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 Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:26 pm
Something told her to leave the griffins at home - probably the fact that they were both fascinated by the egg, which was moving slightly more frequently now (which meant once every twenty or so minutes)...which meant that they would be protecting it all day. That left her pretty much defenseless. Not that she was concerned; Iris wasn't as paranoid as the rest of her family, even though most people thought she was. Most people thought a lot of things, like that her brother was a fine young gentleman.
Bull.
She was going to briefly interrupt his little lunch date, strictly because her mother requested it. Why? Not a clue. She also didn't know why her mother knew, unless she went on another of her prying-sprees. That was one thing that both Iris and Amun hated; the woman was so used to gossip that she thought everyone's business was her own, especially her children's. Regardless, the woman slowly made her way to the restaurant - some high-class, but not too rigid place right in the middle of the district she was wondering through the day before. Thankfully, no dress. It was mid-day, and she was dressed casually...expensive, but casual. No need to get all dressed up for the likes of her brother.
As she approached, the black-haired Nefretiri heiress caught sight of her sibling. Oh, outside..that made it easier. She took a quick glance at his company - a blonde, and...
....no s**t.
Outwardly, she stayed the same, but a quick flash of alarm swept through her brain before she subdued it and brought herself back under mental control. Eh...Deste knew how to act. And so did she. It would be made a little easier by the fact that hired-help was most often completely ignored in these sort of ventures, so she wouldn't even have to make eye contact. Granted, that actually might be more of a problem than a help, because if she wasn't careful, her body language would change drastically whenever she approached. A bit of extra thought, but it could be handled...so she continued without missing a beat, walking up behind her brother and putting on a small smile.
"Mmm, I thought you didn't like eating outside."
He turned, smiling and standing to embrace her. "Normally I don't, but welcome. An unexpected surprise...shopping?"
"Hardly. Not the day for it, it seems."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:06 pm
....Stay calm. Express nothing.
It was easier than Deste had expected it to be, actually. He'd seen her coming at a distance, noticing her long before she had finally taken notice of him. He wanted, on impulse, to ask her what the hell she was doing out here, though luckily the thief didn't act on impulse very often, especially not on a job. On the other hand, Iris made him act on impulse a lot...damnit, woman. But he managed, flicking his dark gaze over to her, lingering just long enough to seem professional in "sizing her up as a threat," before looking away to his employer.
Lenore had turned her head towards him just enough so that those two blank eyes could "see" the thief's face. Auster hissed briefly at this new woman's approach, smelling two strange griffin scents on this woman, but at seeing nothing, the crested female settled down again. The bird's mistress, upon hearing the exchange between her current business partner and a woman she couldn't identify through sound, held out her right hand to rest the table, palm upwards. Deste extended his left, and traced a quick series of symbols into the woman's palm, which expressed the message, 'Sister to Amun. Harmless.'
The Albinian inclined her head slightly in acceptance...though Deste could tell that she was wondering what the connection between himself and Iris was. Hmph. Prying brat. But Lenore withdrew her hand without further question and carefully stood to introduce herself. "Greetings, Miss Nefretiri. My name is Lenore Rosaylen, of Albion. Please, have a seat and join us, if it so pleases you."
Deste suppressed a 'Hmph,' but couldn't help but glance at the blonde beside him. Lenore -did not like- strange women, and Iris was of a particular breed that she was would absolutely despise. And it wasn't only because she sensed a connection between Deste and Iris. But he said nothing as his Egyptian flower seated herself, merely going back to staring blankly at the wooden tabletop in front of him and doing the best to block out whatever Lenore and Amun were saying as they struck up conversation again. He couldn't ignore it when Iris' b*****d brother attempted to flirt again, though.
"So...might I interest you in evening entertainment sometime, Miss Rosaylen?"
Deste felt Lenore stiffen in indignation for a moment, but she returned curtly, "Thank you, but I'm afraid all of my evenings will be well-occupied."
