TRP: Azriel and Larkin (Knifeplay)

Izzy: at 8:51 AM

[SETTING: A small, relatively crowded bar in the port town
by the Sanctuary of Eldath, late at night after Larkin has had her conversation
with Hansel.]

Living in the forest or no, they were going to need money.
Also, at some point Azriel would prefer to not be living in the forest anymore,
and for that he would need more money. Jasper and Abel were welcome to try
being strange woodland mercenaries; he preferred to slip down to the port and
make a little gold with his viol.

And it was ... very little gold. The bar owner wouldn't pay
him for his services, but let him play for tips, and for people living by a
temple, they were all remarkably stingy. He'd managed to escape Ba'ob long
enough to get clean in a stream (barbaric), so he was sure he wasn't running
them off that way. They just weren't having it.

So, new plan. He'd make an investment. He took the gold he'd
made and turned it into beer for the man at the bar with the nicest clothes,
spending a couple patient hours getting him drunk and making him laugh until
his guard was down, and once the fool was in a complete hazy stupor, Azriel
patted his back, slipped his gold pouch away, and got one drink for himself
before retreating to a table in the corner.

Easy scam. He opened the pouch under the table to see how
much he'd made, and smiled slightly to himself before tucking it away. After
the past several days he'd had, he deserved this.

Jen: at 9:10 AM

Larkin stared into her drink. The drink didn’t stare back,
nor did it offer the comfort she’d hoped to find when she came down into the
port town a few hours ago. She sighed and muttered a curse at it. The drink
didn’t mutter back.

Maybe she should just go back to the Sugar Glider and sleep.
Or maybe ask the priests if she could stay at the Sanctuary for the night so
she could be near her father. Everything was just fucking messed up. When she’d
come here, she thought she knew how to handle this- this alleged kidnapping of
her dad. But now? No one to blame. At least no one she could take the blame out
on. Kheman didn’t want Hansel harmed but...
Renar probably did. And both would expect her to do the right thing. How
was she to deal with that? Where was her fucking place in all of this?

Tired of having too many questions and not enough answers,
she shut off the rambling voice in the back of her head, and instead focused on
the other guests in the bar. Maybe a little slight-of-hand practice would take
her mind off it? Find a target, learn their vulnerabilities, move in and get
out with the loot. Yeah, that’d do the trick.

Looking for a suitable candidate, Larkin’s attention locked
on the tiefling bard who’d been playing for the crowd’s entertainment and
gathering tips but was now sitting at the bar, chatting with a man. He was-
wait, what was that? A pat on the back of the other man, obviously, but there
was also something else hidden in the gesture. If Larkin was right, then he
would- yep, there he went. The tiefling got up and relocated himself to another
table, alone. Probably to survey his loot. She kept watching him, smiling a bit
over her cup. That had been a nice bit of work.

Izzy: at 9:24 AM

Azriel looked up, pleased with himself, and saw the only
other tiefling in the bar staring at him, smiling. His own smile locked into
place. Had she seen him? He'd done everything right -- no one else had noticed
a thing. It was probably nothing. She was probably just being friendly.

But -- if not -- should he run? Running would incriminate
him. If she accosted him herself or snitched on him he could claim the wallet
was his, or that he'd just picked it up and was about to take it up to the bar
and turn it in. But he really didn't want to lose this gold. Maybe if he just
very casually walked out ...

No, he'd already made eye contact with her. There was no
getting away from this now. Maybe if he offered to split the take -- but he
really wanted this gold. All of it.

He didn't do anything. Just smiled back, and tried to act
normal. Whatever normal people acted like. Oh, god.(edited)

Jen: at 9:45 AM

Well, that was the most casual cover-up to a failed attempt
at getting away she'd seen in a long while. The bard seemed to have the hang on
the sleight-of-hand-part and the "I've done nothing"-impression he
acted out right now was also pretty good. But when he'd he looked up and locked
eyes with her, she'd seen the panic. Only for a split second but it had been
there. She thought about just keeping it up a bit longer, letting him sweat,
but then remembered moments where she'd been in similar situations. Maybe she
could help this one out a bit.

Larkin detached her gaze from his to stare off into the
room, a bored expression on her face again. Took some minutes to casually empty
her cup, then at the last sip peered down at it with a frown and got up to get
a re-fill at the bar. She took her time with that as well, but kept an eye on
the musician still.  When she had a new
cup of ale in her hand, she steered over to the table he sat at, staying out of
his line of sight until the very last moment, at which she plopped down in the
chair across from him.

"You play a good tune, " she said with a smile.
"You taking wishes?"(edited)

Izzy: at 9:56 AM

Success. She looked away, minding her own business, and
Azriel relaxed. She'd just been looking his way, completely unaware, because he
was very good at what he did. He'd be fine even outside the city and away from
his family's protection.

