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Of all the places they could have gone, Shik would have picked the absolute most obnoxious of them. Bright lights, gaudy neon signs, people "dressed" in the absolute worst outfits known to mankind, parading along the strip in their glitter and feathers and spandex, preening and posturing, loud noises, stag parties, the sharp smell of so many crumbled hopes and deep regrets.

She hated everything about it.

Thankfully, they were nowhere near all of that nonsense, and instead found themselves approaching a dilapidated construction site.

"You're right, things could be much worse." She replied, shooting him a quick smirk before she rolled her shoulders, and cricked her neck from side to side, readying herself for whatever they might find thrown at them, if anything was going to be thrown at them. Sometimes, the bases were quiet, with nothing to even defend them against.

But she was oh so hopeful for a good fight, the side of her that enjoyed a nice, violent row clambering to the surface, ready to be let loose. Was today going to be her lucky day?

Oh, yes. "Incoming." She said, while summoning her weapon, the long handled, large scythe forming between her hands.

Show off, she thought to herself, but it was her weapon, Claudia, who replied, a purr in her tone. < Yes, but just look at him! The man should have been born with wings~ >

Well, Shaheen had to admit, that was certainly true, as was her partners statement as he finished raining hell down upon their foe from his position higher in the rubble.

Much better than paperwork indeed.

However, that didn't stop her from taking a few mental notes on the horsemen's appearance, which slowed her down significantly, as she could hardly do both and map out a clear path upwards that wouldn't just put her in the same position as Shikoba. This, unfortunately, gave the man ample time to attack again, should he find a chance to do so.

She just hoped he left something for her to hit.


Shaheen HP: 60
Damage: nah
Horsemen HP: 26

Would it have been insulting of her to admit that she hadn't been looking at him, but more at the horseman with the impressive spread of bat wings and wickedly curved blade that was indicative of it being of the death clan? Probably, which is why she said as much, with a small grin and a shout of, "Don't flatter yourself. It's much more impressive to stare at~"

The weapon in her head actually agreed, surprising since she often seemed to be more interested in ogling Shikoba and singing his praises, a fact that she had never ever told him about, as he was insufferable enough without that added knowledge tacked on.

Banter aside, Shaheen was bounding up the rubble to the opposite side of Shikoba, her scythe held at the ready. While the horseman was distracted by her partner, she swept her weapon upward, striking it from behind with a mighty cry of triumph.

Shaheen HP: 60
Damage: 9
Horseman HP: 7

And just like that, the horseman was gone. A pity, that they couldn't have kept it for longer. She would have liked to have questioned it a little, as a part of her research, but then again, sometimes, the quicker the horsemen were dealt with, the better. At least this way, they weren't putting civilians at risk, right?

She had only managed to get it with a single strike, but her heart was still racing, a smile curving her lips upward. Her chest was heaving from the effort of both climbing the ruins quickly and from the effort of the swing, and she let out a laugh, still giddy from the adrenaline high, eyes bright and locked on his.

Even though she still thought Vegas was a s**t hole, somehow it didn't seem like it would be so bad, if they were there together.

"Why not?" She grinned, a half shrug of her shoulder given, and without hesitation, took a step that let her drop from too many feet high (for a normal human, of course, for a hunter, not such a big deal), to land in a crouch on
the ground, before straightening, and waiting for Shik to join her.

"Your shitty attempt at a proposal sucks. Still," She replied, tacking on the ending retort after remembering that this wasn't the first time he had joked about marriage, while giving him a side long glance.

But at least she didn't shrug off the arm across her shoulders, or move to pull away from him. In fact, instead, she let out a deep breath, and tried to relax, though she was now shivering from all of the excitement that had already come and past.

"You should be careful," She said, after another long exhale. "One day I might say yes, just to spite you."

Wait.

She squinted at him.

Was he being serious?

He was being serious, wasn't he?

At first, she wasn't sure how to respond, so she just kept squinting at him. But then, she turned from beneath his arm and brought a hand up to lift his shades.

"Ask me. Properly."

He looked away, and Shaheen felt a twinge of something deep down in her gut. He meant it. He actually, truly, thought that they should get married. It wasn't a joke.

He loved her.

He didn't have to say it, just as she'd never said it to him, but now, she knew. She saw it in the way he couldn't even meet her gaze, realized that he'd now, basically, asked her twice, and now maybe about to ask again.

She waited, breath held, heart beat slowing from earlier, but loud, so loud she wanted to tell it to shut up so that she could hear this.

The breath came out in an exasperated rush when he asked again, but she was smart enough to realize, that was the best she was going to get.

"Fine" She mocked him, and took his stupid sunglasses away to slide into place over her own eyes, face finally breaking into a teasing little grin, her arms lifting up to rest on his shoulders, fingers twining around the back of his head, toying with the hair at the base of his head

"Let's do it, you thick-skulled jackass."