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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:14 pm 
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That was certainly an odd condition for a town. Well, it was a port town. Maybe parents just ran off every so often, to bigger and better places? Yasuo couldn't be too sure. Etsu, on the other hand, didn't really care. The information was just filed somewhere in the back of her mind to keep for later, just in case.

As they moved through the crowd, Yasuo progressively began to regret his decision to hold Benjamin over his shoulder. Sure, the boy was light as a feather, but they had to maneuver through a crowd to get to the inn. What if one of the people in the crowd thought it was a little off, to see someone who's clearly an outsider carrying one of the resident boys over his shoulder like this? Yasuo wasn't sure what kind of connotation this might have, but it couldn't possibly end well for them.

Fortunately, this didn't occur whilst they were outside of the inn. Once inside, though, it did, and he immediately regretted the decision against just carrying the boy like any normal human being. Well, it seemed to end well, at least--thanks to Peter.

"Warm cider, please," Yasuo replied, before glancing back to Etsu, who nodded--suggesting that she, too, wanted a delicious non-alcoholic beverage. Or, at the very least, one that couldn't possibly end with the effects of alcohol. "For both of us."

That said, Yasuo walked behind the bar, looking for this cot that Benjamin's talked of, while Etsu remained near the door, not quite cautious, but still keeping an eye out. She specifically wanted to make sure that Peter didn't leave without her knowing. The whole reason she got Yasuo to agree to this had to do with him, after all.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:30 pm 
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Peter, too, hung back by the door, letting Ben's mam attend to her new guests and to the patrons of the bar. He looked back toward the door and at Etsu uneasily, then called out to the barkeeper.

"Mam, I'm gonna go talk to Rod--"

"You go then! You tell that boy he'd better come apologize to a poor, fragile mother and to her son what's never done him no harm!" she proclaimed, wagging and accusatory finger at the air while she poured two mugs worth of cider from a cask into a metal pitcher which would be submerged in boiling water to warm the cider indirectly.

"Mam... I'll be back. Excuse me, ma'am," Peter directed the latter toward Etsu, who stood between him and the door.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:44 pm 
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Yasuo returned from behind the bar, now without Benjamin, who was currently stashed on a cot awkwardly placed behind the bar. Yasuo had never seen someone put a cot behind a bar before, and even though he wasn't personally a fan of alcohol, he had been to his fair share of taverns and the like. That was a first.

He was just in time for Peter to start towards the door, whom Etsu allowed to leave by stepping to one side of the door.

Etsu only held her hand up to Yasuo, and subtly at that. It was a way of telling him to stop. At first, Yasuo didn't quite know what she was getting at, but as soon as Etsu saw that he acknowledged it (by giving her a confused stare), she turned and left the building, shortly after Peter--immediately afterward, in fact. Yasuo got the hint as soon as she was gone. She wanted to talk to Peter, it seemed? Or, perhaps, she wanted to see Rodrick? He couldn't be too sure, but apparently she didn't want him to come with her.

Yasuo wasn't necessarily comfortable with that, but he supposed he had no choice in the matter. He was here primarily to back Etsu up, it seemed, so--for all intents and purposes--she was the boss. This did battle it out against his better judgment, which was to go with Etsu just in case something bad were to happen, but his better judgment wound up losing in the end.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:12 pm 
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The exchange was lost on the rest of the world. Benjamin's mother didn't even notice the Cizokan woman leave until she started pouring a second mug of cider.

"Well, it's good to see there are some people worth trusting in this world. I hope your friend and that poor boy can talk some sense into that spoiled vagrant," she spoke to Yasuo, pushing a filled mug toward him across the bar and inviting him to take an empty stool.

"I saw ye eye the cot; it was his father's. We owned this inn together, and he worked himself ragged behind this counter, offering the best service to any wanderer to come through our doors." The hearty woman busied herself with other customers, coming and going, but kept her speech loud enough so the stranger would hear. Her voice cracked as she spoke, but her guise remained politely stony.

