Thread: A Reluctant Pact (RetroXBlueLurker)

You ARE serious. His tone changed a bit, as if she might have finally gotten through to him. He was willing to back down- for now. He knelt down, picked up the money pouch, and offered it back to her. I apologize for having to do that... you are beautiful, and don't get me wrong, I find it my duty to make passes and offers to beautiful women, but... you have to understand, when you're on the road, you can't trust anybody- sometimes not even yourself. Your heart can tell you one thing, your mind can tell you another. Someday your future- and your life- may end up hinging upon such a decision. The fact that you're willing to tell me where to get off- it's a good start. People are going to try to push you around out there, so it's nice to see that you have some fire in your belly. His head would nod in a direction towards something he had seen while walking to the fountain. We're leaving before the morning... but we'll have to do some shopping. I've had to hunt down people in the past- mostly criminals and the like- but Laerthea, for someone trying to keep a low profile, you don't have much of a chance at getting much farther than a couple towns away before Firk's guards find you and drag both of us back here. Notice I said WE- I'm in, for the long haul. We might have to live off the land, but what the blazes- something like this only comes along once every so often... and if you really are who you say you are, well, I can see the benefits there, too. He eyes her again, but this time it wasn't just to flick his eyes over those curves. He was taking in her equipment, her overall status, and from the way he bit his lip, he wasn't liking what he was seeing. There are a number of secrets to traveling upon the road, especially if you want to do it in secret because you're trying to hide from someone with a lot of power. Before you ask, yes, I do have experience with it- it was a rather nice set of weapons, and no, I'd rather not talk about how that one ended up. There are four or five things wrong currently. You need to change your name, first off- shorten it or change it completely. if we have a little slip of the tongue- the bad kind, that is- we'll give away our position and it'll be harder to move. Second- that hair. Cut it or color it- preferably both. If Firk's guards are looking for a blonde, they'll think brown or black-haired girls aren't worth thier time. Change the cut and the color occasionally, and nobody will ever remember you if they show a picture of a blonde around. Third- you're too clean. When I'm out on the road, I bathe when I can, but that might mean four or five days of not being anywhere near a bar of soap. Things get ripe, and there's a reason they call it washing the dust from one's mouth when you have that first drink. Dirty up a little- maybe find a big pile of dust we could roll around in together or something. A little bit of trail dirt on you, to take that shine off, and you'll look like a completely different woman. That's a good thing. Fifth, your clothes have to go. Yes, I know I'm going to catch a lightning bolt up the rump for it, but your clothes mark you as beautiful, young, and most importantly, rich. We'll have to frequent a lot of places where the more... unsavory elements are going to be coming out to play. Rich, beautiful girls to them are like big piles of free sweets for a child- they'll swarm, and though I have skills with a blade, we can't hold off an entire raging bandit crew by ourselves. So we're going to find ourselves an armorer and look for something more... appropriate. It might not be what you're used to in the cut and material, but it will keep you alive a lot longer and give us a chance to finish your quest. He stopped, and looked into her eyes. There was a bit of fire in those eyes, even besides the promise of a smile, and possibly something more. I can be a right jackass at sometimes, as you can see. No doubt I'll do it again, just out of habit. But I'm not going to leave you to Firk's unknown mercies- if he even has any- even if you set my hair on fire and threaten to make me spit lightning by running the bolts backwards through me. I'm going to trust you that you're not lying to me- and whatever my actions or my words, I'm asking you to trust me, too. It's going to be hard, and money might be far between, but let's go shopping to outfit you and get out of here while the getting's good. After you... milady. There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it, guesturing back down the avenue towards th shop he'd seen, but it was meant in good spirits. Like it or not, she would be stuck with him, and he'd follow her to the end of the world. All over a pretty face.