He basked in this for a moment, getting comfortable and
looking forward to a night away from the others and out of the woods. Maybe
he'd go back for Abel and Gwydion, later, get them all a room. Ba'ob and Jasper
would probably be happier camping, the animals (he thought affectionately).

Before he could quite finish the brief fantasy of sleeping
in a bed, there she was again, abruptly making herself at home at his table.
Again, brief panic. But it was fine, it was all fine, she was only asking about
his music. A fan. Of course. Well, could have tipped him if she liked his
playing.

But he had the gold now, and it never hurt to be charming.
He picked his viol back up and set it against his neck, smiling his best.
"Anything for a lovely lady."

Jen: at 10:04 AM

"Great." Larkin smiled at him. Such a charmer and
so unsuspecting. Or really good at acting. She'd see which one in a minute.
"Can you play 'star of the county down?'"

Izzy: at 10:10 AM

Hm. Sounded familiar. He thought for a second and played a
couple of notes, testing it out. "Ah. Yes. Of course." Not his usual
fare -- not a song his tutor had taught him, but one he'd picked up in a tavern
some time, probably running a similar scam. Jaunty.

He closed his eyes and leaned into it, tapping his foot
slightly. Harmless little sparks of inadvertent magic popped up around his bow
as he played.

Jen: at 10:16 AM

Whoa. Larkin flinched a bit as one of the sparks flew her
direction but it seemed harmless. Interesting. She leaned back and out of the
way, tapping her fingers on the table to the rythm..  He did play well.

Then, at the beginning of the second refrain, she said,
"Your hands are pretty good for playing fiddle. Almost as good as for
playing pockets."

Izzy: at 10:18 AM

The string screeched as he stopped playing, sparks popping
back out of existence with the music. He opened his eyes to stare at her,
otherwise freezing again. Fuck. "Excuse me?"

Jen: at 10:23 AM

Not such a good actor after all then. Larkin gave him a
conspiratorial grin. "No need to get all rigid. I'm here to help you, not
rat you out." She winked. "Just keep playing."

Izzy: at 10:25 AM

Slowly, he started playing again, watching her with slightly
narrowed eyes. He didn't need any help, but he guessed it was better than the
alternative. He'd still prefer that she be dissuaded from the notion entirely,
though. Making his tone cool and aloof, he said, "You've made a very
serious accusation, and I don't appreciate it. I'm no thief."

Jen: at 10:30 AM

"Sure. 'course not. Just saying, there's a lot of
pick-pockets in here. Gotta know how to spot them if you wanna keep your...
hard earned coin."

Izzy: at 10:37 AM

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to lose any of the
gold I've made with my tireless musicianship." He eyed her, still playing
through well-tread muscle memory. She wasn't going to be fooled, was she? Well,
if he wasn't getting out of this ...

He glanced around the tavern. His second choice for a mark
was still at the bar -- she looked well-off as well, but more alert than the
man he'd picked. He angled his viol towards her, segueing into a more sedate
tune, and looked back to the other tiefling to comment, "It would be a
shame if there were some pickpocket in here, preying on the innocent, wouldn't
it?"

Jen: at 10:47 AM

"Yeah. A real tragedy." Her eyes followed the
movement of the instrument and over to the bar. There were several people he
could be pointing at, hard to tell from this distance. She had to admit he'd
done it smoothly, though. This was beginning to turn into something really
interesting.

Among the possible targets there was only one woman who
looked to be worth the effort. Long, clean dress, hair done up. No physical
laborer and no belt pouches to be seen. She probably kept her valuables tucked
away inside the pockets of her dress.

Larkin turned to look back at the other tiefling, still
tapping her fingers on the table and swaying slightly to the tune. "Hey,
what do you say I buy you a drink for your playing?"

Izzy: at 10:58 AM

"You know, it might help to heal the wounds you
inflicted by accusing me of such an awful thing," he said. This was kind
of fun, actually. She'd gotten his implication; they were both in on the bit.
If she were closer he could slip some magic into her fingers and make the job
easier for her -- that was his usual role, rather than doing the thieving
himself -- but maybe it would be more fun to see how well she could do on her
own. He settled back, watching her, smiling a little again.

Jen: at 2:49 PM

"Sure thing." She got up and headed straight for
the bar.

The first thing to do was come up with a suitable
distraction. Larkin didn’t want to spend time making the woman comfortable with
her presence, although it’d be fairly easy to get close in this crowded bar.
She was a good target in that she already provided the distraction herself-
chatting amiably with another man sitting on a stool next to her. The woman had
her hands clasped around a tall tin goblet that probably contained wine or
something.

Larkin squeezed herself in to the left of the woman, placing
her arms on top of the bar in a relaxed position and signalled to the waiter.
Next to her, the woman was still chatting and had her head turned the other
way. This close Larkin could actually see where there were the incisions in the
dress to access the pockets.

