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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 3:05:51 GMT -5
Tenebrae hadn't looked back at him until he'd already moved off, the wet patch on the rock unnoticed by her too, the still-dark sky negating its colour. The scent too, wafted away by the sea breeze. But as she came up behind him, tiptoeing her way gingerly across the treacherous ground, she did lean a hand to his back for momentary support. Her palm came away wet, the substance sticky and, at that range, filling her senses with a rich coppery tang. Her voice was strident as she called to him, the rogue already a few paces ahead. "Leo? Leo stop. You're bleeding." She held her hand up, the dark smudge plain to see.
Leoxander was already moving west as she murmured the words that made him tilt his head her way, listening...
Leoxander paused at the mouth of that cave to look behind him, her way. His gaze shifted from her face, to her hand, and then down his body to inspect dark clothing for a stain. It was impossible in the darkness of that cave, however, to see anything with his human eyes. "What..? Tenebrae..?" His eyes lifted again, having lost track of her voice. "...Where are you?"
Tenebrae was beside him then, close, her breathy whisper warm against the bare skin of his upper arm. Her hand clasped to the muscular limb, preventing any further forward movement. "Shh. Leo, shhh. You're bleeding. And not far ahead is something very large, and very ugly. I think it might be a good idea if you were to go back, tend to your wound. I can take care of this alone." Had he been able to see in that darkness as she, he'd have noticed the puckered brow and tightness of lips that signalled Tene's doubt at her own words.
Leoxander didn't start when he felt her touch, but he would grip her bicep in return, gently. Not for balance, but to make certain they didn't lose one another in that darkness. The sound of a wave at the mouth of the cave had him pinpointing the direction they'd come, but... did she expect him to turn back? Forget the treasure? That was the oldest trick in a thief's book. "...I'm alright. I..." His words were cut short by a soft hiss, from the opposite side of that cave. He silenced to turn his head that way, freezing in place.
Tenebrae's next word was soft, too. "Gods..." The sea-serpent, roused from coiled repose, had raised its massive head, the dark flicker of its tongue a silhouette to the vampiress' darkness-piercing eyes. Stepping lightly in front of the wounded man, she pushed a hand behind to keep him there. There was the soft snick of her sword unsheathed, blade shirring against the metal of the scabbard as she drew it forth, the tainted weapon thrumming with eldritch magics against her palm. "Stay here." Her tone was suddenly sharp, the beast uncoiling rapidly, bifurcated tongue lashing out to taste the air. Just great. The thing had definitely scented Leo. Tene grasped the chain that was looped casually about her neck, running her hand down to loosen the appended triple-barbed hook at her belt, moving forward to meet what was likely her demise.
Leoxander 's eyes weren't adjusting to that dark quickly, but eventually he could see the glimmer of her eyes, suddenly wide and afraid. The word of whisper beneath his breath wasn't quite Hollow appropriate, but hey, the thief was probably going to Hell, anyway. No argument to her sudden demand, he remained in place, though his daggers were defensively drawn with an echo of the same sound that hinted when her weapon was exposed. His eyes narrowed in the dark, following her way, where something swayed in the distance behind her, hissing.
Tenebrae stalked forward, knees bending slightly to a natural fighter's stance with every pause in her step, her progress careful through the rocky terrain. She regretted, for the first time, owning those wicked metal heels as her feet jarred against loose rock, almost causing her to lose her footing at one point. Onward came the leviathan, relentless, still uncoiling though it was halfway across the cave already, sibilant hisses loud enough to be heard even over the crash and roar of the waves. Its true size became clear to her as the beast neared, horrifying in proportion to the largest man let alone the diminutive necromancer. She already had the triskel hook aloft, spinning at the end of its chain in a blur of steely motion. But as she moved, it dawned on her that serpent wasn't following her. It was after Leo... And then it came to her, like a clap of thunder in her mind. A plan. They may just get out of this alive after all. Rose-hued lips parted, and she used something of her magic to enhance the words that roared from them next, loud enough to ensure they'd be heard. "Move to your left! Quickly now!" She hoped for a vantage point at the flank of the animal, and prayed she was right about the focus of its attention.
Leoxander kept his eyes ahead, straining to see into the distance, hearing the clip of metal from the weapon she carried, and spun. Suddenly from out of that darkness, the vision of that fish scaled head darted closer, maw parted to display the jaws that would crush him in two, easily. Her words filled his head as his eyes widened, and a foot paced back, catching the rock to crouch down defensively. Rather than back up, he took heed in her command, and with his jaw gritting in anxiety, momentum pushed him to suddenly leap left, ducking and rolling to make the landing in the rock basin beneath him less painful. He somersaulted to stumble to his feet, ramming into rock siding which caught him at a sudden halt, away from the serpent.
Tenebrae was alarmed that Leo hadn't made it quite as far as she's hoped he might, cutting short the window of opportunity presented to her as the massive ophidian turned it's stinking maw toward the man. Still, a window it was, and after she'd hurriedly re-sheathed her sword, Tene's slender but well-muscled thighs pumped, steel-plated soles almost sparking against the rocks as she bolted toward the beast, the hook spinning. Gaining proximity to her target, the foul, fishy stench of its body almost bringing her to gag, she at last released the weapon on a trajectory toward the back of the serpent's head, catching deep, lodging between scales to bite deeply into its flesh. Tene swung on the end of the chain, legs thrust forward in the manner of a mountain climber. Bless the heels, after all! This was her thought as they, too, found purchase on the creature's slickly covered hide. Such was its intent to feed, it scarcely noticed the pain until those wicked metal spikes had carried her halfway up its back. Still clutching the chain, Tene hauled herself along, the purchase given by her boots enough to keep her upright on its back. And then she halted, jamming her feet down hard, pulling with every ounce of vampiric strength backward. That got its attention! The roar that ensued was ghastly, ear-splitting, a venomous cloud of moisture emitting from the thing's throat as it reared back in agony, its head raised to expose the relatively soft covering under the throat. Holding on with one hand, Tene leaned back, reining the beast harder, her sword drawn again, the blade singing with the vile magics in which it had been forged. Now, if only Leo would notice that exposed throat in time...