"When he couldn't take it, the poor man's body just gave out. Oh how I miss him! But me an Ben, we're doin just fine, as you can see. Had a bit of a rough spell, we did, after his passing, but Mr. Trozk was kind enough to support us while we brought the Drop back from the grave. I can't think of a soul in this town who doesn't owe Mr. Trozk, but we see neither hide nor hair of the man now. His wife... you understand. She was born an raised here--like sisters, we were. He's become a shut in since that... his boy acting out without any real father figure to punish him. Though he's such a good boy most of the time! He was just far too young when it happened... Well the whole town repaid Mr. Trozk and his family, we did. We did everything he asked and now we stand on our own two feet. That boy belongs to the town, now, not just his da. I think he'd do well to remember it."

One of the patrons gave hrrumph and raised his glass to the statement, a few others following suit.

"Far too young, he was. Unnatural what happened. S'why he's so ornery I'll warrant."

"Hush now, Tam, he's still a good boy. He's just torn up is all."

"Per'aps, per'aps..."

"Anyway, you two, you're running up a tab, do you plan to pay along with your thoughts on my boy and his friends or must I kick ye out?" Benjamin's mother cracked a smile for the two elderly men at a corner table by the fire, their usual spot.

***

Peter wasn't particularly in a rush to see his friend Roderick. He wondered if he had enough time to cool off, or if seeing his dad had just sent him into another rage. When he exited, he didn't hear the door close behind him. He knew he'd catch hell from Ben's mam if he left the door open even a crack, but when he turned around he heard it close and saw Etsu emerge.

"Oh... d-do you want to talk to Rod too? He didn't do nothin on purpose, I swear. He wouldn't hurt us."

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:44 pm 
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As Yasuo took a seat and silently accepted the mug of apple cider, he couldn't help but worry about Etsu. He was predisposed towards caring about the safety of women and children, and since he considered Etsu to at least be a close acquaintance of his, if not a friend, he especially worried about her well being right at that moment. He'd never been out on a mission with her before, so he wasn't quite used to her disappearing amidst the ranks of normal people.

But he still listened to the tale dictated by Benjamin's mother. It was interesting, truly, and at least provided some insight into the inn he sat within. It didn't explain why Etsu wanted to speak with Peter or Rodrick, but he figured he could ask his partner directly, whenever he had the chance.

The elderly fellows barging in on the woman's story didn't interrupt Yasuo's thoughts on the subject, nor did they break his care about it. It was sort of idle interest at the moment, to keep his mind a little distant from Etsu, in hopes that he might worry just a little less about her, but the interest was still there. Actually, the old men chiming their thoughts in gave Yasuo the courage to speak, himself.

"How did Mr. Trozk help the town out so much?" He asked after taking a sip of the cider he'd been given. It was probably a common question from outsiders like him, who just came into town today.

Outside, Etsu Hikane followed Peter as soon as she was outside. She stopped once he noticed her, and waited for a moment. At his question, Etsu shook her head.

It was fairly universal language, movements like that. Everyone knew them, from Cizokians to Sythinians. A person shook her head--she was clearly saying no. That didn't quite matter just a moment later, however, when Etsu spoke to Peter directly:

"No. Not Rod-erick-sama. I wour-rd r-rike to speak with you," Etsu replied.

It was the first time she spoke Common here. It was the first time she spoke Common since before she and Yasuo arrived, even. Unlike Yasuo, she did not speak Common perfectly. Yasuo's only limitation was contractions; he wasn't accustomed to using them, so he didn't. Etsu, on the other hand, had a very prominent Cizokian accent, despite having such a meek and small voice. Her r's and l's had very little difference, for example: all of her l's sounded like a partially rolled r, without any emphasis or stress like that of rolled consonants in other languages. Likewise, she over-pronounced vowel dominated syllables and often had to break up longer words in order to pronounce them. These were constants whenever she spoke.

Etsu glanced into the crowd, before adding, "In private, pr-rease."