The thief kept his tongue. But Amun wouldn't. "Oh, but couldn't you free up a night or two? I would make it...well worth your while. I'm not at all lacking in anything, if your concern if for lack of sight."
Lenore stood at that point, utter hell-frozen anger seeping from her body. "I would not go to bed with you even if you were the handsomest man in the country. Trust me on the fact that you will -not- want me rapping at your chamber door. I bid you good day, sir."
Suppressing a snort and chuckle, the man rose to follow the woman as Auster led her away. Cold and tenacious b***h as always....
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:07 pm
Iris....tried SO hard not to laugh. That is, until Deste and his charge were far enough out of ear-shot for her to bust out into nearly uncontrolled laughter. Amun pretended to glare lightheartedly at her...but she knew that he wanted very badly to strangle her at that point. Too bad.
"Wow...I think that was a record for you."
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."
"Rightfully so. You don't seem to have much, if any, dignity left."
He really didn't respond, and she enjoyed it all the more. He lifted his hand and snapped fingers, and three men came from different corners of the area t'wards him. Hmph. Paranoid b*****d. When they approached, he whispered to two of them...who nodded, and walked off....and simply ignored the third, who stood there like a Doberman ready to pounce. The heavyweight even dared to size her up - please, she could kill him before he even blinked.
"Well...I must be off, dear sister." he said lightly, smiling. "...oh! I almost forgot."
She didn't look amused. "Yes?"
"Didn't that man seem familiar to you?"
There was a double motive behind that, but she didn't take the bait. "...barely. I was too focused on you making a fool of yourself to notice."
He looked at her...rather oddly, suspiciously...then turned and walked off. Well fine.
Now to see what his henchmen were doing.
She quickly darted off in the direction of her Deste and the two men. She really didn't care much for the third party, but she was part of the reason Iris was pursuing them, so...eh. Honestly, Iris had long ago lost sight of them - rather bad pun...oh well - but decided to continue on in the direction she knew they were headed. It was a fool's quest - there were so many different ways they could have headed after leaving their little date, but she at least had to try.
Slowing, she looked around quickly. As if that would help her find them. But suddenly, she felt a familiar presence. Deste. Soon enough, she turned to see him in a rather dimly-lit alleyway, motioning for her to approach. She did, and he grabbed her by the hand and led her back into its recesses, deep enough to where they were not immediately in view of the public. Well, she had a feeling he wanted to do more than just hold her hand, and right on que, he burst out "What are you doing out here?"
Wait..."...did you really just leave that girl alone with my brother's people? Have you lost your mind?"
"Hmph. I'll go back for the bodies later. Now..."
"I don't really know, honestly." Iris stated. "My mother asked me to check up on him during lunch. I suppose because of the assassination attempt...but other than that, I don't really know."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:09 pm
Deste had seen her off earlier that afternoon, and then had proceeded to go off on more investigation of his own. Honestly, he was digging up things so she wouldn't have to; the thief felt better if he knew she wasn't putting herself in danger by trying to uncover come scandal. If things did turn over for the worse, at least he'd probably be able to escape with his life and flee back to Albion in the meantime. Or hide out at Lenore's...which was an unpleasant thought, but necessary if he was liable to put Iris in danger. The blind girl's grandmother had a lot of off-the-record influence anyway, considering she was a political ambassador to Chryseas. Hmph. His connection to that particular woman was something Deste didn't like to think about either. But she'd been useful in finding out some more...details. He'd let Iris know about that later tonight.
He was actually in a relatively good mood...until it began to rain sometime mid-afternoon; by the time evening came around, it was absolutely pouring.
The bandit cursed blackly at whatever forces had conspired to make it rain in the middle of early Autumn in a country that was supposed to be relatively dry. Though, he would rather have rain than have to trudge through snow, like the kind he'd be facing back in his birthplace. But the falling water was making it extremely difficult to drag the bodies to the b*****d brother's house.