Leoxander grunted lowly as his weight crashed into the stone, quickly reclaiming his footing in time to watch Tenebrae hook her weapon into the creatures flesh. Uncertainly, his fingers curled around the hilts of his weapons tightly, brow narrowed at the alarming sight of the woman bronco-riding the Leviathan beast. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, the throb of pain at his lower back ignored in the sudden awareness of that moment, watching for the lash of an angry finned tail, noticing the exposure of softer flesh with the creature's head reared back. It was all observed, noted, calculated in the thief's clockwork mind. The moment was awaited where he could leap forward, and with sword swift hands, the slash of both blades would aim to tear across the thing's throat at the peak of his jump.
Tenebrae knew Leoxander's wit was keen and trusted it in that moment. And her trust paid off, the sudden writhing undulations of the serpent beneath her as it coiled and lashed telling her the rogue's knives had found their mark. Great gouts of life's blood spouted from the wounds, the slashes deep and effective. Sea-serpent it was, but still a serpent, and she'd know such a wound to the throat would bring its head rearing even further back as the reptilian brain registered pain. She'd been counting on it - they hadn't time to wait for the thing to bleed to death - and raised her sword spear-like, hefting the hilt with finesse to aim it directly at the back of the beast's skull. With all the force she could muster the vampiress drove the steel home, a wild shriek of feral joy escaping her, eyes stretched wide in rampant bloodlust, the dark magics within the metal corroding the leviathan's flesh and bone as it entered. "Leo, run! Get out of the way!" She abandoned the sword to its lodging, the throes of the creature now threatening to dismount her and thereby leave her vulnerable to being crushed under its rampant bulk. Leaping free, her lithe form plummeting arrow-like toward the rough rocks, executed a midair somersault that gave her extra distance, putting her into a fast roll. Alright, she lost a great deal of the porcelain skin covering her back, but at least she was away... The leviathan screeched in its death-throes, slamming itself against cavewall, rock and ground with enough force to bring the roof down, if it wasn't finished off rather quickly.
Leoxander landed right in front of the damn thing when his weight brought him back to the ground, and at once, he looked up in time to see her impale her blade into it's head. Duo-color eyes widened. The dog, who showed up sometime later, coincidently absent when facing the serpent, barked its head off in that cave at the sight of the thrashing serpent and the two humanoids he liked. At her call, and seeing her leap to safety, the thief turned at once, bolting away from the thrash of the creature. Unfortunately, the thing's long tail whipped back to trip him before he could go far, and a low cry of deep vocals in surprise was smothered out when bits of rock debris, and the long slimy frame of the Leviathan, crashed down around the human. Silence was only broken by the yip of Jack at the mouth of the cave, a few last rocks tumbling down walls to crack on the stone floor. Leo was no longer in sight, amongst the mess of tangled scale body, half of that roof indeed collapsed.
Tenebrae scraped herself up off the rocks, limping as quickly as she could to the site of the disaster. Where was he? Lost amid the rubble, surely wounded ... already wounded. Her mind reeled. Praying to gods Dark and Light alike she started flinging rocks left and right, even in her panic managing to move the lesser coils of the serpent's back end from her path. Calling to him frantically, the vampiress dug for Leo, to no avail. But as she feared never to find him, the faithful Jack scrambled up, pawing maniacally at the fall of rocks just ahead. "Good dog.." In minutes she'd cleared the worst of it, his battered body thankfully proven still alive by the sense of his pulse. But he was wounded, badly. She did all she knew how to do, to save him. Raising her wrist, she bit deeply to the pallid flesh, thrusting the sudden gush of blood toward his lips. If she could manage to give him only a little...
Leoxander was on his back, turned over when discovered, and it was then that his eyes rolled open only to squeeze closed in pain with his own blood drizzling from the corner of his mouth. He knew better then to make any noise of ache, in case anything was still alive and hunting out the weaker survivors of the fight that might have drawn attention from that cave. Jack's nose snuffled the human's face with a few licks of wet tongue to try to rouse him further, but the moment her wrist tilted those life saving drops into his mouth, just enough to coat his tongue... his head tilted back, and his mind blacked out, leaving him to take an involuntary recovering nap in her arms, surrounded by smells of fish, and death. At least it was dead...