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:39 pm 
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An icy wind blew through the town, causing some of the crowd to shiver involuntarily. Peter met Etsu's gaze for just a moment, then darted his eyes to the ground.

"A-Are you gonna hurt me?"

***

Benjamin's mother sat next to her boy, the majority of the bar flies having been attended to for the next few minutes. She tended to him, fussing over the boy without actually accomplishing anything while she spoke.

"Oh you know the story already, I'm sure. Mr. Trozk was a rich man, once upon an age--a noble, we think, per'aps cast out of his country for being a dissenter, like what's going on in the land of Cizok, you know. He was never really open with us about his past, but we think that'd be the story or something similar. He sailed into town with all his worldly possessions, all alone. He met his wife here, married, bore children and was as happy as anyone could hope to be. Well, the town fell on hard times, wouldn't you know it, and Mr. Trozk... oh bless his heart. He sold most of his rich possessions and such, pooled his gold and bought most of the town! He never asked us for a cent in return, the man..."

A few of the patrons, those still coherent, raised their glass in respect and muttered a word of thanks to the man.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:35 am 
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"Wow. That was very generous of him," Yasuo replied after a drink, and set his mug down.

That was a noble sacrifice on the man's part. And he was this Rodrick boy's father? It seemed that boy wasn't living up to his father's shadow, pulling a knife on his friends with barely even a second thought. In Cizok, an entire community would have been disappointed with him for not living up to the honor of his father. Yasuo certainly couldn't hold this culture to the same standard--and he didn't really know the full story on the boy, anyways. But that was really besides the point. The boy was kind of no interest to him. More than likely, he was a child rebelling against his father's honor. It happened in Cizok sometimes, too.

"I can see why you hold him in such prestige," Yasuo continued, before pausing a moment, "If it is not too much trouble, may I ask what kind of hard times befell your town? You see, this is my first day here, and I am unaware of the history."

Outside, Etsu glanced into the crowd one more time. She really didn't want to talk out here, not where people could hear her. Even if she didn't have anything secretive to talk about, which was a distinct possibility, she was still uncomfortable in big crowds like this. She couldn't watch everyone, and she couldn't watch any one person for any length of time, either--yet she always felt as if someone else could do better, and watch her without any difficulty, hidden under the veil of a crowd . . .

Having been raised in the middle of nowhere, by only a mother and a father, going out into town only perhaps two dozen times her entire life, large crowds simply made her nervous and uncomfortable. And discomfort could sometimes lead to at least a lesser degree of paranoia.

"No," Etsu replied as she shook her head, "I onr-ry have a few question."

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:25 pm 
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Gazes shifted and feet shuffled; the barmaid pretended to busy herself with dirty glasses on the bartop.

"The usual, lad. Hard times is hard times, and don'tcha know they arrest any town in the world what tries to stand on its own two feet, more often than not. We're good folk, we just had such an awful string of bad luck and that's all ye need know about it. The past is past, and Mr. Trozk helped us dig ourselves out of that heap of trouble in one fell swoop. Was at his wife's urgin, o'course. She was the best thing whatever happened to him. Best thing what ever happened to us too, since she turned him so good to us."

***

Peter shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked behind him, through the drifting snow toward the Ermine.

"I really... uhm... yeah... okay... there's a warehouse a block away from here where Ben's mam stores supplies."

The boy led the way yet again, maneuvering through the sporadically dense groups of sailors and outsiders huddled together for warmth which made up the crowd. After a very brief walk, Peter slipped halfway down an alley to two large wooden doors. The lock holding the chain together and the doors shut was really just for show, he barely touched the thing and it popped open, falling to the ground. Obviously the alley itself was empty, but just as Etsu had a distrust for crowds, Peter held distrust for tight, dark spaces. After pulling the chain off, Peter slipped in and left the door open for Etsu, striding just a foot into the darkness where he reached out for a lantern he knew he'd find. He struck the flint and lit it, letting it sit next to him as he climbed on top of a crate and sat, letting his feet dangle over the side.

