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 Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:31 am
 
❀ { .: Setting :. } ❀
Sara invades a festival, but it turns out her disguise is a little too awesome.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:57 am
The stars were shining so bright tonight, the winter air had vaporised the clouds and all that was left was a magical sky that seemed to glitter. Despite this the festival grounds were not cold at all, and everything was alight. This time of year was very busy, since so many religions were celebrating different traditions, it almost seemed there was a party every week. It was uplifting, to have this little bit of normality continuing after the death of the Emperor.
In truth, Sara should not have been here at all, the vast majority of the guests were Noble and even less Legionaries dare to attend this year due to the attacks and the recent burning on cherry tree hill. It was needless to say the Nobles were celebrating more than just a religious gathering, after all their main goal was obtained. Some might have called her mad, but she had a cunning plan which would let her wonder about under the radar. She was in disguise.
Her clothing was unlike anything she normally wore, not only was not Mongolian, it was not even green. She wore a rose-themed kimono, her teal hair was up in a bun and decorated with more roses and accessories. The conduit had never wore her hair up and even though it felt strange she knew it would help her blend in, and put even more people off her track. To finish it off she was wearing a kitsune mask which hid most of her facial features.
At first her nerves made her keep to the shadows but after half an hour of wondering she felt comfortable, like she was a ghost. Many other girls were in costumes so she raised no suspicion what so ever. Now all she needed to do was find Bataar so they could have some fun, it was a rare chance she had the chance to accompany him to this kind of event, so she knew she could not pass it up.
He had complained that his mother was dragging him along, so she decided to save him. Odval had been encouraging him to settle down it seemed, she did not know if it was because she Shaman had suddenly realised her son was almost thirty and unwed or that she wanted to illuminate any chance that Sara had to steal him. If only she knew, that would put a frown on that annoying face of hers. Sara really did not like the woman, how could she like someone who tried to kill her, twice.
Sara kept getting distracted, she had seen a fire-dancer, a kite flyer and a few magicians which had all stopped her search for the Mongol. In truth she had no idea where he would actually be. Then she recognised someone, it was the man who came to visit Bataar all those months ago, to congratulate him on taking off her friends head. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the event. She stood still for a moment, before deciding to follow him, he might lead her to Bataar and then she could just steal him away.
There seemed to be a lot of dancing going on, and there was nothing drunken men liked to do more then get their friends to go off with a pretty girl. They came to a small gathering of people, Sara stepped to the side for a moment, seeing if Bataar was around... or that wicked woman.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 1:02 pm
Bataar had finally rid himself of his mother and was walking around the festival, a look of relief upon his weathered face. She'd been nagging him more than ever as of late, probably due to her glee regarding the emperor's death. It was good for the Nobles, to be sure, but it wasn't something to be too terribly confident about. It hadn't ended the war, after all. He walked around, glancing at the food stalls with interest as he went, aware of many pairs of eyes following him. He wasn't exactly an inconspicuous figure these days, after all, which was half owing to his status as a captain and half owing to his size.
He was just getting to the point at which he was really and truly bored when a friend of his rambled up, offering him a boisterous greeting. "Hey there!" The Mongol greeted his comrade, offering him a less than gentle slap on the back before pushing him aside. He wasn't interested in talking to this guy and chose instead to continue strolling around, trying to find some peace in the midst of all these people. He soon located what he'd been looking for: it was a bench, beneath a willow and just next to a small stream running through the festival grounds. That was a good enough spot for the behemoth to sit and watch people and even possibly to hide from his mother. That would be nice.
He glanced at the stream for a few moments before combing the crowd, noticing a girl in a rose kimono quite near him that didn't seem to be moving. In fact, he could have sworn that she was watching him. It would be a relief if she weren't one of his mother's spies, but he'd have to check. "Hey, sweetheart." he cooed, patting the stretch of bench next to him. She was pretty, anyway, and probably a Noble if she were here right now. The definition, according to Odval, of "wife material."
He definitely wasn't looking for a wife, but he didn't mind figuring out why he was being watched so intently. "Don't be shy." the man advised, smirking as he beckoned the pretty girl over. It was just now striking him that she may actually have been sent by Odval to solicit his affections, but he figured that he might be good enough to avoid that sort of a thing.