When the waiter returned and put the cup in front of her,
Larkin took it with her right hand- elbow jutting out and knocking against the
woman’s hands holding the goblet. The tall vessel tilted and spilled its
contents over the side of the bar to drench the legs of the woman and her
companion. They both hooped up from their stools to get away from the mess.

“Aw shit, sorry,” Larkin said to the woman’s turned back and
leaned in across the bar to look at the damage. Shielded from view by her body,
Larkin’s left found a way into a pocket and closed around some round metal
object. A moment later, it slipped beneath her own clothing.

The two of them continued to ignore her, the man already
crouched low trying to wipe wine off the woman’s pretty, not-so-clean-anymore
dress and she herself muttering curses.

Larkin returned to the musician and his table and sat down,
putting the cup down in front of him. “Here you go,” she said, smiling. “For
your work.”

Izzy: at 8:20 PM

Hers wasn't an elegant solution, and it caused a scene while
his mark kept dozing away, but in a bar this crowded, people got bumped into
for legitimate reasons. And it happened so fast that he doubted anyone would
remember her face, while his method had guaranteed he'd be remembered if the
man wasn't a blackout drunk. Of course, he was purple and had horns, one of
them broken off; people were going to remember his face anyway.

Maybe hers too, but not as readily -- and she'd blend in
better in a city than a place like this, some place like his home or Skyport.
She was a traveler too, he'd bet, drawn here by the Sanctuary for some reason
or another. It occurred to him to be paranoid that she'd been sent after him,
had been tracking him, but they would send someone less suspicious, surely.
Someone who did blend in.

He really wanted to lean forward eagerly and asked what
she'd scored when she came back, but he played it cool. They weren't children
practicing their shoplifting, giggling over their haul the moment they'd made
it out of the sweet shop. Not that he would have any experience with things
like that.

Instead he let his song end on a long note, the sparks that
had lit up while he'd watched her fading away. He grinned as she set down the
cup down and bowed his head slightly. "So kind of you, Madame ...?"
He stopped himself, a bit embarrassed, straightening and putting his viol away
again. "Well, I won't insist you tell me your name. But mine is
Azriel."

October 29, 2018

Jen: at 10:44 AM

"Eliott. Nice to meet you." She reached for her
own cup and toasted to him. "So, Azriel. Where'd you learn to play?"
Under the table, her price - a pocket watch by the feel of it - was in her hand
again. Hidden from view, she reached over, nudging against Azriel’s leg, and
carefully placed the watch on his knee.

Izzy: at 11:19 AM

Azriel surreptitiously dropped a hand under the table to
meet hers, leaning forward as he did to disguise the movement. He hadn't been
able to make out what she'd swiped off the woman except for a brief silvery
shine as it had disappeared into her own pocket, and between her fingers now,
he confirmed the feel of something metallic and round, with a seam and a hinge
-- a pocket watch.

He didn't pull it away immediately, leaving their fingers
loosely interlaced over the watch. Maybe she'd like it if he pushed it back
towards her, but she must not need it if she was offering it just to play a
game with him. She was a good thief, then. He grinned.

"Oh, you know," he said breezily. "Here and
there. Self-taught." Complete lie. Topic shift. "Tell me, are you a
betting woman, Eliott?"

Jen: at 11:38 AM

Evading specifics and changing topics. Either he hadn't
caught on to the double meaning or he was hiding something. He was a musician,
though, a performer. And performers usually loved to talk about themselves.
Maybe he wasn't just some bard stealing to bolster his tips after all?
Interesting.

"Hm." Larkin made as if thinking about it and
leaned back, closing her hand around the watch and drawing it back out from
between his fingers. "Depends on the stakes."

Izzy: at 12:00 PM

... Damn. He'd really wanted the watch. He wouldn't have had
any chance to sell it any time soon, but he still wanted it. Couldn't appear
too desperate, though, so he leaned back as well, still smiling. It was
probably more valuable to him in her hands, anyway.

"I'll bet you that I can guess where you're from."
He tapped his foot, considering. "And if I'm right, you have to tell me
your real name." He tilted his head, watching her face closely for a
reaction. It was mostly a guess; her name had been an easy, practiced lie if it
had been one. But she was a pickpocket. She probably didn't just go around
telling the truth.

Jen: at 12:08 PM

She grinned. "Eh, shouldn't be a hard guess. But sure.
For catching on to the fake name." She waved to him to go ahead.

Izzy: at 12:13 PM

"Skyport." He felt that if she were from Moorland,
he'd already know about her, and there weren't many other options for city
thieves. Certainly she wasn't from Alabaster.

Jen: at 12:22 PM

"No-brainer." She gestured to indicate the packed
room. "Most peeps in here are probably from Skyport. Running from that
plague n' shit. You probably also hear it. Next big city is Moorland or
Calimport and I don't talk like either." And you don't talk like a
Skyporter, Azriel.