"We're alone here. Ben and Rod and me always come here when we wanna be secretive, so... it's good."



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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:41 am 
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That was a bit of a strange response. What was it--famine? Debt? Famine seemed like the most likely candidate, just looking at the place. It seemed to be doing well as a trading hub, after all. Yasuo didn't quite know if this town was under the jurisdiction of someone or something, though. Were that the case, then maybe it could have been poverty--and they owed their government some large sum of money, or something along those lines.

Maybe it was kind of personal, too.

"I see," Yasuo replied before taking drink. After he sat it down, he sighed in relief. The warmth of his drink was definitely starting to kick in. It felt pretty nice. "Well, at least everything worked out the best in the end. I certainly hope it was not too big of a loss on Mr. Trozk's part, though. It would be a shame for such a noble deed as his to be rewarded with poverty."

______


Quietly, Etsu followed, and didn't question Pete when he started to take her down a somewhat dark alleyway. He didn't seem like someone who was really all that threatening, anyways. She followed him into the warehouse, making note of how easy it was to open the doors, and waited for him to provide some light.

"Sou ka," Etsu replied--out of habit--as she glanced around the warehouse.

Not only were they alone, but they were in a very tactically advantageous locale. These crates were aligned in a way that one could always have something to hide behind, and in some cases, it seemed it was possible to reach a high ground quite easily. This was something Etsu decided to make a mental note of. But paranoid observations aside, Etsu currently had some questions to ask--one to start it off, of course, with others to follow. She looked back to Pete, who now sat upon one of the crates. Etsu simply remained standing near the door, though.

"Rod-er-rick-sama," Etsu over pronounced his name at first; it was like that whenever she said a non-Cizokian name out loud for the first time, "miss your face on pur-pose. By ve-ry smar-rr margin."

Missing Pete's ear by a hair--a margin so tiny that it could barely be measured. That couldn't be an accident. If Roderick had accidentally missed Pete's face, then he would have either taken his ear off, missed by a wider margin, over his head or inches from his face, rather than damn near a millimeter.

Which no doubt had piqued Etsu's interest more than anything else had since they got here. That took a horrendous amount of skill, which was even further backed up by some of the things Rodrick was saying. Rodrick was clearly gifted, and therefore the first person in this town that Etsu wanted to become. After all, they were searching for someone or something that was gifted with something of a particular talent. It had nothing to do with absolutely perfect aim, even when under great mental and emotional duress, but this was at least a good start.

"What taught him this?" An awkwardly worded sentence, definitely, but to be expected. In some instances, Common was barely even a second language for her.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:28 pm 
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"I'm afraid I'm all out of time for chitchat, dear. For helping my boy you and your lover are welcome to stay a night at the inn if you like, but let me know now so I can make up your room with the rest of them."

It was a slower time when the Cizokan came in, but Marlene employed a bartender as well as a server during the heavier times of the day, both of them entering through the door and strolling to the back of the inn to change. Marlene herself had to prepare the rooms upstairs before getting back to the kitchen to cook the meals. It wasn't time for patrons to start coming in droves quite yet, but there was a great deal of preparation needed before the understaffed inn could handle the rush. She tidied up the bar for her replacement, waiting patiently for Yasuo's answer.

***

"I... I don't know?" Peter had no problem understanding her, even with the heavy Cizokan accent. His second home was the Drop, after all, and he frequently let the drunks chat him up while he cleared the tables for Marlene, usually earning himself a tip for doing so. Knowing when to nod and agree at crucial points of a drunken rant were key to earning something worth spending.

The boy edged his hand closer to the lantern, placing his weight on it so he could lean over and remove his wool cap and place it on the crate next to him. His cheeks and his ears were very pale, peaking out from beneath stringy black hair, and his nose ended in neither a button nor a crook but something between. His dark eyes wandered, peering at the crates on Etsu's right while he fiddled with the rim of his sleeve with his free hand.

"He musta learned it from the tutor his da hired for a few years, while his mam was still alive. He taught him lotsa stuff, like a little Cizokan... and maybe how to throw a knife too?"