He made it to his woman's home sometime after 9:00, late because he'd gotten a bit...tied up, but there regardless. It was still raining. He slipped through his designated window, drenched to the bone and not particularly happy. Kalei gave a tentative chirp of welcome as he stormed by the pair of griffins - Ma'at looked like she was about to shriek a warning. Bursting into Iris's room, he found her lounging in her bed, reading. His anger might have subsided at seeing her, except a hand went to her mouth to hide a grin. She couldn't stop her snicker though, and then...."Hah. You look like a drowned puppy."
Scowling, he stepped over to her and shook his head, slightly appeased when he heard her yip in surprise. "Woof."
Still scowling at her, he noted that the water he had flung at her contained some dark spots. Hm...he'd take care of that later. "Bandages, if you don't mind." he muttered, pealing off his shirt to present a still-bleeding wound on his chest, just beneath his left shoulder. That was what he was really pissed about...damn archer...luckily the thief had killed him or the brother might actually have found out what he looked like.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:09 pm
"For the love of-" she started, closing her book upon looking at the wound and getting up to get something with which to clean up his wound. Time for the handy-dandy Egyptian in her to come out again. Iris left the room and came back with something to dry him off, and after reaching in her closet to get her box of 'homemade' remedies, she sat down beside him. She gave him a slight tap on the hand when he went to grab for her supplies. "I'd let you, but you don't know what these are."
"...."
"Just trust me." she said, carefully cleaning off what blood was already there and having him hold the cloth there to try and slow the bleeding a bit. Opening the box, several jars of liquids and pastes greeted her, along with three or four small vials of even more liquids. A few leaves and herbs - some dried out, some not - lay to the side, along with the bandages he asked for. Ah, but that would come last. She moved his hand and took the cloth away from the wound, which immediately began seeping blood..though not as much. Iris took out one of the jars - a small one filled with what looked like a greenish-brown paste - and a small vial of liquid of the same color. "In case you didn't already know," she said, taking a small bit of the paste out of the jar, "My family dates back to the last dynasty of Pharaohs, and legend has it that we were one of the Pharaoh’s favorite priest families. I really don't know if that's true or not, but we're all taught how to do this, so I suppose it has at least a bit of truth to it."
She hesitated a moment, almost cringing, before opening the vial and combining a single drop of it with the paste. Dammit...she felt the stinging in her side coming back. It had happened about two hours before Deste showed up - she had a bit of trouble with one of Amun's men...and she thought she had it taken care of, but apparently not, because it shouldn't be stinging. Then again, she did move rather quickly when Deste revealed his injury. It was fine - it wasn't a serious wound..she just didn't want Deste knowing about it. Especially not now.
Immediately, the paste started to bubble and hiss on her hand, and produce a rather sweet-smelling odor. Carefully, she rubbed it on the wound, quickly covering it with bandages and cleaning up the blood that escaped while she was combining the two. "There," she said, smiling lightly. "Even if you're one of those lucky people that heals fast, that'll help it go along even faster. And it won't get infected."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:11 pm
"Thanks." he murmured, feeling his anger suddenly drain. Eh, long day....combined with Lenore and actually slipping up and getting injured had just put him in a bad mood. Iris' touch calmed him down considerably, though.
After her medical attention, he left her room to find his spare set of clothes, considering that his current attire was still too wet to sit in. He found a towel somewhere along the way, and rubbed out whatever water was left in his hair, and then made the not-so-pleasant discovery that, judging by the blackish stains on the cloth, the die really was washing out. Eh...she'd probably ask about why his hair suddenly appeared more brown than black...feh.
He returned to find the Egyptian on her bed again, looking at her just in time to see a hand move away from her side. Strange...something was wrong. He'd wait until she made a motion again, though...
Or not. Deste was at her side in a quick step when he saw her face contort with a wince. Standing over her, he felt a wave of uncharacteristic concern wind through him, before reaching out to pull up her shirt at the spot her hand had been. She tried to stop him, but he met her dark eyes with his own; about half a minute of exchanging stares found her hand dropping away from his. The thief didn't have to go much further than just feeling beneath the cloth of her shirt - bandages.