She paused to drink some of her ale. "For my name-
still Eliott. It's a nickname, though. My real name is... " she paused and
sighed. "It's Esperance. I just go by Eliott because, y'know," she
rolled her eyes and waved her hand.

Izzy: at 12:28 PM

Huh. Terrible name. He saw why she went by Eliott and felt a
bit bad for calling her out on it, now. And for wasting his bet. He might have
been able to learn something actually useful about her that he could cash in
later. There wasn't much value in a slightly embarrassing name.

But he sat up straighter, more interested in the first part
of her reasoning. "There's a plague in Skyport?"

Jen: at 12:34 PM

"Yep. Well- maybe not a plague. But something equally
fucked up. People turning into... uhm, walking corpses and shit. Don't know
much. Wasn't eager on staying and getting a better look."

Izzy: at 12:38 PM

Azriel turned a somewhat paler shade of purple. So much for
finding safety in Skyport. He couldn't go home, but if he weren't in Skyport,
his family wouldn't know where to find him when it was safe to return. This was
a problem.

"I see. Well. Isn't that interesting." He took a
long drink from his cup and tried to regain some control over the conversation.
"I certainly hope your family's safe."

Jen: at 12:47 PM

Still prying for more information. Aren't you a sneaky one,
huh?

It occured to Larkin that her meeting him here might not be
a coincidence after all. Maybe it was and the charming little tiefling was just
more curious than was good for him. Or he'd been sent to attrack her attention.
But if so, by whom and for what purpose?

"Oh, yeah, they're fine. Thanks for asking." She
watched him for a reaction. What will you want to know next?

Izzy: at 1:03 PM

Too clever to give him anything more. He'd hoped the fact
that he'd been caught off guard might make Eliott lower hers a mite, but no
dice. Not one to pity vulnerability, then. He could respect that. She didn't
use it as leverage, either, though. His smile came back a little. Maybe he'd
just be direct. Distract himself from the whole plague thing.

He leaned in again, elbows on the table and hands folded a
little before the halfway point between them. "You know, Eliott, I didn't
feel a ring on your finger. Someone steal it?"

Jen: at 1:16 PM

Larkin tilted her head a bit, fixing him with a look,
eyebrow raised as he leaned in and- what?

The half-smirk slipped off her face before she could catch
it and Azriel took the moment to plant a shit-eating little winner's grin on
his own. She looked down at his folded hands, then up at him again. Opening her
mouth, and closing it again. Then she guffawed and slapped a hand on the table.
"Fuck! That was terrible."

Izzy: at 1:23 PM

The smile dropped from his face. She was laughing at him. He
leaned back again. Well, fine. It had looked like he had her for a moment
there, but clearly she just had no appreciation for his talents. That line had
worked on plenty of high-class men and women, some of whom he had actually
stolen rings off of moments previous.

But she couldn't know he was sulking. He replaced his
expression with a wry grin, like he'd meant to sound terrible (terrible? how
insulting). "Then we share an appreciation for bad pick-up lines.
Wonderful."

Jen: at 1:36 PM

Larkin chuckled, pulling her composure back together.
"Who said I appreciated it? Maybe later I'll be waiting outside for you,
with a knife, to return that stab to my dignity."

Izzy: at 1:44 PM

His grin locked in place. He wasn't sure if she was being
serious, now. Probably not. But she was clearly a different caliber of thief
than he typically worked with -- maybe she was the type who did wetwork on the
side. He really couldn't get a consistent damned read on her.

If one of his brothers were here they'd return the threat,
and she'd buy it, but he was alone. "Ah," he tried, "but if you
stabbed me who would play you such lovely music?"

Jen: at 1:47 PM

"Good point."
She shifted to hang one arm across the chairback and grinned. "I
should make you teach me how to play first."

Izzy: at 1:48 PM

Azriel laughed. Nervously. "At knifepoint, I
suppose."

Jen: at 1:48 PM

"Sure. For the thrill."

Izzy: at 1:50 PM

"I should let you know I don't perform well under
pressure." Wait, no, he had a line for this. "Well --" he tilted
his head away, half-rolling his eyes and grinning -- "sometimes."

Jen: at 2:07 PM

"Ha! That's settled then." Larkin shifted upright,
slipped a blade from her belt and, leaning in again, jammed it into the wood
between them. She folded her arms on the tabletop and over the hilt of the
knife, fixed Azriel with a wolfish smile, waiting for his reaction.

Izzy: at 2:18 PM

All of his composure left him when the knife came out -- he
shoved back in his chair, sharply swearing, "Mask," before he could
stop himself, then hurriedly trying to cover it with another nervous laugh.

