you just want a shield? That’s what this is, right?” he offered with a trail to his tone, inviting her response. It wasn’t a good look for her, in his eyes. Being manipulated into protecting someone wasn’t something Arkash wanted to make a habit of. Did he instead make an example? The stir of tension in his jaws seemed to think so, but he let it go.
“Well…” She started, a half squint to her half gaze, all but completely confessing.
Arkash sighed. “Should’a just said so,” he said with yet another shake of his head.
“Wait really?” She asked, eye alight with the pull of her smile. “So you’ll help me out?”
“Not for free, but yeah,” he answered. When he caught her frozen expression, he laughed a breath. “What? You said you were stealing from them all this time, right? I’m sure you can afford a couple hundred farthin’s every day it takes us to get there.” Her eyes were wide at the proposal, a look Arkash found joy in causing. “Course if that’s too much, then I’ve got stuff to do…” he continued with a trail as he adjusted his shoulder strap, then took a step in the other direction.
“No, wait!” She called, like putty in his claws. Arkash carried on for just a split second, then abruptly halted to relay that he’d fully intended to walk away if not for her pause. A glance in her direction prompted her to speak. “…Alright, fine,” she said with a sigh, and loosed the tension in her shoulders. “A hundred a day?” She asked with a pleading smile.
Briefly, Arkash considered raising her an extra fifty a day, but decided against it. He didn’t need the money. “Fine,” he agreed. “One hundred a day.”
“Ninety?” She changed her mind. “Ninety five…?”
“Bye.”
“NO! OKAY! ONE HUNDRED!” She called again. Arkash laughed heartily and shook his head at the sight. The panic that had overcome her in those few seconds really got him smiling.
He bowed his head in acceptance, then motioned to the left with a tilt of his head. “Greater Daravin’s this way, I think. Come on.” Arkash had nothing else to do, except for revisiting his situation with Asphodel. What was the harm in completing his assigned task? He could regroup with the other Badlander afterward. But when he turned around to glance at the woman, she was still, pensive in her stare. A furrow of his brow stirred a parting of his lips. “Coming?”
“Huh? -Oh, yeah. Yeah, let’s go,” she agreed, then ran a few steps to catch up with the Rath. His crimson eyes moved to settle on her while his teeth burned a trail through where he’d stood. She didn’t seem to realize what he was by the quills, his eyes, and the black flames that poured from his features, did she just believe it was a product of the animal he took after? The boon of being Rathor, he thought. If she really didn’t realize what he was, then for how much longer could he continue to fool her?
Only time would tell.
Her eye lingered on his gaze from where she stood before she turned her one eye to the desert horizon and shook her head. “I wanna join your gang,” she said with a shrug, sheathed her thumbs in her pockets, and leaned back a little as if to pose herself. “I can do all sorts, I can fix chariots, clean wurmblood-.”
Arkash lifted a hand to stop her. “Don’t have a gang,” he said with a shake of his head, then tossed her firearm back across the sand as he slung his rifle over his back. A warning glare shot her way while she bent down to collect her weapon, and she stowed it at the hip.
“…For real?” She asked with a furrow to her brow. “Where ya from?” Came her second question while she looked him up and down. No doubt, the Badlands was where she expected to find some sort of monstrous lizard. it must have been irregular to find someone who was unaffiliated in the wasteland.
“Nivenhain,” he answered half honestly, it wasn’t likely that she knew where that was, he reasoned.
To his dismay, she furrowed her brow and asked “Lorien?” With some degree of recognition in her tone.
“Yeah…” he answered suspiciously as he stood, and adjusted the strap of his gun. “How’d you-”
“-I’ve been there before,” she answered. “’Used to do lots a’ travellin’.” She nodded while she continued to look him over, then looked to the mess of rags and such that surrounded him. “You’re a stranger to these lands ‘en, eh?”
“I know my way,” he answered, still reserved. He gave her gun back, that didn’t mean he owed her anything. “And I’ve been here long enough to know it’s not normal for people to come up and ask to join you for no reason, so what are you really after?”
She squinted with a sort of half-smile and held both her hands out with open palms. “What?” She asked, apparently confused. “No, dude, it’s totally normal here. People jump ship all the time!”
Arkash rose a brow in her direction. “Sound suspicious.”
She shook her head, locks waving “no, it’s normal,” she assured.
Arkash hadn’t known the woman for all of ten minutes, but he knew she was lying. “You’re a shit liar,” he called her out.
Her eye widened at the declaration, and her lips parted just a second after to scoff. “You’re callin’ me a liar already!”
“Because you are,” Arkash returned with a grin. There was something that tickled him about her reactions to things. She was blatant, emotional, impulsive. Even if she was uttering falsehoods, she had so many tells that gave her away.
“Okay,” she started with a huff and a shake of her head. “So I skipped to the point a little bit, but that doesn’t mean my reasons aren’t genuine.”
“I don’t know your reasons,” Arkash said with a shrug. “Don’t even know your name,” he added with a tilt of his head.