He felt a frown and a sort of renewed anger come over him. "Iris..." he noted his voice sounded more menacing than he had intended for, and attempted to restrain himself. "...What happened?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:12 pm
She avoided his gaze. Heh, his tone told Iris that she should have hid it better. He was going to flip...and he didn't need to. He was still hurt. That paste could have some nasty effects if it rubbed against his skin a bit too much.
But it wasn't like she could just up and not tell him. He had her pinned. Looking up, she was suddenly distracted by the fact that his hair looked different. For one, it was dry. Aaand it wasn't the same color. Odd. The woman stared at his hair, wondering if it was always like that and she had just never noticed, or if something had happened in the few-minute span that he was away from her. Hmm...
"Iris." he repeated firmly, drawing her attention back to his face. Mmmph...
"...you know, normally, you try to undress me in my sleep. You're starting early, I see."
Aaand that wasn't going to work - the look on his face said that he wasn't playing around. At all. Sighing, she looked down, lifting her a shirt a little so she could look at the wound herself. "A few hours ago," she began. "When I got home and got all settled down, I heard something downstairs. I thought it might be you, but then...you always use the window. Kalei and Ma'at were asleep, so I got out one of my whips and went down there. I reached the bottom of the stairs and didn't see anything, but there was something there - he lunged at me, but I moved. Grazed me still, as you can see. He wasn't very well trained, though, because the moment he flew past me I had the whip around his neck. I would have killed him, but...he's one of Amun's men. It'd be too much of a risk."
She braced herself for his reaction.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:14 pm
Deste knew that losing his temper over something as trivial as a small flesh wound...but it had now reached the point where he had inadvertently gotten her injured. And he hated himself for it.
He jerked away and began to stalk around the room, muttering incomprehensible words to himself in pure frustration. He could have come earlier, gone back to dump the other bodies at a later time. He could have prevented -anyone- from touching her...damnit. Damnit damnit damnit. He should have been there to protect her. And yet it was his fault that she had even gotten involved...
Someone was going to die tonight. He didn't care if he wasn't going to get paid for it; he'd do this murder for the pure pleasure of making that b*****d -and- the b*****d's master cry for mercy.
Iris must have sensed what he had resolved to do as he stepped towards her bedroom door. "Don't." she said. Her voice was quiet, but firm. Mmmph...he sent her a glare that plainly asked, "And why not?"
"Because you're still injured."
"Trivial."
"So is mine."
"...I am -not- going to let anyone get away with hurting you." he snapped. He knew he was being uncharacteristically protective - and hypocritical since he blamed himself for it - but....bah.
"Just 'avenge me' tomorrow, if you're so set on it."
He glared at her again, retorting in a seething tone, "The sooner the better." And then...she said it.
"If you love me, then you won't leave me alone tonight. What if he, or someone else, came back while you were gone?"
...Damn you, Iris. God damn...."Fine." he snapped, moving away from the door, and as if to accent the point she made, he moved over to her again, protectively "standing guard" over her. It occurred to him after that point that he could just set Kalei and Ma'at down at the foot of the stairs as "watch dogs," but he'd already given in. Bah. After a few moments of exchanging stares, she asked softly, "...Did you just admit to being in love with me?"
He didn't answer, but instead went to sit down next to her on the bed top, putting a hand over his eyes. A few hanging seconds of silence echoed out before he gave a resigned smile, and a small half-smile traced over his lips. Dropping away his hand, he leaned back to stretch out over her sheets. "Yes...I suppose I just did...."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:17 pm
A huge smile covered her face, replacing the slightly wary look that had just been there. She was worried that he would hurt himself further, so she pulled the l-card. A dirty game, but...well, actually, she didn't really know why she said it. All she knew was that she expected him to get either really angry at her over it or walk out regardless of whether he loved her or not. But he actually stopped...and he did love her. And he said it.
She wanted to say something, but for a while, she wasn't sure what to say. So Iris let silence cover them.