Whatever the case, maybe Odval would leave him alone if he found a Noble girlfriend.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 3:43 pm
Her plan worked, after following the man for a little while she came across who she was out to find. The two Nobles quickly parted ways and Sara went about following the larger man. To her advantage he seemed to be heading to a quiet place, she raised her hand and rested it on her mask to reveal the big surprise, but before she took it off he addressed her. She looked to the left and to the right to see if there was someone around, but she was the only one here. Her hand fell, she did not know why she decided to keep the mask on, maybe she was curious to see how this went.
Sara made her way over to the bench and sit down next to him, resting her hands on her lap, she looked at him from the side, her green eyes were still slightly viable but they had a playful glimmer to them. The whole event seemed rather surreal, so much so she viewed it a little like a game, she was behind a mask and for a few moments she could be anyone she wanted to be. Then pick on him about his reactions later. "Called over by a Captain? I feel quite honored!" She giggled in a girlish manor, lifting her hand to the fox's mouth, the long pink sleeves falling own to rest on her knee. The fabric was light and flowing, more comfortable than her usual attire.
She tilted her head to the side to look at him face-on, her hand falling to rest on her chest, the kimono was tight around her waist and it lifted her bust to look larger than it was normally. "I did not think such a handsome man would come to a festival unaccompanied." She cooed, her voice a little more confident than the soft tones she usually spoke in.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:00 pm
It was good to be able to do something a little light-hearted once in a while, even if it did involve interacting with someone who might have been one of Odval's spies. He lifted his hand to brush her kitsune mask, grinning. "Are you hiding a hideous face, darling?" he asked, taking a moment to pluck at the mask but by no means taking it off. It made everything a shade more mysterious, which Bataar quite liked at this point. He'd probably never see this girl again but it would be worth conducting an interesting conversation, in the captain's mind.
The kimono that the girl was wearing was beautiful-- even Bataar could admit that much. Whatever the case with her actual looks, everything else seemed lovely. She was, he decided, his type. "And you should be." he laughed, toying with a leaf that had just fallen. It was nice, for the most part, to be admired by women just because of his position in society but it was harder to figure out if there was anything more than that to it. It was good to have such an elevated position but it was impossible to know whether or not someone could quite see past it. With women like this it was even harder to determine, especially when it came to all of the giggling. That could get annoying, and fast.
He grinned as she continued the flirting and shrugged. "Perhaps I was just looking for someone. You never know." he responded, a little surprised at her confidence but more than willing to go along with it. He was extremely pleased with this situation because if it turned out that she was not one of Odval's spies then she was definitely a great candidate for a wife, which he was threatened about constantly. If he didn't watch out something was going to end up being arranged. He'd rather be able to choose himself(although, in truth, the man never wanted to get married; he'd only do it if forced).
Whatever the case, Bataar was going to amuse himself tonight. There was reason to celebrate: the emperor was dead and he was a captain on the side that was currently considered victorious.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:24 pm
Sara paused as he played with her mask, staying still, almost as if to dare him to take it off. She would have to bluff this time, if he did so it would not be that much of a disaster, after all they were out of the way. Her heart raced some, the situation was rather exciting, he had never talked to her in such a way before. As he spoke she tilted her head slightly. "Do I seem like a hideous woman?" She asked with a small smirk under her mask, pointing to herself, her voice thick with sarcastic shock. She wafted her hand and rolled her eyes, before he could respond she put a finger to his lips so he could not reply, the tip gently running over that scar of his that she loved so very much. "I doubt it... after-all you called me over so there must have been something that caught your eye." She responded, leaning over to whisper her words before sitting in her original position.
Her heart raced and under her mask she was blushing. He could be quite charming when he wanted to be. she listened intently as he spoke. Thinking of a suitable reaction to his words. When he said she was looking she let her hand glide around them, as if to tell him to look around. There were a lot of people about, all seeing to their own business, many were drunk by this time. "Well, there are some lovely ladies attending today." She suggested before leaning over and resting the same hand on his arm gently, scooting up ever so slightly so the fabric of her kimono was just touching his leg, her long sleeves fell down to rest on his knees to reveal her tanned arm. Looking for her Sara possessed none of her green an teal scales there. Even her perfume was different, it was vanilla, one she borrowed from Van for such a special occasion. "But maybe I could shorten your search some? Captain Bataar." She suggested in a rather playful tone, her hand sliding down to feel the muscle on his arm.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:39 pm
Bataar laughed at the mysterious woman's question and offered up a shrug. "One never knows-- not with a mask like that." he responded, toying with it a little more. Her confidence probably went entirely against the idea of her being hideous, he supposed. She was worth his continued attention-- he could determine that much. At least it seemed like he'd be able to have a little bit in the way of fun tonight. That, more than anything, was a relief. There were no strings attached here.