Tenebrae cradled the human's head, lifting his shoulders enough to slide herself under them, so as to him offer better support. He'd taken her blood - not a lot but enough. Gentle fingers stroked his face, streaked with rockdust pasted to sweat and congealing blood. Her essence would take care of any broken bones, internal injuries, working from the inside out. A quick check showed no oddness in the angle of limbs, and any fractures would heal correctly. But it would just take time, and that was what worried her. There was always the possibility the cave was home to more than one of the monsters. Her hand reached to grasp Jack's ruff, pulling his closer. "Such a good dog." She even allowed him a brief lick to her cheek, before releasing him to continue his worried vigil over Leo. The vampiress' smooth brow was marred by a crease of concern, another thought coming to her. She hoped he wouldn't be too dismayed at being her thrall for a time; at least, until he chose to take the cure. Tene hated to think of causing him any more suffering, but better this than he die slowly from inner wounds. Who knows, he may choose to stay in her thrall? There were definitely advantages. The telepathy, increase strength, faster healing rate -- some of her vampiric traits, albeit watered down, would be transferred. He might even approve of his increased ability to blend into the shadows, the way he was so fond of doing - as if it ever fooled her, to whom the shadows whispered their knowledge. Tene smiled wryly. She doubted, though, that he'd trust her not to take advantage of the bond. Tene's sigh was soft. Oh, well, it was his choice entirely. She glanced down, pleased to see that his lightly freckled features had lost the pallor of shock, returning to their normal healthy tan. Her blood was working in him now, the vampiric sanguine parasitising his body as far as it was able without the necessary stage that allowed it to take over altogether. Satisfied that his progress was good, she laid his head to the cave floor gently, and rose to a kneel. Although her strength was sapped from what was now a raging hunger brought on by exertion and loss of blood, she still had it in her to lift his large frame, wiry form surprisingly heavy. Those muscles of his... Jack needed no prompting to keep to her side as she started on the trek back to the tavern in the centre of the township, a likely place to find a soft bed and halfway decent food, to further speed the rogue's recovery. They could always come back for the treasure - assuming there was any - as soon as Leo found his feet.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 3:35:15 GMT -5
Tenebrae looked to him, pausing as they stepped across the rocks - she gingerly and with care, he with haphazard nonchalance, or so she percieved. "Leo, are you alright? I mean, are you really alright?" The frown that creased her brow was light, speaking nothing of the concern she really felt.
Leoxander was taking the rocks easier, today. In fact, despite that he'd drank himself to the point of having to stop along the path a couple times for pit stops behind trees and bushes, he lept from one flat of stone to another soundlessly, effortlessly really, his eyes on the next ledge he prepared to jump to, roaming the harder path, rather than the one she walked. "M'fine. Why? Is somethin' supposed to happen?" A worried wince touched his eyes, hoping he wouldn't turn into anything that howled at a full moon, or nonsense like that. A glance was sent her way as he paused, their distance to the mouth of that cave not far.
Tenebrae shook her head, her smile soft. "No, nothing I haven't already told you. I'm just not used to seeing you drunk, I suppose. It changed you, the way you are. I find it comforting, in some odd way. It just worried me a little. I can't say why." The vampiress realised she was making little sense, even to herself, and simply stopped, continuing on the path in silence.
Leoxander hopped down to her level with his eyes on her, just outside the mouth of the cave. With his movements, it was almost as though someone muted him. He moved, his feet hit the ground, but the only sound he made was when his mouth opened to speak. A careless shrug was tossed in the mix with it. "Don't worry yourself too much, pretty. You might get wrinkles." Leave it to the Cheshire grinning one to come up with a statement like that before his blades were drawn, flashing to reflect what little light existed into her eyes, soon swallowed up by the blackness of the Leviathan's liar.
Tenebrae grinned and shook her head again. He was irascible. And she felt much comforted to see the rogue in him again. Following behind, she traversed the darkness easily, making careful search for signs of anything that might have warranted the great serpent's vehement guardianship of this particular spot. At worst, it would be a nest, perhaps with eggs. At best... she turned over this fallen rock and that, keen gaze set for the glint of anything shiny.
Leoxander picked amongst the den wordlessly, his eyes squinted in a cave that didn't seem quite so dark, as before. He could see the ledges and caverns, now, the stalagmites and 'tites forming a mouth of wicked stone teeth around him. And then his vision lowered to his right, passed the foul smelling carcass that remained, broken stone littered about, even a patch of more dusty area where he had lain, dug out. Leoxander noticed the dark stain of blood there, as well, old and stained into stone and flecks of the broken roof, scattered about.
Tenebrae began to look a bit dismayed, as all their fossicking turned up nothing but rocks, and more rocks. She bit her lip, not usually one to be too concerned about taking risks. But Leo had almost come to an end for the sake of her whim. It's be a shame if there was not pot'o'gold at the end of the dead snake. She chuckled at the reference. Not one well-known for her brilliant humour, is our Tene, but bless her, she tries. At the end of the serpent... another idea struck her. "Leo? Give me a hand here, will you?" She had come to lean her palms against the oak-thick belly of the leviathan, lithe body stretched out behind, heels digging for purchase in the rocks.
Leoxander paused, turning a glance over his shoulder to spot her easily in the darkness of the cave. It surprised him how well he could see. Turning, he gave a glance toward the rotting head of the serpent, as if to reassure himself the thing was actually dead. Hell, the thing -had- crushed him in a flailed reflex of death. It wasn't like he didn't have reason to be wary. Approaching her, he grimaced some at her hands touching the dead thing. "It smells like Jack when he eats somethin' bad..." The dog paid no attention to this rude remark, and was sniffing about the cavern in search of overlooked treasure, nose to the ground.
Tenebrae just nodded a bit, turning her head in vain effort to catch a breath of fresher air. Then, deciding that breathing through her mouth was a far better option, she said: "Dragons - land ones anyways, tend to like to sleep on their treasure. Often, a lot of it becomes imbedded in their flesh over time, particularly after a long hibernation. Push, Leo. Let's see if the same goes for the sea-going kind." Her eyes were shining with a light that seemed their own. How she loved the thrill of the hunt ... even this kind.