Several minutes past before she felt like speaking was appropriate. And even then, she was a little nervous...recalling what happened last time, the woman was wary. But then, this was just starting, and she hadn't really given any warning..normally, that wouldn't matter. She didn't give anyone much warning about anything. But he was different..."Deste?"
"Hmm?"
"..can I ask you one more thing?"
"Why not."
Oh...wait..."....well...two, actually."
He looked at her, amused. She guessed that was a yes. "Did something happen to your hair? Or have I just been oblivious as it changed colors on me?"
"Dye." he said simply, nodding. Ah, well, that explained it....hey....that crap better come off of whatever he used to dry his hair.
He was lying down, she was sitting up...staring at the other wall. She did have two questions, but the second one was a little useless. Or, maybe it wasn't. The fact that she didn't know bothered her. But it's not like he'd let her get away with silence.
"And the other....?"
"...well...it sounds weird, but...can I kiss you?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:18 pm
The thief had to snort at her question. "Since when have I ever stopped her?" he asked with amusement. Carefully, and certainly more gently than he usually was, Deste brought Iris down to lay beside him, this time taking the initiative while holding her. Hmph...this feeling of admittedly "being in love" with someone felt odd. But then again, perhaps his needing her, to see and touch her, to feel that he was safe around her, to feel that he -must- protect her at all costs...and his initial fascination with her was indicative of loving her all along.
...Bah. He really was going soft.
He released her after a sound amount of time, and she curled into him, careful to avoid his wounded shoulder as he was careful to avoid her own injury. Her contented sigh made him chuckle; such a strange one, his Iris was. Huh..."his" woman. Thinking that was odd in and of itself....This would take getting used to.
"So..." she began after a moment, her tone lilting into her bantering voice, "What is your real hair color?"
He just...closed his eyes. That was one subject, if any, that he hated confronting. Now that the Love thing was out of the way. "You really....don't....need to know."
Not that his unwillingness ever stopped her. "God, you'll tell me you love me but you won't tell me your hair color..."
Sighing in annoyance, he opened his dark optics to glare up at the ceiling. Accursed father and the idiotic blood-line hair color. "...You remember Lenore's hair color, correct?"
Silence...then, "....You're a blonde?!" He cursed lightly; she'd just damaged his hearing by shooting her voice up through two octaves.
He scowled, and said grudgingly, "The white-blonde runs in the family...she's my cousin."
Deste considered saying more, but decided there really wasn't anything else to say. Not unless she asked, anyway....And he preferred not to think about it. Yes, he shared a trait that marked his family as the royal line of Albion...but he had inherited his mother's dark eyes instead of the blue ones of his father and elder half-brother. Hmph. The less he was associated with them, the better off he was.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:22 pm
She succeeded in keeping herself from laughing...at least for the most part. It wasn't because he was a blonde..it was because of his apparent attitude t'wards it. Then again, her reaction probably didn't help...smiling, she reached up to play with some of that - currently - dark brown hair. "Well," she started, chuckling as he closed his eyes, "you may want to look into getting more dye before everyone knows what you really look like. God forbid a thief be given away because his hair's too bright."
He "Hmphed", and she snuggled back into him, satisfied. She let herself be lulled into sleep by his steady heartbeat, murmuring "Good night, love." before surrendering to exhaustion.
~~~~~~~~~
He left a bit later the next morning. She knew because she was already awake...though she didn't move. It was that weird limbo between actual sleep and being awake..she just enjoyed it, since she was vaguely aware of Deste still next to her...and then, she fell asleep again, only to find him actually gone when she woke up.
Dammit.
Yawning, the woman lifted herself out of bed. She heard a faint noise outside...oh God, not again. Iris carefully peeked out her window, only to see a carriage sitting there...a man walking up to her door, putting something there, and then going back to the carraige..and then, it left. She raised a brow. That certainly wasn't normal - of course, her life hadn't been normal since she was almost killed in a marketplace.