He sniffed loudly, his nose was running from the accumulated dust in the small warehouse. It was making his eyes itch too, but he didn't want to take his gloves off to itch his eye

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:18 am 
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We . . . are not . . . Yasuo thought to himself, but decided it was probably for the best to just keep that to himself.

He and Etsu both knew the truth, and that was all that mattered really. Etsu wasn't his girl. They were friends, at best. It was just that simple. There was even a lot of room to better that friendship, too. Etsu didn't really open up to him or anything, after all--but she did to a select few. Truth be told, Yasuo wouldn't have minded if he was amongst that handful of people that Etsu Hikane opened up to, but he had patience, and if all went well, the rest of his life.

Nonetheless, Yasuo didn't know if they were going to need a place to stay tonight or not. If this mission took only a few hours, they weren't going to. Though, if that were the case, they could always come back and respectfully inform Marlene that they had a sudden change of plans, and were leaving that evening . . .

"I would greatly appreciate it," Yasuo replied with a smile and slight bow of his head.

______


That was a lot less informative than she had hoped for. Unfortunate. It left some implications, though--things she might be able to put to use!

Etsu, herself, was a rare person, and not just in appearance. Yes, she had an almost impossible color of hair, deep red eyes, and skin that almost looked like porcelain, but she kept that hidden when she was out, usually--hidden under a hood, like now, a hood bulky enough to cast a shadow over her face, with pockets deep enough that she could bury her hands in them and effectively shut out any further possibility of someone perhaps recognizing her.

Lineage didn't denote a rare existence, though. No-- Etsu was rare because she was like this Rodrick fellow, trained at an early age to defend herself, and perhaps even do a little more than that. That was rare, usually. Most children weren't provided tutors or taught by their parents to fight, or any education that could lead to a life of murder, be it in self defense or worse.

"Does tutor r-rive here?" Etsu asked.

Maybe that could help, but this, in reality, was just going to be the first of the preliminary questions, if the answer was no-- or if he just didn't know. In the worst case scenario, she'd only have two questions left.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:36 pm 
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"No. He left when Rod's mam died. His da stopped payin' him and I think he had an eye for Mrs. Trozk. Her dyin was hard on everyone. Guy was a fat whale, but he knew how to move. It was weird..." Peter shrugged and mindlessly kicked his feet, gaining confidence and adding details where there were none.

"He had green eyes and liked the color purple a lot. He came in on a ship from Cizok, but I think he was really from west of there. He didn't look like you or your friend do, ma'am, he was a real slob! You're beautiful." Easy embellishments only a teen would make, and a little sugar on top to seal the deal.

"Is that all you wanted to know? You coulda asked on the way to Rod's, I don't wanna let him stew too much... he'll start takin it out on the Ermine again."

While dialog was plentiful in the Drop's warehouse, things had quieted to a normal, quiet mumble in the Drop itself. Marlene responded to Yasuo's affirmative by nodding as she gathered herself up and sped upstairs to attend the rooms. Hey child remained on the cot, no longer in a faint-daze but in a true doze instead. He'd let himself drift asleep under his mother's protective care, and the replacing barkeep had seen him stationed in the same place often enough to know he'd be out for at least the next hour.


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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:31 am 
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Beautiful? She thought for a moment.

Of course, Peter had caught her off guard, and derailed her train of thought briefly. If that's what he was trying to do, then he succeeded. She thought about herself for a moment, wondering why he said such a thing. Truth be told, Etsu didn't have that great of a self image to begin with. If Peter could have seen her face better, he would have seen that she had scars, and that wasn't the only place she had scars. Even if someone could get past all that, and maybe look past what she considered to be a horrible disfigurement, she had one worse-- one that probably would've scared anyone away if they were to see her without clothing on. Anyone but Eldridge, that is--the only person in the world that made her feel physically attractive.