He kissed her finger playfully and raised his brows, surprised at her boldness. She didn't seem like a prostitute, and he was hoping that she wasn't. That would be quite a shame. "I wonder if there was... or if it's just chance." he responded, having a good time with this new role of his. He had only called her over because he'd suspected that she might be a spy in league with Odval, but he was fairly certain now that she wasn't. She hadn't really delved into anything, so far, or tried to get any information off of him. He was really beginning to doubt that her intentions were as terrible as he'd first believed.
Bat nodded as she continued to speak, feeling himself entirely surprised at her degree of proximity. She was definitely a little over-confident, but that made things interesting. Beyond that, she knew who he was. "And do I know you? What's your name?" he asked, finding himself perhaps a bit more interested than he should have been. He wanted to see the girl's face, but he wasn't about to rip her mask off. He'd wait for her to reveal her identity herself.
"You're awfully confident for a potentially hideous suitor." he added, finding himself amused.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:06 pm
He continued to play with her mask, but something told her that he would not remove it. The mystery behind it seemed to be appealing to him, it was a rather interesting situation after-all. "Asking a woman behind a mask her identity? That defies the point of the mask does it not?" She asked, tilting her head as she watched the leaves fall gracefully from the tree. She brushed a few of his shoulder gently and ran her hand down his arm one last time before it returned to her lap. She needed to think of a name for now and she used the first two that came to mind, her old guardians wolf and her assistants surname. "Yua. My name is Yua Hikari." Yua seemed like a pretty nice name, it rolled off the tongue.
Yua Hikari seemed like rather a fun character to play at the moment, much more fun than Sarangerel and Bataar seemed to be responding to her quite well. The fact that he was flirting with another girl had not yet occurred, she was having too much fun, she was taking influence from Van and Yue, be anyone she wanted to be. There was no harm in a little flirting, right?
She shrugged and went to continue the point she was trying to make. "I doubt you would know me, though I have heard a lot about you. You have made a name for yourself Captain. One that a girl like me can not help but admire, though now I have met you its more than your reputation I am admiring." She went on, picking one of the flowers out of her hair and putting it on his lap. She then stood up and spun around, fabric dancing as all the leaves that fell on her landed on the floor. She looked back at him over her shoulder, her eyes still glimmering with a playful nature.
"I could be hideous. Though I could be beautiful, the real question is are you willing to take that risk?" She asked, turning back and offering him her hand. She wanted to wonder around the grounds a little more, there was a fireworks display later on and she wanted to see all the sights before the lights went out.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:34 pm
Bataar raised his brows and offered the girl a bewildered sort of shrug, waiting for a name at the very least. He didn't care about the so-called point of the mask; it only mattered that it was there and that he could not see the face of the woman seated beside him. At this point, though, he was willing to play along for a little while. He'd already assumed that she was a Noble and, as a result that meant that she was in the green. She was a much better bet than a lot of Lunarians, it would seem.
"Yua, then." he settled with the name, not really forming an opinion on it. He would continue to flirt as blatantly as he could, mainly out of interest for whatever outcome he might meet with. There was something strangely familiar about this girl and he found that he was highly interested in playing the game that she seemed to be offering. It wasn't every day that one got an opportunity like this, and he was prepared to take it. Maybe by the end of the night he'd have her mask off so that he could identify her properly, after all. It seemed entirely likely. There were more possibilities here than he could count on his fingers.
He snorted as she admired him, not entirely buying into the sugar-coated words. "It's nice that you admire me and all, but it's also a bit much." he replied, refusing to allow the girl's words to inflate his ego in any sense. "I may know your face, too. You never know." Bat added, examining the other aspects of the young woman. She was almost a little too bold for his taste, he decided. Unless, of course, he actually knew her somehow. That might make more sense.