Leoxander stopped beside her, and turned to face the fallen beast, it's scales paling from something sea worthy, to a deathly pallor of corpse color. Giving her a disgusted sideways glance, his palms pressed into the shriveling carcass of the Leviathan, biceps tensing, exposed since his sleeves had been ruin, and turn off. As he pushed, he laughed softly. "Sea creatures sometimes swallow their prizes. That'd be our damn luck, too." He knew a few bits if knowledge, as well.
Tenebrae set to it, in tandem with the human, whose bare arms bulged surprisingly as he threw himself into their quest. Even with their combined strength it was an onerous task, the beast gradually being shifted via rocking it back and forth, Tene running down at intervals to twist the long tail at a better angle. She'd definitely need some new clothes after this.... Eventually, the serpent was rolled, it's belly merely a sickly white and smooth expanse. Tene looked at Leo pensively. "Inside, you said?" She wrinkled her nose. This was - not - going to be fun.
Leoxander bent his arm, doubled over with boots holding traction on stone, crawling forward into the thing to shift it over. Eventually, it would comply, flattening back to give them that pallet of fish-serpent stomach. His eyes went to her, then back, then squinted with a wince and went back to her again. Twin blades remained... sheathed. "Aw, you're not seriously thinkin' about cutting this thing open..?" Jack yapped as the jaw of the dead Leviathan dropped open, bled-dry skull rocking back into the stone ground. Mm. Wasn't that a pretty sight to accompany the smell?
Tenebrae drew her sword resignedly and nodded toward his knives. "You bet. Though, if there's nothing in there..." She grinned, though the turn of her lips was a little self-conscious. "You won't be too cross with me, will you?" Raising the cursed blade, its magics humming in her palms, the sword itself seeming to emanate a darkly sentient aura, she made the first cut. A thick greenish ichor spurted forth in sticky gouts, leaving them drenched in its foul wake, the stench enough to fell a herd of oxen. Tenebrae stared down at the armour and boots, obviously the remains of the creatures last meal. Or, at least, his lower half. Poor bugger.
Leoxander just kinda stared at her after that first cut spurted some smelly stuff all over him, an attempt to shield himself with the raise of a tattooed arm pointless. It dropped, and his eyes narrowed into a bit of a glare, turning his head to one side with his hair gummed with ichor, spiked in wild directions. He spat some that drizzled into his mouth. Yum. "...Thanks, I'll be sure to charge you for the bath I take at the tavern, tonight." A step back gave room for the armor to slip from the thing's stomach, with a waterfall of guts, and such. "...Looks like it ate somethin', alright... or somebody..."
Tenebrae turned away, that Leo might not be witness to the most unattractive retching she was compelled at that point to make. He could see her head nodding, though. By the time she'd gathered herself again, the ooze from the leviathan's punctured gut had spewed forth even further, depositing lumpish, green-coated objects on the rocks below, their true nature obscured by the rotting bile. To Leoxander she gave a look that would sour milk. "Erm... might you get busy with those knives?" A bath sounded really, really good at that moment...
Leoxander turned a doubtful glance to the thing's stomach, after prying his eyes from the ooze covered armor, and sighed. "Yeah, yeah.." And to work he went, moving the opposite way along the sleek stomach that was serpent like, long and single formed. They had plenty of cutting open to do. Both blades buried themself in scaley skin, and with his hands ripping to one side like gutting open a giant salmon, he split open the underside of the creature's belly, closing his eyes against the spray of innards.
Tenebrae was just ... beside herself. She'd been through a great deal of horror in her life, and agonies and sadnesses that would have killed a lesser being. She'd much rather, at the now, be re-living all of it simultaneously, than be standing where she was. All the same, she would not be outdone, her sword hacking hard through rib and scale, every stroke, it seemed, bringing new horror into the picture. At least she wasn't alone in it. And steadily, the pile of solids at their feet grew.
Leoxander finally reached the end of that body, and both tearing daggers were withdraw, twirled to be stuffed back into their leather holsters at his hip. With that, he turned, covered and soaked in green sludge, but at that point, he didn't much care. His eyes caught sight of the pile of things in the dark. He crouched down slowly along side the flayed carcass, arms resting on his knees. "Wish we had some light. Looks like we found somethin' at any rate..." Bravely, he reached down to pick up the handle of the spiked mace, shaking some of the guts off of it to hold it up to eye level.
Tenebrae, inured to the smell at least a bit, now, had to agree. Reaching into the muck, she drew forth a long string which, shaken of the sea-monster's innards, appeared to be a necklace of stones. "Quite a lot of things, it seems." She grinned, the whiteness of her teeth shining through the verdigris-coloured stainage on her face. As she bent to rummage through the morass, Leo might have wondered why she suddenly gasped so, a little shriek of delight spilling over her lips. "Oh... " The object she raised then, emptied of its horrid contents and wiped on the last clean portion of her clothing, seemed nothing but an ordinary metal goblet, inscribed with a few odd symbols. "Oh...." She seemed dazzled. Ignoring the rest of the pile, she wandered off to sit on a rock. This had just made the whole unpleasant experience worthwhile...
Leoxander still remembered the possibility of a nest near. Though he took the moment to watch where the startled aim of her hands went, spying the goblet. He didn't understand the interest, but he wasn't about to question it. Doing the smart thing, Leo removed his muck covered shirt, pulling apart the front buttons and threads to lay it out on the ground. Several of the smaller items were picked out of the stinking mess, tossed into a pile on that shirt. He murmured a few words lowly. "We best collect this, get outside where we can wash it off and see if there's anything worth while." Remaining there wasn't safe or smart, though the dog smelled no danger yet, and trotted over to Tenebrae to rest his head on her knee, staring at the treasure.
