BY THEIR OWN HANDS [p]

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

The day started badly when East was assigned to an evening patrol rather than a morning one, and it got even worse when he stopped by Ellis' room to discover that his usual Scouting partner was sick. As in, Ellis was saying, "East, ugh. Just go without--" before scrambling for the bucket beside his bed. East had left, disgusted, before he could hear the sound of Ellis' vomit hitting the bottom of the pail.

"He's puking," he had commented to some Medic, before shrugging and walking past.

Basically, he figured that was Ellis' way of saying, "Do not drag my sick ass out into the freezing cold so I can puke in bushes instead, jackass." Or at least, East assumed that was the way the conversation would have gone if Ellis was a little more coherent, and a little less nauseous. So he found himself completely alone in the darkening Menagerie, trudging out toward Delica park, shuddering from the cold. About halfway there, he grew fed up with it, and shifted into his second form, something that he still wasn't used to. A cheetah was actually something he could use, instead of the practically useless butterfly shifted he had had for his entire life.

His fur was shaggy and unkempt, maybe a little longer than was typical, but he wasn't complaining as the wind hit him squarely in the face. East hunched his shoulders and continued, regardless, thinking that they wouldn't be able to call him a wuss if he took a patrol that no one else was going to. But even so, he was honestly fantasizing a little bit about the nice days when he had lived on the coast of Brazil, where he didn't need anything but a nice drink and a pretty girl. Heh. Of course, he had to get ambitious.

A lot of good that had done them. East shook his head, changing his focus to the trees around him, most of them leafless. Everything was either yellow and dead, or covered in snow. He picked up pace, loping rather than walking, and after a second the dark clouds above began to release a nice, beautiful present. Snow.

Fantastic.

Why don't I just go back? he thought, more to feel sorry for himself than anything else. Get some sleep or something, instead of doing this. Eat. Curl up in bed. Oh, Christ. A bed would be really nice. As he thought this, he caught scent of Fallen. For one blissful second, he thought that it was just a change of the wind, blowing the desert scent toward him--and then he realized that this was not the case, and it was much more concentrated than that. His eyes strayed from the path he was walking on to the nearby swing-set, where he saw a set of footprints trekking across the deeper snow, toward the edge of the park.

For a split second, he conjured up a lie. It was snowing hard enough that he did not pick up the scent, and the tracks had been difficult to see. He had walked past without even realizing that there was someone in Fulsi territory. Maybe no one would even stumble across the tracks later--he had heard that some of the later patrols got lazy, so there was that chance. He stayed pondering it for a moment, before his paws got too cold and he, despite his better judgement, trudged after the footprints.

They were led toward the edge of the park, close to the Inn. He grew increasingly cautious as he entered a small alcove of trees, his mind conjuring all kinds of possibilities. What if it was someone crazy, or violent? But, no. It was a Fallen, and they were supposed to be peace-lovers, right? Chances were they had gotten lost, and East could happily point them in the right direction, out of Fulsi territory--

All of these musings were immediately crushed once he came around a large tree, toward a small clearing, to see that there was a mess of packages and then a girl, blonde and pretty. He stood there for a moment, watching quietly as she examined the package, before he padded out of the shadows and into the clearing. First of all, the packages were in Fulsi territory, and if he found them, East was pretty sure he could claim something inside of them. Second of all, the scent of Keepers was everywhere, and now that was his main concern, making his hackles rise involuntarily. They had put him through too much pain recently for him to feign relaxation.

"I hate to tell you, miss," the cheetah began, conversationally, his ears twisted in her direction, his expression showing felineqsue annoyance. "But you're trespassing and stealing. Yeah, I know, I know. We don't have those "do not trespass" and "beware of dog" signs up yet, but they're in progress." He chuffed, and sobered very quickly. "Now, get out."

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

The darkness, even lined as it was with glittering, reflective snow, suited her. Flashing shadows blended smoothly with stripes, thick fur was warm against the night wind. Riley ghosted over the border and wound her way deeper into Fulsi “territory,” large paws light on the snow. They may have claimed it, but the outer quarter of the city wasn’t nearly as well guarded as their central domain. It was an easy matter to make her way into the park, nosing about for signs of activity or something useful to take back to the ring.