His hand had fallen to his viol. He could make her pass out
and run away, but -- this was still kind of enjoyable, somehow. She wouldn't
actually stab him, right? She was clearly having fun with him. Maybe in the way
that a cat had fun with a mouse. Actually, that wasn't particularly reassuring,
and he didn't appreciate his own subconscious classifying him as a mouse.

He made himself settle and meet her gaze, but couldn't quite
keep the nerves out of his smile. "You know, I had heard that Skyport
thieves were all killers, too, but do they all make it look as good as you
do?"

Jen: at 2:37 PM

Oh? At Azriel recoiling, Larkin got the impression she'd
pushed it too far. Alright, maybe flirting with knives wasn't for everyone.
Fair enough.

She made a mental note to let that kind of thing stay in the
shantytowns, where it belonged.

But he seemed to catch himself easily enough, putting that
charmer's mask back on and dealt out another one of these slippery lines. His
kind of weapon, it seemed. This time, though, Larkin was prepared. She could do
this, too.

"Only when they got their eyes on some nice booty."

Izzy: at 2:41 PM

Honestly. What in the Nine Hells. Was she going to kill him
with a knife or with an awful pun? He snorted. "Are you a pirate, now?
That would explain things."

Jen: at 2:42 PM

She laughed, sitting back again, and retrieved the knife.
"Really? Like what?"

Izzy: at 2:45 PM

"The knives, the threats, the stealing, the port town
..." He made it sound like he was thinking out loud. Maybe he could catch
her off-guard. Did he really want to? ... He did. "Pirates from
Calisham?"(edited)

Jen: at 2:58 PM

That was too much of a stretch to be a coincidence.

 She kept the smile
but felt it failing to reach her eyes any longer. Racking her head to put the
pieces together. If this one had really been sent after her by some enemy of
hers - or Renars - this was an odd strategy. Attract her attention, lure her in
and... then what? Stab her? Why not just spring on her in an alley? Or did she
just catch this one doing idle pocket sweeping by sheer luck and now he had to
roll with it? Hard to imagine. Seemed to be too much of a risk. Though, maybe
he wasn't exactly the brightest of spies. Then again, that tiefling musician
did have a gift for talking and charming. Not one she'd think to be that foolish.

Frustrated at failing to make sense of this, she hadn't
noticed she was just staring him down. Oh well, maybe a shift in tone would get
something useful out of him.

"Wouldn't you like to know, huh?"

Izzy: at 3:01 PM

Azriel blinked at her. He did seem to have caught her
off-guard, but not in a way that she enjoyed bouncing back from. "Well,
that is why I asked," he said bluntly, leaving the charm aside for a
moment. "You don't have to tell me if I'm right." But he was right.
He'd bet on it.

Jen: at 3:08 PM

Not a bad reply. No denial, no nervous laughter. He seemed
genuinely surprised by this reaction and not in a guilty way. Still, Larkin
wasn't ready to let her guard down yet. One more test. She let go of the smile
all together, tilting her chin down a bit.

"Who pays you?"

Izzy: at 3:12 PM

Oh, she was suspicious of him. That was hilarious. The woman
with the knife thought he was some sort of threat. He laughed hollowly.
"Would I be busking for coppers in a bar if someone was paying me?
Please."

It was important to answer quickly when people were
suspicious of you. It was only after he spoke that he wondered -- why would
someone pay him to talk to her? That was interesting. Did she realize she'd
given that away? Was she part of something dangerous enough that she wasn't
even worried about what she gave away? Very interesting.

Jen: at 3:25 PM

Another good reaction. The answer itself wasn't very
convincing- he would, of course, if he'd looked for a way to blend in and throw
suspicion off him. But he'd been here even before she had arrived so that was
unlikely. His body language matched his words. Nothing substantial to pin the
suspicion to and yet.... ah, fuck. Larkin realized she was being paranoid.
Also, she'd liked this one- broken horn and scratched face and all.  With his fingers that had felt well cared
for, with only a bit of callus from playing the viol. Would be a pity to let
him off the hook just because she saw enemies lurking in every shadow.

She sighed and dropped the hard look. "Alright. Fine.
Nope, never been to Calisham. But I have been on a ship once."

Izzy: at 3:36 PM

"You're a suspicious one, aren't you?" he asked
casually, tilting his head, smiling, back to smooth. "You continue to
wound me, Eliott." I have been on a ship once. Why was that endearing? It
sounded so oddly sincere. "To get much attention even with fingers so
light, you must look for a lot of trouble."

Jen: at 3:41 PM

Larkin shrugged and returned the smile. "What tiefling
doesn't get trouble thrust onto 'em?"

At that, she remembered something and took a glance across
the room. "Speaking of which, when that," she tilted her head in the
general directing of the bar, still looking at him, "trouble breaks loose,
I don't plan on being here. And neither should you."