Tenebrae, still staring at the odd vessel waved her hand distractedly toward the rest of the heap. "The rest is yours. I have found something I've wanted, for a very long time." She seemed so genuinely ecstatic, it was probably best just to go along with her.
Tenebrae smiled and patted Jack, after wiping gooey fingers pointlessly on gooier clothing. "Good boy." She looked up. "Yes, you're right, I suppose. Oh, did I mention that your dog here is the reason you're standing and loaded with loot? Jack was the one that found you in time. He's a damned fine animal." She stood, the goblet in hand, the choker placed within it, ready to go when he was.
Leoxander picked up a crystal, rolling it in his gloved palm briefly with his head dropped, his hood falling back to remove the drip of ichor from it's edge. "Wouldn't be the first time." He replied casually, slicking his hair back with opposite hand brushing through blood wet locks. No, he wasn't too handsome covered in fish guts, but he didn't particularly care, faced with all that treasure. It was tossed to the pile, while Jack lolled his tongue in a pleased grin, petted.
Leoxander looked her way, then back hopelessly at the large pile of heavy metal objects. The smaller things were continued to be collected, gathered in that shirt from his crouched positioning. "You gonna tell me what that is?"
Tenebrae looked down at the vessel, and smiled fondly. In answer to Leo's question, she said: "No. No, I'm not."
Leoxander shrugged carelessly at her answer, dragging the tip of the sword across stone in efforts to haul it over, and have a look.
Tenebrae snatched up the etched cup, grinning, to hide it behind her back. "Maybe one day I'll show you. I don't think you'd like it much, though. But then you are such a bag of surprises, Leoxander, I might just be mistaken on that count."
Leoxander smirked, despite himself, still picking up a few small pieces to toss them into the mass, before the shirt was pulled together at the edges, tied like a bag, and set aside to oozy green blood like a stone packed organ. Remaining crouched, his eyes flicked up her way to reveal the humor in his stare, little attention paid to the goblet that seemed worthless, really. "Yeah, just call me Mr. Mysterious. You gonna help me pocket the booty or wha'?" Finally, he stood, the longsword lifted to balance on it's point, almost to his shoulders in height.
Tenebrae smirked in kind. "Alright, O Enigmatic One. My pack should fit most of that armour, and I'll carry the mail." She bent to retrieve it, forgetting to hold up the front of her bodice, which immediately - though fortunately refrained to - give way to imminent spillage. Stowing the goblet in the new and handy side-pocket on her pack she took up the leggings, her face screwing to a grimace as she shook them, and thier grisly contents dropped in a clatter to the rocks below. "Bones, and all. Uck."
Leoxander sent a wry glance her way, before unthreading a bit of leather chord from his waist to knot it swiftly around the hilt of the sword. It was tied to the blade, as well, and hoisted to rest diagonal across his back in the makeshift sheath to carry it. This left his hands free to pick up a few more objects. "I say we head that way." He motioned east, where they'd come in. "See if there's a beach out there somewhere, we can at least wash some'a this off."
Tenebrae groaned, the load heavy even for her vampiric strength to bear. "Good idea. I'll meet you there." She staggered off in the direction he'd pointed, looking - and smelling - like some sort of mad tinker, whose trade was primarily fish guts.
Leoxander 's dog was in the running ahead, now, passed Leo with his voice heard in the distance, following the cliff path south. "Go find us some water, boy."
Tenebrae grinned as the clean scent of ocean air broke through her sullied senses. She hurried a bit, as well as she could, after Jack.
Leoxander paused at the door of the unknown house, shoulders rolling back in strain of the weight of the things he carried. He was still covered in gunk, save his midsection where the shirt had been removed to carry things.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 3:36:32 GMT -5
Leoxander watched the dog run onto that sandy beach, and it was here that he dumped a few of the items in his arms to the ground with a sigh. It was a longer walk than expected, but that strip of sand seemed safe enough, away from the nest of any hungry Leviathan spawn. Dropping the shirt in the sand, he trudged on toward the water, unhooking the strap of leather keeping the sword on his back.
Tenebrae dropped the mail, shrugging her pack from her shoulders, and took off at a run toward the clean salt water, armour and all, leaping into the refreshing waves with much splashing and whooping for joy. She grinned as she surfaced, pushing the tangled black strands back from her face, as even Jack looked relieved to be on the way to being clean.
Leoxander watched the two bolt by with that lopsided grin, used to the animal's excitement in the waves. Jack was barking his head off and running back and forth in the rise and fall of the water, and Leo stopped when the waves skimmed over his boots. Sitting back in still dry sand, he began tugging them off, one at a time. After all, these were his best pair. His eyes were on the surface of the dark water, watching when she appeared. "How is it?"
Tenebrae shook her head vigorously, as Jack might have, suddenly feeling the weight of all that wet armour. Sloshing back to the land, she laughed. "The water's great. I'll head back in a moment." She. too, divested herself of excess weight, leaving her now innards-free belongings to dry in the sun.
Leoxander lowered his eyes, which might be a little surprising for a guy like him to be respectful, when clothes came off. But casually, he kept his attention on his boots, unlacing them until they could be pulled free, twin daggers grabbed simultaneously from each hip, stabbed into the sand near his footwear.
Tenebrae noted the aversion of his glance, tugging the hem of her skirt - still worn, more for his sake than her own - into place. Free of the burden of her weapons and armour, she shot toward the water, bare heels kicking up sand in a plume behind her, diving to the water in a single, graceful dive. Apparently, it was only deep water that she had a problem with.