Sighing, and going against better judgment, Iris waited a few minutes and walked downstairs, waiting even longer before opening the door. A note fluttered to the ground when she opened it, and the woman almost dreaded picking it up..because she saw familiar handwriting on it. The bad familiar kind.
I need to speak with you.
-Amun
s**t.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:24 pm
Deste had taken Kalei with him this time, and had left...considerably later than usual from Iris' home to head to his great-aunt's estate. He would be playing "escort" again today to Lenore...she was seeing Amun again. Joy. How was he to keep from just driving a blade through the b*****d's head, he didn't know. Bah. He'd have to wait until nightfall, or else he'd jeopardize Lenore and his great-aunt's credibility. His cousin he...didn't really care about too much, but his great-aunt, Noria, was redeeming in the fact that she had been kind to his mother even after his scandalous birth.
He was allowed through the gates of the small grounds surrounding the also rather quaint house. His aunt wasn't an extravagant spender; she had the money, but another redeeming quality about her was that she didn't feel the need to really do anything with it. Good politics was more her thing, and she was respected because of her age and because of her connection to Albion.
Lenore was waiting for him outside, Auster taking special care to make sure that her mistress wasn't stepping in any muddy puddles from the previous night's rain. But before the thief even had a chance to mumble a greeting to the cold-hearted girl, she asked a sharp question. "Has your dye faded out?"
"...Slightly, yes."
"Go inside. Grandmother has more ready."
He would have glared at her if he could, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to see that sort of anger. "I don't see why-"
"He saw you yesterday. He'll notice if you've changed." she snapped. Damn, she was touchy today.
"Again, -why would it matter-?"
"Just go, Deste!"
Kalei gave a small and very quiet chirp as he watched his guardian stalk into the house.
---------------
He didn't know what Lenore's problem was; she was acting even bitchier than normal. Hm...the inevitable thing that happened with every female? No...she wouldn't go out if that were the case. So, Deste came to the conclusion that it was either that she was....'displeased' at having to meet with Iris' pervert brother again, or she was angry at him. Or it could be both; shame that the thief hardly cared.
Their carriage pulled up to the home of Amun Sr.; apparently they were meeting with several other politicians today. He blinked beneath newly-blackened locks when he saw another coach sitting outside the front doors. Hm...Iris was here. Odd. And vexing again, since he'd have to try that much harder to ignore her presence if her presence was presented to him again. Troublesome....bah.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:26 pm
Iris glanced out the window, hearing the sound of a carriage. She was in one of the smaller rooms, privately talking with her father - the one member of her family that she didn't need to 'act' happy around - when she watched Lenore and Deste arrive. God, not again. She sighed and shook her head, not bothering to hide it. The man opposite her raised an eyebrow. They spoke quietly, not because anyone was listening - no one dared intrude on a conversation between Amun Sr. and..anyone else, much less his daughter - but just because it felt safer.
"I'm supposing that you know them?"
"All too well, in fact."
She didn't have to lie to him, or hide anything..which was pretty much the same as lying, but still. The elder Amun was a tall, handsome man with a strong jaw and a keen eye. He had jet black hair, the same dark skin, eyes a darker than Iris'..or any of his relatives, in fact. One didn't want to try to get anything past him...if they did, others learned from that sad individual's mistake. Her father was a cunning man, smart in business, and he had done his own share of dirty deeds..but when it came to his family, to Iris, he was as true as they came. He knew the upper hand she had over her sibling, he knew...a lot, and had never spoken a word. To anyone. Even his wife was in the dark, which...well, he loved their mother, but he wasn't oblivious to how she was. Neither was he oblivious to how his son was. Iris had always been a daddy's girl, and for good reason - he was one of the few truly good men out there.
"I didn't think Lenore really...had any friends."
She couldn't help but laugh. "No no, not Lenore."
"Then..."
She just looked at him.
"But..."
Again. With that 'Yes, father, the other one' look.
"Is there a killing I haven't heard of yet, then?"
"No...we're involved."
"Don't toy with me, young lady."