And maybe a couple of embarrassing moments with Scott, too. And this whole "swimsuit calender" thing that was supposed to be coming out, only for Reapers, only to be sold and kept within headquarters-- supposedly she was getting a lot of compliments for the photo taken of her for that. Those weren't taken so much as compliments as they were completely embarrassing. The other might have been a little humiliating, even, were it not for the fact that she was actually supposed to get royalties from that. Strangely enough, Reapers didn't get paid nearly enough, considering their occupation.

Nonetheless, beyond the bottom of her nose, her lips, and her chin, no one could really see much on her. Not her hair, not her cheekbones, or forehead, and barely even her eyes. Her hood cast a shadow over face; a pleasant little thing. She could see out just fine, but with Etsu at four feet and ten inches tall, it was a little tough for someone to see in.

That thought wrapped, she could get back to her concern--about Rodrick's odd skill set for his age.

"There is no tutor, is there?" Etsu asked outright.

It was a little blunt, and may have carried the same weight as a blackjack to the skull--albeit less painful. Etsu wasn't one to care, though. She was here to collect information, after all, and false information was worse than no information at all.

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:04 am 
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That she ignored his compliment left him a little hurt. He really did think she was attractive, after all there wasn't much available in the town that you could call desirable. She was about the only slim figure in town and her voice and size made her out to be near Peter's age. Not to mention the attraction of the exotic; he thought her accent was adorable. You didn't need to see someone's face to know you liked they way they looked, plus, don't women like to be complimented? Maybe it was a Cizokan thing... which made her even cuter.

Smitten, but still scorned, his attitude cracked and bubbled to the surface. Around Ben he played the lackey just fine, but he and Rod were of a much more mature mentality than their small statures could ever depict.

"Yeah, fine. No, there wasn't. But what do you care! Why did you single me out like this and ask to speak in private anyway? I appreciate the help you gave Ben, but now I wanna know what the hell you're doing here!"

He slid off the crate and leveled his eyes into her hood, peering through the darkness and judging her reactions as she had apparently been judging his.

"Rod's just special, ok? Always has been. His family's got money! That's how it is, right? When you've got money or power, you're just special. That's how the world works, it doesn't matter how many times you're reborn! What about you? That guy you're traveling with obviously listens to you and you're sure as hell lookin' for somethin', else you wouldn't be here with me. Well, what is it?"

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 Post subject: Re: A Trained Eye
PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:35 am 
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"Sou ka," Etsu whispered.

Peter would see her face well enough, leveling his eyes to see under her hood-- but even then, there was only so much to see. Her bangs, a dark azure as the hood darkened the color of her hair with shadows, covered the entire left side of her face, including her eye-- to such a degree that it might have even been an impractical practice. The way she did that, keeping her bangs over the left side of her face, ensured that not only would it be impossible to see the entire left side of her face, but that it would be impossible for her to see anything out of her left eye. Something like that wasn't a choice of style, it was a choice of necessity.

On the right side, her hair was tucked back behind her ear, and her scarlet iris kept a sullen stare at, or perhaps into, Peter. Her lips didn't move to grin or sneer, nor did her features contort or anything of the sort. She was stoic, perfectly stoic.

"You are cor-rect," she replied at last.

It was very possibly for her to say too much. The living were supposed to be kept ignorant at all costs. That was one of the duties of Reapers. In some select places, there were rumors about them, but part of their job was to maintain secrecy, and snuff out those sorts of rumors.

But it was also possible to fabricate the truth.

"We are of Cizokian Spe-ciar-r Forces-- Sword Saints. Kensei," Etsu continued, unflinching; stoicism lead to the perk of being a great liar. She spoke with an intonation of absolute seriousness, to boot. "There is an item here of great inter-est to our Master. We do not know who has it or how it r-rook, we onr-ry know frac-tion of what it can do. It is best to for-row infor-ma-tion as it come and for-row truthfur-r guide. I am not to say Rod-erick-sama is suspect, but I ber-rieve spe-ciar-r person possess item in ques-tion-- and spe-ciar-r peopr-re ve-ry often seek other r-rike them."

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