Leoxander , devil that he was, would lift his eyes to admire the movement of curves once she had run passed him, however. C'mon, couldn't expect him to be -too- innocent, could you? He pushed to his feet with palms pressing into the sand, creeping nearer the shoreline toward the water, free of pouches and pack. Watch splashed with each step until the waves rose above his knees, and his eyes lowered to cup water, scrubbing green slime off his tattooed shoulders. He idly splashed at the dog as it paddled by, ears perked and eyes wide as it that face helped the canine stay afloat. Leoxander said to you, "So what now..?"
Tenebrae was, as Leo would probably find out from tavern gossip sooner or later, quite sneaky. Under the water she dove, strong legs kicking without splash to carry her close to him. Once she could see the bronzed vertical lines of his legs through the aquamarine blue water, she rose like a hungry orca taking down a baby fur seal, her hands pressed to the top of his head, dunking the rogue but good.
Leoxander looked up to see... no one. She was gone. And so quietly, too. It wasn't many who could disarm the rogue, like that, but he was caught off guard when she came up, and his body buckled under the water to be officially: dunked. Sure, he sank under the water, but arms reached down, quickly grabbing her ankles, to pull them forward and bring her legs out from under her. She wasn't getting away with that!
Tenebrae glubbed helplessly as she was held like some superbly attractive divining-rod, upside down in the water. But Leo could not possibly have estimated this vampiress' flexibility. Suddenly bowing her spine back, she brought herself almost double to grasp his own legs, flinging her weight backward to carry him over in an ungracious roll that promptly had them both immersed, in a tangle of limbs.
Leoxander indeed hadn't expected that. He lifted her feet up with a triumphant laugh as he stood up out of the water, hair in his eyes, onto to feel her suddenly arch back and latch onto his ankles in return. The word that stumbled out of his mouth wasn't pleasant, and he cursed before the waves cut his sound silent, tripped back beneath the water. She'd be released when he scrambled to surface to breathe, having to do that more often, human and all.
Tenebrae came up laughing, snorting water from her nose - in the most delicate manner possible - and stood with hands on hips, surveying the human with eyes that would not have gone amiss on one of the Underworld's naughtier denizens. Of course, he had already come up for air. She eyed him a little longer - and who could blame her - before dropping yet another bomb on the hapless individual. "Oh... I almost forgot, in the midst of our travail, with the monster, and all. I've been travelling lately. All about the place, quite fun really. And as I was passing through a forest up north I met this elf. Said she'd been in Hollow a while back." Tene watched his face with a certain sadistic delight, the curiosity imprinted there delicious to her. She paused a moment longer, seeming concerned with adjusting her soaked - and rapidly shrinking - leather clothing. "Told me to keep an eye out for a pair of travellers, man and woman, one with a dog named Jack." The vampiress stopped to pluck a strand of seaweed from her hair. "Gave me something to pass on, should I meet such an individual." Okay, now she was pushing it, fluffing her ebon mane to a liquorice-strap version of itself. "Said her name was... erm. Sahri, that's it."
Leoxander shook like his dog companion, sludging up toward shore, thrashing his head to spike his hair in every direction with water dripping from his fingertips. When she spoke, still standing in a few inches of sea water, he turned to look back her way. At first, his brow quirked, shaking his head, prepared to tell her that she needed to tell anyone asking she'd never seen him. Someone might want their belongings back, after all. But the name sobered his expression, and his eyes unsquinted against the sting of salt water, lifting his palms to scrub them a moment. He remembered Sahri. Only elf he ever liked, really. "I thought she'd be dead by now."
Tenebrae was soon to follow, flinging herself to the soft sand, the feel of it luxurious to her weary body. "Aye, odd little thing she was. Turned into a swarm of bugs at the slightest provocation. Bookish type. Anyways, she had something she wanted you to have - being the only one with a dog of that name I've ever met, I presume it to be yourself - and it's back at the Headquarters. I'll fetch it for you, next I'm there." She brought her hands up to rest under her head, ankles crossing lightly. "Now... this is the life, isn't it?"
Leoxander scratched the back of his head with a glance toward the sky, clearly visible from that beach. He was clean once more, no longer reeking of serpent insides. "Hm." That was the only reply. He'd probably robbed her of a few things in the time he knew her. That gift might not necessarily be a good thing. Moving up the sand, he grabbed the dropped items to drag the shirtful of things toward her, toward the edge of the water, where they could be cleaned. Flopping down beside her, the shirt was torn open by hands stronger than he remembered, and he blinked at the ripped fabric before releasing it.
Tenebrae groaned. The armour. She'd have to move again. Pushing herself up from the sand, she took up the strap of her pack, the weight of it leaving a heavy imprint in the sand as she dragged it down to the water. In the other hand, she'd carried the polluted chainmail. Soon the items were as clean as they were ever going to get, and drying in the warm breeze that had blown up from the south. "Leo...?" Her look to him was sidelong, eyes glinting amber in the greyish light of pre-dawn. The question hung in the air, unspoken.
Leoxander kept his eyes lowered, picking out a green covered piece of silver, before leaning forward toward the water to wash it in one of the waves that swept up to slightly tickle the underside of bare feet. Once the bracelet was clean, he looked over her way, and reached out for her wrist to decorate her arm with it. It would look much better on her, after all. "Yeah?"
Tenebrae slipped the bracelet on, holding her arm out, wrist circling, to admire it. "Thanks!" She cleared her throat a little then, as she took the tainted goblet from the side-pocket of her pack, dashing it and the necklace contained within into the water. "Who was the woman Sahri spoke of? The one you travel with?" She blithely raised the arcane vessel, twirling the stem in her fingers with apparent satisfaction.