"I'm not." she said, smiling a little as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Opening an eye, she found her father staring at her, as if trying to figure out this little puzzle. The man could be so funny sometimes, and not mean to be. The look on his face was wonderful.
"Well..." he said after a moment, "That's...unexpected. What is his name?"
"Deste."
"How long has this been so?"
"A little over a month."
"Impressive. Good job on hiding it."
"He only comes by at night...no, not like that!"
The man settled, nearly rising from his chair when she mentioned someone staying the nights with his daughter. "Nothing happens," she said. "It's just...well, it can't exactly be broadcasted to everyone, because it would do more than just put a black mark on someone's record."
By that point, her father had pretty much figured out what he was, but said nothing. Good man. "I see...well, I'll tell you if I like him or not."
"You will," she said, smiling. "He's a good man..rough around the edges, but a good man."
"He had better be. None of us really like dealing with Lenore. I'd rather not have to listen to her rake me over the coals for killing her bodyguard."
They both rose - Iris laughing - and embraced before trailing out of the room and into the one with their guests. Iris sat next to her father - thankfully, not near Amun Jr. - and inwardly laughed as the man obviously took great notice of Deste. No one really knew why...Amun Sr. was known for being unpredictable, and keeping his motives to himself alone. Her sibling was watching his father, every once in a while glancing to her...she gave him a look that said she would discuss whatever he needed to after this little meeting. No sooner.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:27 pm
They'd tried to take away his daggers at the door -his visible ones, anyway - and things hadn't gone over too well. No, he hadn't killed anyone. Yet. But one of those idiots was probably going to have a crooked nose for the rest of his life.
...God, Lenore had the ability to put -anyone- into a foul mood. Cold-hearted b***h was already getting on some of these businessmen's nerves, though Deste could understand where those feelings came from. The Rosaylen girl, though born of noble blood, was a considerable 'freak' among the high-class. Blind, but smart as a whip and inflexible unless she got what she wanted, he uncanny gift at politics and business more than made up for her disability. Didn't mean that other people liked her though. No...far from it. Hence why he was spending the day with her again. Strange, it was, that her grandmother, his great-aunt, was so well respected for being a 'goodly' little ambassador while the granddaughter was renowned for having a sharp tongue.
"Miss Rosaylen, if you could be so kind as to show us the development of your 'crested' griffin?"
Lenore nodded, albeit more stiffly than normal, as she - and Deste - knew what sort of underhanded dealings were soon to be brought up after the presentation. The blonde-haired woman whistled, and Auster stood immediately, eyes trained on her mistress for further commands. A click of the tongue, and great brown wings flared outward. There were no flaws in this bird, even the thief could tell that much. She'd been bred from a line that was continually failing to have any significant hatchlings other than one, but Auster was surprisingly healthy. Most of the people present commented on her gleaming feathers and flawless physique.
"Miss Rosaylen, are you hoping to breed your Auster once she reaches full growth?"
"If you mean, 'Am I hoping to breed her to produce more Crested Griffins,' then yes, I hope to. But that would only be on the consent of Nikki Aideen, as her Darkfeather is the only other Crested male who is not attached to a mate. And even then, there is no guarantee that Auster or Darkfeather would like each other enough to become mates."
"Cross-breeding wouldn't produce any results?"
"On the steep contrary; it would damage the breed immensely. And, griffins mate for life; you can't breed them like horses or dogs."
Silence...this was immensely boring. Deste cared little for griffins outside the scope of Kalei and Ma'at - the latter solely because she belonged to Iris - and the black market question was coming....
"Miss Rosaylen," - Deste could tell that Lenore was getting irritated at being spoken to in a way that said formality, but in a tone that said scorn - "Would you happen to know where Breeder Nikki Aideen is acquiring her...rare nemorensis sub-breeds? The ones with the interesting markings and strange names?"
"I'm sure you should ask her about that."
"We have; she refuses to cooperate."
"Then, on the judgment of preserving her practice as a breeder, I must disincline myself from cooperating as well."