Izzy: at 3:46 PM

"Oh, agreed." He glanced toward his mark, having
to turn his head further than normal to compensate for the lost vision in his
right eye. Still out, facedown on the bar. "Some of us have more elegant
methods, you know." He grinned at her over the rim of his cup, downing it
quickly and adjusting his viol. "I don't suppose you know a good place for
one to be when trouble inevitably starts looking for them?"

Jen: at 4:01 PM

Larkin raised an eyebrow at his jab but let it go. She'd get
back at him soon enough.

"Hm, not in this town, no." She emptied her cup as
well. "But- well, I know how to find places. C'mon." She got up and
without looking back, started threading her way through the crowd towards the
exit.

Izzy: at 4:09 PM

Azriel could have been insulted that she didn't wait for
him, but he was kind of accustomed to that sort of thing and jumping up to
hastily follow was second nature. She was easy enough to keep track of in the
crowd, at least, even if she was smaller than everyone else in here. And if
someone else lost a poorly-placed wallet as he fled the scene, well, it wasn't
his fault.

He tailed her to the exit and slipped out behind her, then
glanced around. It was late, but there were a few people in the street apart
from them, still, so he felt moderately comfortable joking, "So do you
stab me now, or wait until we get to a secondary location? I've never been
murdered before. I'm afraid I don't know the protocol."

Jen: at 4:22 PM

She surveyed the streets, then scanned the surrounding area
for good spots. They could just relocate to a new inn, but... Larkin wasn't
done testing Azriel yet and admittedly, it was fun. Also, he didn't seem too
averse to it. Her gaze shifted away from the street level, up the house fronts
and onto the roofs. Yeah, that's where they'd be going. It was a fairly mild
night also, so no worry about being cold. And even if... she turned to grin at
Azriel and made a follow-me-gesture. "First I've got to get you somewhere
less public."

Izzy: at 4:26 PM

He gave her another nervous laugh. That was ... also a joke.
Right? But also not. Oh, so she could be good at this when the double meaning
involved murder, that was how it worked. Mask, well, he was following her
either way. "Wise of you. It would be a shame to get blood all over the
street."

Jen: at 4:39 PM

"Yep," she agreed in a cheery voice. "And the
screaming. Oh man, the screaming."

They had only to pass around a few turns until Larkin
spotted a building she liked. Three stories tall, with a flat-topped wooden
addition growing out one side and with the building's roof overshadowing it one
story above. She stopped at the entrance to the alley leading past it and
pointed upwards. "Can you climb?"

Izzy: at 4:47 PM

Azriel opened his mouth to follow up on the screaming
comment, but she was already leaving him behind again. He hurried to catch up
to her again, half-muttering, "Maybe you'll be the one screaming. I'm
dangerous, you know," because he wasn't entirely sure he wanted her to
hear it. Murder entendres weren't his forte. She might actually beat him if
that was the game they were playing.

When she stopped outside a shadowy alley, he hesitated,
holding the makeshift strap keeping his viol on his back. When she asked if he
could climb, he gave her a look. "You got that I'm a bard, didn't
you?"

Jen: at 4:54 PM

"Yeah. Just a bard. Nothing shady about you at
all." She smirked. "We'll get you up there, don't worry. But if you'd
rather go back into some stuffy, crowded inn where everyone either stares at
you or sticks their hand into your pockets..." she leaned back against the
wall, crossed her arms and shrugged.

Izzy: at 5:03 PM

He scowled and slipped his viol around, not addressing her
first comment. "I didn't say I wouldn't try."

Propping the viol up, he played a couple testing notes, then
a rapid, energizing song that flooded him with a sense of strength and vitality
-- and charged his bow hand with a dim glow. He moved to just touch her
shoulder to pass the spell onto her, the way he would with a partner or one of
his siblings, but stopped himself. She probably wouldn't take to kindly to a
random stranger trying to spell her.

He offered her his hand instead. "May I? I cast it on
myself, as well. Though I'm sure you don't need the help." He grinned.

Jen: at 5:17 PM

Larkin watched Azriel play his viol with interest. A
fascinating way to cast spells and she found herself admiring how he moved with
it, fingers skipping across the strings. When he raised a hand towards her,
however, she tensed- ready to cast a rebuke and bolt. But he stopped.

Larkin looked down at his glowing hand, frowning at it and
trying to recall whether she knew of any spells that would harm her but not the
caster. Open wounds maybe? She'd seen Goro do it and it was pretty fucking
nasty. But his hands hadn't glowed casting it.

Oh, well. If it were something bad, Azriel could've just
touched her. She raised her own hand and put it against his.

Izzy: at 5:25 PM

He didn't really need to, but he couldn't help twining their
fingers together as the magic flowed out of his hand -- mostly to see how she'd
react. She'd started it, after all, passing him the watch earlier. If she were
someone else, he'd pull her closer to him, but -- since it was her -- he
stepped closer instead, dropping the viol to his side so that it wouldn't be
between them.