Leoxander cast a bored glance back at his pile, then over to the armor she'd savored, spying the spiked arm bracer. "Hey, lemme look at that." It was a salvageable piece of equipment! But her question made him lift his eyes with a lift of his brow, knitting it briefly in thought. "I can't say I've been known to travel with many people, honestly, Tenebrae. But she probably means this... Assassin I know." Giving Reagan's name wasn't easily done, because, well... the woman was an assassin. They both worked the shadowy less pretty sides of living. He eyed the necromancer suspiciously for a moment. "Why..? What else did she say?"
Tenebrae shrugged, idly passing the rogue the bracer. "Not a lot more than that, really. Just that you seemed to be, you know, close." Tene tossed him the rest of the armour, and trinkets, too. As if she didn't have enough to carry, already.
Leoxander frowned slightly at her words, his eyes dropping with a hand reaching out for the bracer, using the study of that armor as an excuse to keep his stare down. "I guess I make it a point not to get too close to people, but..." His shoulders lifted in a shrug, trying not to feel too emotional about it. He did look a little sad, though. "Maybe for awhile..." His duo colored eyes lifted Tenebrae's way, squinted in doubt. "We're not together, if that's what you think."
Leoxander throws pebbles of silver back at her leg gently, half buried in treasure already.
Tenebrae merely continued passing objects, her sense of his discomfort on the topic acute. There'd be some long story behind it, no doubt, but she wasn't about to ask, knowing by now how intensely private he was. "Not that I was wondering..."
Leoxander kept his stare upon her, maybe a little longer than necessary. But lately, he found it hard to tear his gaze from that view. He was enchanted with her profile against the horizon, and tried hard not to let that show. Maybe it had something to do with that blood that kept him awake at this hour of night, stirring his senses. "Sure..." He finally looked down, unbuckling the strap of leather armor, worn, around his wrist, to replace it with the one washed off in the wave of sea water.
Tenebrae 's lips compress as the nuggets ping against her legs. She tossed the heavy chainmail in retaliation. No-one could accuse our Tene of being petty, no, ideedy.
Leoxander winced and leaned away to try to shield himself from the throw of heavy armor with a mischievous grin touching his expression, eyes squinting with a wary glance her way. "You want -me- to walk around in chainmail? I think not.."
Tenebrae shrugged, as she piffed first one boot, then another at the rogue, for even thinking it. "Don't be facetious. Anyways, somebody -died- in it. Hardly appealing. But it'll be worth something, even for scrap. Hang onto it."
Leoxander shrugged his shoulders, figuring he could at least make a profit on someone else's death. What he could store into his pack, was, unless she laid claim for anything he'd pocketed. He wasn't about to offer to split anything she didn't want. "We should probably get back to the city, y'know. People'll be talkin', I'm sure. Someone saw you leave with me... so... someone probably thinks you're in trouble." That grin lingered as he picked up his shirt, shaking it out to wash it in the water, soon to wring it out on the sand.
Tenebrae had been about to say something, but closed her mouth when he'd spoken. She nodded, tossing him the few remaining items that wouldn't fit in her own pack, and rose, bending to brush the sand from her slender legs.
Leoxander eyed her speculatively as he stood as well, brow furrowing some with the sudden silence Tenebrae had fallen into. Lowering his gaze, spikes of blonde hair fell over his brow, and his shirt with the hood attached to it was pulled over his upper torso, buttoned up to the center of his chest patiently. If she didn't want to speak, he never minded silence.
Leoxander looked to the shard in his palm, stuffing it into a pack pocket. "What's this?"
Tenebrae shrugged. "Thea gave it to me. I've never known what to do with the thing. Quite valuable, apparently. Oh, and it came with this scroll." She tossed the small parchment to him. "I'm tired of carrying it about."
Leoxander caught the scroll, opening it at once to inspect it. Perhaps it was a treasure map? The rogue could only hope. “Thea. Th'name sounds familiar." But that was as far as his knowledge of that person went. His interest was on the scroll a moment longer, before Jack padded up, shaking off sand and water next to the two obnoxiously."
Tenebrae took up her pack then, the burden only seeming less compared to the load she'd carried to the beach. Slinging it to her shoulders, she trudged up the dunes toward the town.
Leoxander closed the scroll after glancing over the story, seemingly thoughtful for a moment, until that, too, was tucked into the heavy pack of things settled against his shoulderblades. He slid his hands under the straps to adjust it, before reaching down to pick up two twin blades.
Leoxander would only sheath them, to pick up the sword in hand on the way up the dunes. "Look at the size of this weapon."
Tenebrae glanced at the mighty sword, almost the length of the man's own body. "Well. Now you can let it get about that Leoxander has an impressive weapon, I suppose." As her head was quickly turned away, it was hard to tell whether she was grinning or not.
Leoxander was smirking, glancing at the back of her before his eyes rolled, sheathing the weapon across his back before they got around the crowds of other people.
Tenebrae looked most reluctant as they approached the direction of the dock. Bravely, she straightened her shoulders and made out it was all perfectly fine...
Leoxander would touch her lower back gently when he stepped up to her side, a sideways glance giving a hint of a smile her way, trying to be reassuring. "Who knows? We could get lucky.."
Tenebrae eyed him a moment, sideways. "You just never know." With that, she thrust her chin out and sauntered toward the ship.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Dec 26, 2006 3:39:19 GMT -5
Tenebrae falters at the ramp, bringing her shoulder close to Leo's as they're jostled along with the other passengers boarding.