“Izzy,” she answered after a second of thought. “You?”
“Ark,” he returned with a bow of his head. He caught the squint of disbelief that came with the furrow of her brow, but let it go when she dismissed her doubt with her eyes.
“Well, Ark, wanna start a gang with me?”
“No.”
“Dude!” She called and threw up her arms. “What are you so fuckin’ rude for! Don’t just shoot me down like that! Why not?!”
That same amused grin painted his features while the black flame in his mouth poured from his lips and dissipated in the air. “I don’t fuckin’ know you, that’s why,” he said with a shrug and a shake of his head.
“So what?!” She returned, voice ringing like she had a bell on every tooth. “We can exchange stories and stuff on the road! I'm useful, you're strong! What's stopping us?!"
Again, he shook his head and crossed his arms while mindful of his quills. His brow furrowed, and he looked her up and down. It was true, she would have been helpful there in the desert, but he had no desire to form any sort of hierarchy with her. What was more? Why had she brought attention to the fact that he was strong? Was his strength what drew her in? Did she recognize his cardinal abilities? What use could she have for his strength? "What are you jumping ship for?" He quizzed with a turn of his burning claws. "Your last gang, why are you running?"
The question seemed to rob the wind from her sails, and she paused to think, then pulled an uncomfortable grin with the corners of her lips. "Well... I might'a... sort'a... Cut the boss out of a deal," she began to explain. Arkash raised his brows, an indication to continue. "A client wanted our gang to refine some wurmblood. Well, it was a lot of wurmblood. I handled the contract and took just a smidge more than my fair share when I got the pay... And he just found out about it."
"And he's pissed?"
"Pissed?" She laughed loud a single breath. "He's fuckin' FUMING!"
Arkash furrowed his brow. It was easy to imagine that she implied that the Boss was prepared to kill her for her transgressions. She wanted to side with him for protection, he realized. "...All that over a little extra cash?"
She pulled her features in a sort of half squint and bobbed her head from side to side. "Well... It might've come to light that I've been doing that for a long time, too," she affirmed with a slight nod. "I might actually owe the gang a lot of money," she continued her explanation.
Arkash smirked. "What gang were you with?"
"Like I'd tell you," she retorted and crossed her arms in a similar fashion to the Rath. When his brow rose in response to the aggression, the woman scoffed. “I’m not gonna just tell ya who to sell me out to.”
Smart, he thought with a deep exhale through his nose. “Alright, that’s fair,” he added with a nod. “So you just want a shield? That’s what this is, right?” he offered with a trail to his tone, inviting her response. It wasn’t a good look for her, in his eyes. Being manipulated into protecting someone wasn’t something Arkash wanted to make a habit of. Did he instead make an example? The stir of tension in his jaws seemed to think so, but he let it go.
“Well…” She started, a half squint to her half gaze, all but completely confessing.
Arkash sighed. “Should’a just said so,” he said with yet another shake of his head.
“Wait really?” She asked, eye alight with the pull of her smile. “So you’ll help me out?”
“Not for free, but yeah,” he answered. When he caught her frozen expression, he laughed a breath. “What? You said you were stealing from them all this time, right? I’m sure you can afford a couple hundred farthin’s every day it takes us to get there.” Her eyes were wide at the proposal, a look Arkash found joy in causing. “Course if that’s too much, then I’ve got stuff to do…” he continued with a trail as he adjusted his shoulder strap, then took a step in the other direction.
“No, wait!” She called, like putty in his claws. Arkash carried on for just a split second, then abruptly halted to relay that he’d fully intended to walk away if not for her pause. A glance in her direction prompted her to speak. “…Alright, fine,” she said with a sigh, and loosed the tension in her shoulders. “A hundred a day?” She asked with a pleading smile.
Briefly, Arkash considered raising her an extra fifty a day, but decided against it. He didn’t need the money. “Fine,” he agreed. “One hundred a day.”
“Ninety?” She changed her mind. “Ninety five…?”
“Bye.”
“NO! OKAY! ONE HUNDRED!” She called again. Arkash laughed heartily and shook his head at the sight. The panic that had overcome her in those few seconds really got him smiling.
He bowed his head in acceptance, then motioned to the left with a tilt of his head. “Greater Daravin’s this way, I think. Come on.” Arkash had nothing else to do, except for revisiting his situation with Asphodel. What was the harm in completing his assigned task? He could regroup with the other Badlander afterward. But when he turned around to glance at the woman, she was still, pensive in her stare. A furrow of his brow stirred a parting of his lips. “Coming?”
“Huh? -Oh, yeah. Yeah, let’s go,” she agreed, then ran a few steps to catch up with the Rath. His crimson eyes moved to settle on her while his teeth burned a trail through where he’d stood. She didn’t seem to realize what he was by the quills, his eyes, and the black flames that poured from his features, did she just believe it was a product of the animal he took after? The boon of being Rathor, he thought. If she really didn’t realize what he was, then for how much longer could he continue to fool her?
Only time would tell.
Image source.