Jen: at 5:38 PM

The magic felt like tiny pin pricks where it flowed into her
hand and, continuing down her arm and into her body, it amplified to a kind of
vibration that made her fingers jittery and her heart beat faster. Or maybe it
wasn't the magic.

Larkin shifted her gaze from their twining hands to look at
Azriel. He'd stepped closer and now she had to tilt her head up to look him in
the eyes. Just a bit but it was enough. She grinned at him and reached up her
other hand. Fingers tangling in his hair, they found a grip and she drew him in
close.

Izzy: at 5:56 PM

Mask, finally. He could have kissed her in the bar, or just
outside it, but she'd had to drag him along the street and joke about killing
him half a dozen times first. Not that he'd minded. Well, he had, but -- it was
fine. Somehow. Bizarre.

He fumbled for a second to put his bow away on his back
without looking, then rested his hand on her waist. The spell was still
sparking, rebounding between them, and that was new and interesting and
distracting -- her lips and her hand in his hair were pretty damn distracting,
too -- and he blamed that for the fact that when his fingers slipped into her
pocket, she seemed to notice immediately.

"Ah --," he started softly, and she didn't give
him a chance to finish, twisting his wrist and bending it back painfully,
forcing him to cringe and try to escape the pain by dropping to his knees and
twisting into it. "Okay, yes, absolutely, fair, look -- fuck, ow, please
-- listen, I thought it would be funny to give it back to you once we were on
the roof, please stop."

Jen: at 6:11 PM

"Oh, for fucking sure." Larkin kept the grip on
his hand and bent it back a little more . Just enough to get another satisfying
cry out of him. The kiss and the suspense between them had almost been enough-
alomost- to let her forget to watch put for sweeping hands. Larkin couldn't blame
him, though. She'd have done the same if he hadn't moved first. Somehow, it
made him even more attractive.

"What d'you offer me to stop, hm? Let's make a
deal." She tried putting the cutting edge into her voice but she was still
flushed and giddy and grinning and so it came out as a tease rather than a
threat.(edited)

Izzy: at 6:17 PM

He winced, still trying to bend away from it. She was
enjoying this, the little sadist. That was probably better than her actually
being mad at him. It had been very stupid to try to steal from her, but god,
it'd seemed like fun at the time. The look on her face when he handed her the
watch later -- well, actually he might've ended up in the same position.

"Yes, sure, a deal, certainly." He tried to think
of something he could offer her, and because he was full of bad ideas tonight,
he came up with, "How about another kiss, but you get to pick where my
hands go this time?" It was hard to be charming with your wrist being
twisted, but he did his best.

October 30, 2018

Jen: at 11:35 AM

Larkin laughed. "Man, you got some guts. Alright, I can
admire that. C'mon." She released the strain on his wrist and shoulder,
bringing his arm back into a natural position but kept hold of his wrist.

"Just put the other hand where I can see it," she
said, cupping her own free hand against his cheek and bending down to kiss him
again.

Izzy: at 11:56 AM

He couldn't believe that had worked. Maybe she really wasn't
as stab-happy as she'd momentarily appeared. Or he really was as charming as he
hoped to be. Yes, he preferred that answer.

Either way, he held his free hand up dramatically as if she
did have him at knifepoint (and with hand-to-hand skills like that, apparently,
she might as well), and got slowly back to his feet without breaking the kiss.
He wanted to say something about how she might rather keep him on his knees,
but it wasn't the time; he'd wait until they were on the roof, alone. That, and
-- he didn't really want to use his mouth for talking, right now.

But they'd never make it to the roof that way, so he made
himself pull away and clear his throat slightly. "Anyway. About getting me
somewhere less public."

Jen: at 12:20 PM

She took a step back when he pulled away, pressing a thumb
to her lips and giving him a wry smile. Very good at clearing pockets, very
good at playing music and very, very good at kissing. A man of many talents,
this one.

And he was still playing along. For a few moments, earlier,
he'd seemed intimidated - maybe a bit afraid even. But he did not act like it
now, and he certainly didn't kiss like someone who was afraid. There was
obviously more depth behind his innocent pretty face than he let on. She
couldn't wait to see what else he was capable of.

"Right." She looked at her hand, which still
prickled with the sensation of fading magic and his touch, then scanned the
wall for routes up to the roof. If she were alone or he an experienced climber,
it'd be as straight forward as using the gaps between the stones and timber
beams to scale the wall. But like this, they'd had to take a bit of a round
about way.

"We go up there," she point to the lowest window.
They could pull themselves up onto the sill and reach the first story from
there. "Then over there." She indicated a balustrade a few windows to
the side. "And then we can use that rain gutter to get all the way up.
Just do what I do."