As snow began to fall, it was the latter she found, half buried in shallow drifts under a copse of barren trees near the inn. She pawed them free, then shifted to her human form. Her backpack, the straps loosened to fit around her feline shift, slid off immediately, but she caught it with ease of practice. Dropping to her knees, she opened the pack and then began to sort through the Keeper drop. It consisted of a handful of small to medium packages, varying in type. There was a cardboard box size of a large book, a leather pouch the size of her palm, something wrapped in brown paper, a plastic case, and a few others.

Without wasting time pausing to open them, she began shoving things into her bag. She hadn’t gotten very far when someone spoke from the edge of the clearing. Hands stilling, she turned her head to survey the Fulsi who stood there. A cheetah. He could probably still beat her in a short distance chase, even with her mutation. In a fight, however, she’d have the advantage of size and strength. There was no telling what other strange talents and abilities he might possess, though, and it was best to plan for the worst. At least there was only one, instead of a full sized patrol.

After a beat, she slowly, casually began to stuff more of the supplies into the pack. Her gaze flicked to the bag for the briefest moment before returning to the stranger, but she otherwise didn’t turn her focus. Her bow and arrows were strapped to the outside of the pack, and in the darkness, from a distance and at an angle, he might not see them. Getting them unstrapped and in hand would take precious seconds, though.

“Am I? My apologizes. You should get on that, then,” she replied lightly. “Somebody new to the dome might make a mistake. No worries, though, I was just leaving.” She certainly wasn’t new enough to not know a border when she found one, but the markers around the area truly weren’t as noticeable as most others. If he fell for it, all the better, but she didn’t really expect him to. After all, she hadn’t apologized and immediately started putting back the packages she’d found.

Riley stood, and hoisted the pack as she did so, settling it over one shoulder, brushing wet snow off her knees with her other hand. “Fallen’s that way, right?” She gestured with her jaw, slipping her other arm through the pack’s straps, pulling them a bit more snug. That was indeed the way, but he was between her and the most direct route, so she moved as if to circle around him, giving a wry half smile as she went, and coincidentally not turning her back. “Sorry to bother you.” As soon as she was clear, she could bolt and hope for the best, hopefully taking him by surprise. On the other hand, maybe he was naive and/or lazy fellow who would just let her walk away.

---

ooc: I figured he would step into her path or something. xD

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

East's first thought was something along the lines of, this girl is utterly shameless. His second thought was that he could appreciate someone that stole so brazenly, a girl after his own heart, wasn't she? This humor disappeared as soon as she continued to shovel items into her pack. "Perfectly understandable," East retorted, his tone light. In reality, he was watching her sharply, trying to anticipate her next move. He wasn't a fighter--not by far. But he could certainly outrun her, unless she... No, he could outrun her. "Now, if only you returned those items you just put into that back pack... well, I might be a little more helpful with directions." He offered this nicely, not as though he expected this bargaining chip to be particularly successful.

"Fallen's that way, right?" East didn't believe she needed actual help with directions. "You tell me, Fallen girl." He replied, a little cheekily. East watched her with a rather curious expression, and as she began to move as though to walk around him, East followed suit, allowing her no clear path toward her "destination". His mind skipped through the options he had. Fighting, no. He wasn't about to tackle some pretty little blond just because she had a backpack full of newly dropped supplies from Fulsi territory. He could possibly use that strange skill the Keepers had given him? Something that he had discovered quite by accident, shortly after realizing they had changed his shift--

On second thought. "Oh, no bother. I'm only freezing my ass off." In another situation? He definitely would not have said "ass", and he would have certainly been flirting. He caught himself watching her, realizing that he was running out of time to make a move, and so he did the most rational thing he could think of, doing exactly what he had just said he wasn't going to do. East darted at her rather abruptly, shifting mid-stride in an attempt to hit her as a full-on human, figuring that he would stand more of a chance outweighing her by some forty pounds.