The thief glanced over at his employer, trying not to frown. She had just, potentially, made this a very...very long day.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:28 pm
It was getting a little intense. For the most part, Amun Sr. was sitting silent and strong as a monolith, simply taking in the conversation. He had his input when he felt it needed to be stated, but generally, he stayed quiet. But as soon as he felt the tone getting much too personal, he stood, halting the talk. "Gentlemen, and ladies, I do believe it is about time for a break. This talk is getting much too involved for my tastes," he said, smiling. Of course, what that really meant was 'everybody step back for a minute, because I'm getting pissed', but they all knew that anyway. And his actual words were so much kinder.
Iris stood and walked away from the slowly dissipating group, none at all happy. Johan was there in place of his 'boss'....and the look on his face was making her want to punch him. The topic wasn't too focused on the rare griffins anymore, but..it kept coming back to it. All of them were interested, she knew that - all of them had good reason, she knew that as well...but which ones were involved in what she hoped wasn't such a large threat and which ones weren't was hard to distinguish. And it bothered her.
"Sister, if I might have a word?"
She turned, seeing her brother behind her, smiling kindly. It took everything in her not to strangle him right there, and to put on a smile and a nod instead. He pulled them a little farther away from anyone in the immediate vicinity, but still in the room. Dammit, he was trapping her...
"There was word of a disturbance at your home last night...are you alright?"
That b*****d. "Yes, I'm fine." she responded, smiling. "Just an unwanted guest. I took care of it."
"Are you sure? There have been small disturbances at your house ever since the..accident...I supposed that was why you were staying home so much, but now I must ********. They were in public, and he was sugar-coating his words..but she knew what he was saying. He knew - he might not know details, but he knew. He was speaking softly, but still able to be heard by others, if they were listening...she, on the other hand, brought her voice to a deadly whisper, and knowing that he was the only one watching her eyes, she let her fury shine through. "Watch your words closely, brother, and your actions even closer."
"But why, dear sister?"
"Because I will ruin you if you don't."
His facade started to waver as well. "I'm sure."
"Go ahead, mock me, but it'll be the last thing you ever do if you so much as breathe wrong." she hissed.
"You can do nothing to me."
"I can do more than you know. Hmph, you're easier to take out than your pawns."
That got him. She saw his fists ball up in carefully, and she smirked. "Go ahead, hit me. See how long you live past it."
He went to say something, but a sudden presence stopped him. Iris glanced to her right to see Deste, suddenly quite close to them. She felt a bit of relief wash over her - Amun would do nothing if it was more than just the siblings.
"Sir, it may not be my privilege to speak, but I do not believe this is the way for a gentleman to treat a lady."
God, did she ever love him. His tone was polite...but barely. Anyone would be able to tell that it was a threat. But Amun, arrogant to the bone, chuckled. "Indeed, one shouldn't intrude on a private conversation..come." he said, unballing one of those fists to make a move for Iris' arm.
Quicker than she was able to react, Deste had grabbed Amun's arm, twisted it behind his back and slammed the man into the wall, eyes blazing. "I think you failed to understand what I meant." he said softly...very, very softly. "Don't. Touch. Her."
Amun Sr. caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, but chose not to act upon seeing Iris' 'involvement' approach the two. Hmm...time to see what this boy was made of. Carefully watching the trio, Amun continued speaking with his guests..until he saw Deste pin his son to the wall. Alright, he had seen enough. Politely excusing himself, the Nefretiri strode over to the three, catching the very end of Deste's threat - "Don't. Touch. Her."
Yep. He liked this boy.
"Now now," he began, putting a hand on Deste's shoulder, smiling. "Let's play nice, kids."
Deste hesitated, before letting the younger Amun go. "Exactly." the sibling said, turning, just as Deste started to walk of...but not before Iris' eyes caught Deste's for the briefest of moments, trying to convey whatever she could before returning to normal.
"I was talking to you, son." The father said, not bothering to lower his voice any. Sometimes, he contemplated kicking that boy's a**...and then there were people like Deste who could do it, probably better. That would work for now.
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