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A flash of silver drew Ariel's eye to her fingers where she toyed with a bit of metal, her cheek propped on her other hand. Lips pursed, the dark haired woman turned the key over as she considered it and everything the small item stood for.

Schörl had given her this key, tucked down between the curves of her breasts behind her corset. The gesture had had a teasing sort of note to it... but the fact she'd given it at all suggested the blonde wanted her to use it. It had even come with a spoken invitation, as if she'd really needed more than feeling the woman's body pressed to hers. Even now, the memory of her lips brushing so close was enough to give Ariel a fizzle of heat straight through...

Uncrossing her legs with an annoyed motion, the bounty hunter rocked up off the couch and onto bare feet, pacing across the apartment to the kitchen. Along the way, her fingers drifted over the spine of one of her remaining two cats. Sally arched her spine at the touch, letting out a sleepy chirp. Mistofolees was hiding, as was his norm, on top of the cat tree by the window. The pair were a little out of sorts, or seemed that way, without Zeus and Hera around. Maybe it was all in Ariel's mind, but she liked to think she could read their behavior well enough by now. The tabbie pair had found forever homes just a few days ago, and like all of the cats that came into Ariel's home, they had gone out again. She missed them, a little... but it was always like that during the 'out' phase.

The key clacked as Ariel snapped it down on the counter, pacing to the fridge. Bottles clanked as the door opened and she grabbed one of the beers inside and threw the door shut again, making the whole fridge shake with the thump. Off came the bottle cap and the tall woman swigged her drink, red eyes narrowed at the key sitting so innocently on the counter.

If Schörl had wanted her to follow her to the apartment this key went to... she would have taken her with when she teleported. What was the sense of making her hoof it across town? Not to mention she'd been left standing there, cursing inventively, for another minute or two while her leg had come back to life. So, the blonde had wanted to wait, obviously. Waiting was not a game Ariel was used to playing and it was not one she enjoyed, nor was she much good at it. Patience and Temperance would never be virtues people ascribed to her.

So. The question became... how long should she wait? What was the protocol for something like this? Most of Ariel's partners were drunk girls she picked up at a bar and brought home... this was about as opposite of that as you could get. The other woman happened to also be technically her superior in a military-esque organization... wasn't it frowned on to consort with people out side of your rank? Not that Ariel gave a ********, normally... but it was something to consider. But, on the other hand, wouldn't Schörl have not made the offer, then? She seemed far more likely to follow the rules than Ariel... unless the breaking of them was its own draw.

Thoughts going around and around were doing her no good and Ariel shoved herself up from the counter as she finished off her beer and dropped the empty into the sink. The innocent little key she swept up and tucked into the cup of her bra, feeling the chill it had picked up from the counter die off as her skin heated it.

Whatever. There was no sense thinking too hard about it, at this point. She knew what she wanted and she had the means to go for it. A smile pulled at Ariel's lips as she braced her hands on her hips and wandered down the hallway, already considering what she was going to wear.

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