Leoxander lifted his eyes to the sky, after stepping onto the deck of the smaller ship, Jack's paws on the side to peer out toward the open water. "Doesn't look like it'll be a rough ride home, pretty. You can relax.." Different colored eyes would drift Tenebrae's way, and to prepare himself for the city, he began donning that roguish gear, armor.
Tenebrae sighs, leaning to the railing, fingers curling to the wood tightly as she looks out across the sea, almost flat as a sheet of glass. This wasn't too bad.
Leoxander would sunk down to rest part of the trip, sliding down against the wall with his hood brought low over his features. His head only tilted up slowly hearing the first patter of rain on the deck of the ship, but Jack pressed close to Tenebrae's leg.
Tenebrae, not about to be caught out a second time, dives for the door to the hold below, emerging moments later with her sword pointed to the back of half a dozen wealthy-looking passengers. Once they were above, she held the door open, grinning at Leo. "Care for a little sanctuary?"
Leoxander looked over at the opening cargo hold, grinning under his hood at those kicked out of the only dry place on the small boat. After a moment, he'd crawl across the deck, waiting for her to move back. In the mere time it took him to approach that trap door, the rain was pouring, and Jack was seeking entry to Tenebrae's sanctuary even before the human could drop down into the cargo hold. Waves began crashing against the hull, creaking old boards threateningly, but it didn't seem to bother the rogue.
Tenebrae closed the hatch behind Leo, bolting it tightly. Now, if only this rickety bucket didn't sink, she'd be alright. The vampiress crossed the small space, settling, after dropping thigh to heel, against a pile of furs bound for the furriers of Kelay, snuggling against thier softness. Really, it wasn't too bad, after all.
Leoxander found his comfort in the shadows nearby, leaning against the side of the ship, hands sliding into pockets casually. From that position, he could watch her, quietly, a keen study in eyes born blue. He could still catch drift of the scent he distinguished as -hers-, from there. Even Jack seemed to stare at his master oddly. Something was definitely different about the human. His jaw tensed with the slight grit of his teeth with the impact of the storm, pounding against the side of the boat in his sensitive ears. More sensitive than he recalled them being. It would lessen, however, quieting down as they drifted across the ocean.
Tenebrae, of course, was aware of his eyes on her. Not to mention the hint of what thoughts might be behind that gaze, this occasional insight being a symptom of his being thrall. She wasn't uncomfortable with being watched; in fact, for one like her it was odd if she wasn't.
Tenebrae stood, as she felt the waters calming, looking to the hatch above. "Shall we go up, or stay here, for the rest of the journey?"
Leoxander lost himself in thought, and his stare locked upon her in an almost predatory manner, visible from a crack of light from the open hatch, streaming coincidently across his eyes to make his stare all the more obvious. They blinked not when she stood, but when her voice seemed to draw him out of the brief state he'd tranced into. Finally, iris' tore from her to drift upward, where he heard people leaving the boat. The option to stay... was tempting. "...After you."
Tenebrae climbed the short ladder to the upper deck, having paused at the base of it as she passed Leo, close, the clear, light green of her own eyes meeting the mismatched brilliance of his. She turned, without word, and went.
Leoxander allowed the dog to scramble up the cargo stairs first, emerging from the hatch into the warmer air misted of stray sea water. At least it was no longer windy. Leo hesitated, taking a deep breath, flexing fists with a creak of leather from fingerless gloves. Finally those hands gripped the sides of the ladder, tilting his head to shoulder open the hatch behind the female, and animal.
Tenebrae wasn't long on deck when she paused to smile at a nearby sailor, appearing to the enjoy the sound made as he tootled a merry little tune on his flute, though her eyes twitched at the corners every time he hit a certain note. Seemingly caught up in his merriment, she started to dance, as did the sailor. Dancing back behind the ship's cabin, she disappeared a moment, only her slender forearm extending, forefinger crooked in a gesture of beckoning. The sailor, still merrily tweetling, followed. A moment after he was gone from view the tune suddenly ended on a loud and sour note, and a strangled cry might have been heard above the gentle shush of waves against the side of the boat. Tene emerged, then - alone - licking her lips. Blinking at those who would stare, she smiled. "He decided to go for a swim." She shrugged helplessly, making a 'tsk' sound. "Men..."
Leoxander waited, along side the dog, watching the scene play out as silently and observantly as ever. His eyes followed the beckon of the sailor, but beneath the edge of his hood with no turn of his head to make it obvious. No surprise showed in his shadowed features when he looked back to the water, hearing the cry behind him. Knots twisted the center of his stomach, and he wasn't sure why. Something of envy crept into the back of his mind, jaw clenching, with a hand straying down to scratch the dog's head. Leo soon took a seat on the side of the ship, watching the westward trek, and only the dog looked up at Tenebrae when she came back into view, alone. Getting off that ship at that point was for the best, unable to explain the emotion bubbling inside him. Even before the ship docked, he jumped the side, landing upon the wooden planks nearly silently. Jack bound after him, scrambling on the landing.
Tenebrae stared at Leoxander, his abrupt departure causing her quite some alarm. "You ok?" was all she offered, but a world of meaning was in the tone.
Leoxander nodded his head, slinging the pack over his shoulder. Sudden departures weren't too unlike him. He called back a few words her way in a deep voice. "Yeah, I'll see you at the tavern or somethin'. I'm gonna walk the long way." A whistle was sent to his dog, and before the necromancer knew it, Leo was tracking sand into the streets, swallowed up in shadow, gone.
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