Izzy: at 12:50 PM

He could do this. How hard could it be? He could absolutely
see the path she'd indicated, and he'd watched street thieves climb like this
before, scattering across the roofs like acrobatic rats. Maybe it was the spell
giving him confidence, or the kiss. He really wanted to pull this off
flawlessly and impress her and act like it had been nothing, as if he did this
sort of thing all the time and had merely been selling himself short.

He watched her closely as she hopped from window to window
to railing, and maybe should have waited to see the entire sequence, but was
too eager. Or it was that his wrist still hurt. Yes, he'd go with that. His
grip slipped off the balustrade and he had a brief, frozen moment of
realization that he was falling -- and the his back hit the street, hard,
knocking the air out of him.

Eliott looked down from her effortless perch on the gutter,
and was was quick to raise a hand, turning his coughing wheezes into strained
laughter. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Just slipped. It's fine." Fuck. Ow.
Lucky thing his viol had been at his side, not on his back, for both of their
sakes.

He pushed himself upright and managed a deep breath,
stretched his wrist for a moment, and took another run at it. Window, window,
balustrade, gutter -- Eliott's hand, grabbing his to help yank him up. Doing it
right felt amazing. Suddenly he understood those street thieves and their
bruises and scrapes, and he couldn't help grinning widely at Eliott.

He was a little breathless, still, from the fall and the
attempt, but managed to tease, "You know, if you hadn't ruined my wrist, I
could have done it the first time." He held it up as though it were direly
injured. "How will I serenade you under the moonlight now?"

Jen: at 1:43 PM

"Oh no." She looked at the presented hand in mock
dismay and flicked a finger against it. "Good thing you still have one
hand and a tongue." She patted his wrist, grinning, then asked in a more
serious tone: "anything else damaged?"

Izzy: at 2:01 PM

He waved it off -- the wrist didn't really hurt, and he was
sure his back would be one solid bruise in the morning, but for now he was too
full of adrenaline to notice anything. "Sadly, I have no singing voice,
but I've never gotten any complaints about my tongue." This would have
been the perfect moment to give her the watch and say something about being
good with his hands, but ah well. He folded them behind his back innocently
instead, locking bright eyes on her. "How about another bet?"

Jen: at 2:08 PM

"Don't you wanna wait until you're not so much at risk
of falling anymore?" She indicated the ledge they perched on. It was still
one story to go until they reached the top of the addition.

Izzy: at 2:10 PM

"What, scared you'll lose?" It slipped out before
he had time to realize that she made a very good point.

Jen: at 2:13 PM

"In fact, yeah. Was a whole lot of work to get you up
here. Would be a pity to lose you to blunt trauma before we got to the really
interesting part." She poked him in the chest.

Izzy: at 2:15 PM

He tsked. "Then I'll bet you I don't die before you can
get a chance to kill me." And -- very wisely, he thought -- he waited for
her to move on and show him what to do.

Jen: at 2:23 PM

"I can live with losing that one." Larkin
straightened up and pressed herself against the wall, then begann shuffling
sideways along the ledge over to where it met the side of the addition. The
outside of the structure was decorated with prominent wooden reliefs that would
give them an easy climb up on top. All they had to do was brigde the
three-story abyss between the balkony and the addition.

Izzy: at 2:29 PM

"A hollow victory," he lamented, following her
lead carefully, shutting his mouth for once to concentrate. Getting this far
hadn't been so bad, all things considered, but he did find himself wishing he'd
learned how to cast Feather Fall at some point.

Jen: at 2:32 PM

As expected, once she'd crossed over to the addition and got
her hands onto the facade, the following handholds presented themselves easily.
Larkin made it up to the roof in a matter of seconds, then turned around to
crouch on the ledge and hold a hand out in case Azriel needed it.

Izzy: at 2:41 PM

Azriel kept a close eye on her hands, but she took it so
fast that he struggled a bit to follow in her metaphorical footsteps. He had a
self-deprecating line here about her moving too fast for him or him being
inexperienced at these things and for her to be kind to him, but decided it
would probably be better to keep his focus on other matters.

As soon as he was able to, he took her hand again and she
helped hoist him up onto the roof, both of them staying low. He didn't let go
of her hand. "All right, how about that bet?" he needled her.

Jen: at 2:50 PM

Her heart sped up its pace again as they crouched close to
each other and Larkin couldn't entirely blame it on the exertion of the climb.
Ah, what the hell, she didn't have to. She blamed it entirely on Azriel and his
smooth hands and silver tongue. "C'mon with it,  pretty boy, whatcha got?"

Izzy: at 2:55 PM

He moved closer and pushed gently at her shoulder, to see if
she would let him. "Whoever makes the other scream first gets the
watch."

Jen: at 3:02 PM

"Oh." She gave a low, throaty chuckle and let him
push her onto her back. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she pulled him on top
of herself. "You're on."

Izzy: at 3:03 PM

[end]