The Mongol took the other Lunarian's hand and stood, his expression defining his idle curiosity. He had all night to figure out just what this was about and he'd be keeping his guard up just in case it was one of his mother's plans. Still, he didn't think that it was. It certainly wasn't reading that way to the captain. "You can trust me to run away if your face is awfully deformed." he informed her.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:05 pm
"You seem determined to believe that I am some kind of monster." She stated, holding her hands behind her back as she walked, she was trying to find the right balance, seeing how he reacted to her words and how her experiment was playing out. She looked at the people who walked past, Sara could not remember the last time she came to a place like this, nor could she ever have dreamed being able to wonder around a social event in the open with Bataar. "I trust you not to run away. I just find your curiosity rather amusing. So I am going to play a little longer if that is okay with you, though if you really can not resit the temptation to look all you have to do is ask." She put a hand to her mask before it floated back down to her side, pale eyes wondered around the stalls, wondering what to do.
Sara stopped and looked at one of the fire dancers that she saw before, hearing the jingle of bells as the dancers did all kinds of acrobatic performances. There was music playing and before she knew it her feet were moving in tune to the rhythm. She skipped forward a little and turned back to face him once more, walking backwards. "So Captain, when you are not out fighting wars, what do you like to indulge in? Everyone has a hobby, right?" She asked, putting a finger on the edge of her jaw before she turned around, her eyes catching sight of something fun.
There were many games lined up, and she had caught sight of an archery range. Sara had never fired a bow in her life, though she had seen her father do it plenty of times when she was growing up. She picked one up at the collection point and looked back to see if he was still following her. "I have always wanted to try this, I have seen the archers at the range and it looks like such a graceful art, though its one that my family do not see necessary for me to learn, so do not laugh at me when this goes terribly wrong, okay?" She nodded before skipping over to the starting spot.
Sara put the other two arrows on the floor, and pulled the first one back on the drawstring, it took more effort than she first thought it would, it was hard to control but after a moment she felt herself settle slightly. She let go and the arrow flew forward, however it did not make it very far, it went off far too long and to the left, she laughed and shook her head, raising her hand to the kitsune masks mouth. She looked over her shoulder towards him once more. "I guess that's an indication I am not meant for the front lines." She stated, resting a hand on her hip and letting the bow drop to her side.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:11 am
It was fine by Bataar that this girl seemed determined to persist in playing her games. He was absolutely up to this sort of thing by now and, as a sort of bonus, it seemed that she was not in league with his mother after all. Even with that in mind there was still something particularly suspicious about her behavior. She was almost too willing to feed him what, in normal circumstances, he wanted to hear. That in and of itself was troubling and he made sure to shoot her a few skeptical glances in order to better get his point over.
"You're getting to be a bit much." he announced drily, walking along beside her. "I'm concerned that you'll rip all of your clothes off in the middle of the street." Bat added, walking a little ahead now. In short, he was telling her that, for him, she was overstepping it a little bit. The main problem was that he just couldn't figure out why. He did not tend to have a screaming group of fangirls always at his heels so why should someone with such a vested interest in him that he did not even know approach him like this? It was too bold a move for the Mongol not to be suspicious, but the question was whether or not he should stay suspicious.
All of these questions... maybe she was one of Odval's own. "When I'm not fighting wars I quite like to kill people anyway." he drawled, hoping that the brag would take him far enough. He didn't have any so-called hobbies that he liked to discuss with strangers, and especially not with sketchy girls at winter festivals. It was a bit of a personal preference, if you asked Bataar. This masked woman was going to have to gain his trust before he proffered information.
He watched her with a slight frown as she traipsed over to the archery range and made a face as he beheld the awful technique with which she held a bow. The failure was definitely worth a grimace or two, in the captain's mind. He sighed and took the bow from her, aiming it carefully before glancing down, making sure that she would know how to follow his mostly-silent instruction. "You'd be dead by now if you tried to shoot an arrow like that and you wouldn't even have damaged anyone else." he responded, letting the arrow go and watching calmly as it hit the bullseye. He may not have stuck with the bow and arrow, but he still knew how to use it in true warrior-fashion.
He handed the girl the bow again in case she wanted another try, but in actuality he was interested to see if she had any of the skill of a fighter. He had yet to properly gauge her ability or figure out what she was capable of. That was definitely important if he was going to continue strolling along with her here. "I'm not buying your sweet-talk, so why don't you try to act normal for a bit?" Bat was through with the flattery and did not feel himself to be above the act of punching any girl who took it too far. He needed to figure out the tune that this particular girl was playing.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:26 am
"Haha, the closest thing that you are going to get to that if me taking off this mask, but even that is not a certainty." She wafted her finger and shook her head, maybe she was coming on a little strong. However Sara was so used to being close to him the fact she was meant to be a stranger was yet to really register, this whole phase was not meant to be taken too seriously anyway, it was just to mess with him a little. It was not often that she had one up on the captain. Hopefully when he clicked on he would take it as a joke too, though she was starting to click onto the fact that maybe he was getting the wrong idea.
She shook her head at his hobbies, Sara knew that much was not true. He had proven to her a long time ago he was not a mindless killer, he might take on any orders he was given but saw no pleasure in mindlessly killing. He once told her that it came down to good people and bad people, and she knew that he was a good person. "Hmm? For some reason I doubt that, but whatever you say." She rested a finger on her jaw line yet again, looking up towards the stars in the sky. "Personally I prefer horse riding and gardening, its less messy." She stated, sounding pretty innocent as she did so. She could joke about a lot of things but she did not like the fact that Bat was going around making comments like that when she was not around. If that was his attitude no wonder it was so hard for her to be apart of his life. In truth it annoyed her.
"Well its a good thing I am yet to be caught in that situation!" She replied as he took the bow off of her and tried to show her the proper way to do it. Sara and weapons went together like mongoose and snakes, it was just two things that never seemed to mesh together. Even her rod was tricky enough to handle, not that it could do much anyway. It was a medium, not a weapon.
"I did not know I was trying to sell you anything, you are so paranoid Hero." Okay, maybe she had completely slipped up on that one, mainly because Sara herself did not realise she had called him by the one name only she said. Keeping up with the new pet name was one too much, clearly she was not a super, ninja, seductress, assassin like Van just yet. When he told her to start acting normal she rolled her eyes. Oh, if only you know how not normal this situation was. Knowing the joke had gone on long enough she looked around, but realized there was too many people here to reveal her secret.
She thought for a moment, wondering where she could go to to tell him. Somewhere quiet that he would agree to go with a total stranger who he obvious did not trust... Man, why did all her plans seem to backfire like this? Even the ones with good intentions? She just wanted to spent some time with him. Maybe it was a bad idea and she should make her escape and just never talk about this ever again.
Sara picked up the bow and launched the final arrow, though in truth it was not an improvement on the first shot at all. "See completely useless!" She shrugged, she was sure even an one armed archer could do better if they were blindfolded, totally beyond any act that someone could try and pull. Sara just sucked, it was simple as. "Believe me when I say I am not that good of an actress." The only reason Bataar could not guess her out now was that he was so gullible. Pale eyes looked from side to side, wondering where she could drag him off to in order to tell him the truth.
Or map out an escape route if option one was not available.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:27 pm
Bataar rolled his eyes and threw a few furtive glances at the girl who called herself Yua. There was something about her that made her less stranger-like than he expected, which completely muddled his thoughts and perceptions. There was something a little too familiar about the girl for Bat not to be completely on edge. He felt as if the minute he figured it out he'd be comfortable but at this point he wasn't too pleased. His level of gullibility only went so far, after all.
He wasn't too pleased that he was being doubted on his hobbies, either. He looked more than capable of killing people and, in truth, he was. Even if he didn't do it outside of his job it should have been easy enough to convince a perfect stranger of such a thing. That was just how the world ought to work in Bat's opinion. They were in the middle of a war and he should be able to tell someone, with ease, that he allowed the war to continue even after he'd gotten off of the battlefield. That was almost what was expected of him, after all.
And then everything snapped into place. It was clear, crystal clear, that this was a soul conduit-- one that he knew very well. He watched Sarangerel with the hint of a smirk, certainly not giving himself away. "Well, it's getting late and I think I've got to go... Yua." he replied, leaning down to brush his lips against the painted lips upon the mask she was wearing. He wasn't going to give himself away-- not now.
The captain walked languidly away, pleased with the scented night air. He hoped he'd see Sarangerel in her mask again, but supposed there was no telling. It was an interesting thought, at the very least, not to mention nice to realize the identity of "Yua Hikari."
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