Maybe she didn't know how to defend herself, though, and in that case he could just strip her of the pack and be off on his merry way. Of course, this thought came just as the two of them tumbled into the snow.

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

He moved with her, as she’d figured he would. Can’t blame a girl for trying, though. If you act as though you have a right, it’s amazing what you can get away with.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his complaint. As if it were her fault he was out in the middle of a winter night. Riley might have delayed him, but she hadn’t dragged him from his bed. Quite the contrary - she would be delighted if he’d stayed there. “You should go home, then,” she suggested with false sympathy. The little game they were playing was coming to an end, so she didn’t particularly try for sincerity. Instead, her gaze swept the clearing, calculating her odds and determining which contingency plan would work best.

However, her short term plans were abruptly revised as the Fulsi barreled at her, shifting right before he slammed into her. In the half second she had, Riley yanked the straps of the pack tight around her shoulders, and then they crashed to the ground. Although she was of a decent height for a woman, he was taller, and most certainly outweighed her. But most of the men she fought with were. She rolled with it, half conscious decision and half instinct, taking the brunt of the impact on her shoulders. The pack made the motion somewhat awkward, but it was close fitting, and Fuller had gotten great satisfaction out of loading her down with stuff during training. She only hoped the Keeper packages were sturdy and/or well padded.

Using his momentum against him, Riley tossed him over her head, and immediately twisted off the ground. Coming to her feet with knife in hand, drawn from the sheath hidden in the bottom of the pack, she gave a brief pause to shake off the worst of the snow. She preferred her quarterstaff, but it was unwieldy to carry when shifted. Strapped to the pack, it either knocked her constantly on the head or stuck out at an angle and caught on things. And, she reflected, unlike the curved and flexible bow, which fit snugly against the contour of the pack, it would have snapped if she rolled over it like that.

The Fulsi’s first charge had been unrefined, but it might have been a ploy to relax her guard. She remained alert, watching him carefully, blade held in a low guard and one ear tuned into their surroundings. It wouldn’t do for the ruckus to draw a larger patrol. “That was... a start,” she offered, helpfully. “Maybe you should work on it a bit more, though.” Unhurriedly, she began to step toward the edge of the clearing, though she kept her focus toward him. It was possible that if he realized he had a snowball’s shot in hell, he’d just let her leave. Yeah, she thought to herself with wry amusement, because that always works out so well.

---

ooc: let me know if I need to change anything! you weren't online for me to flail at. xD

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

East snorted, amused by her humor. If nothing else, at least she could joke while she trespassed and stole. His take on her was a relatively good one. It was rarely that East found someone who he could appreciate like this, and he was half-thinking that in another life, she wouldn't have made a half-bad con artist. Plus, all the rich men fell for the blonds. This thought was brief, because then he was slamming into her and she was shifting, and--

"Ummmfff!" East did not register much, as he was thrown head-over-heels, hitting the snow flat on his back. It knocked the breath out of him, and for a moment he struggled to get it back, before struggling into a sitting position and then a standing one. He was more surprise than injured, but then his dark eyes befell the knife in her hand, and he just about groaned outright.

Was it impossible for him to get an ounce of good luck? Christ, he had to stumble across the Fallen girl who could handle her own! Eyeing her warily, East shook off the snow, and then (because he could no resist) he broke into an ear-to-ear grin. "Christ, miss, I already told you my ass was freezing. You gotta land it in the snow, next?"

He rolled his shoulders and kept his eyes on her, with them flicking back between her face and the knife. Finally, they merely settled on her, and he held her gaze. "You want to help me practice, baby?" East couldn't help but feel a little enthralled--it was the most fun he had had in what felt like years. With a step in her direction, his smile continued to widen, a feat in itself. In one smooth moment, that was very quick, East grabbed a handful of snow and shot it at her face. Shortly thereafter, his eyes trailing the knife, East lunged at her a second time with the intention of grabbing her wrist that held the weapon, and in doing so, transmitting the slightest emotional message through empathy:

Mercy. It was probably too complicated of a thing to convey through touch, but East was hoping, because otherwise he was half-certain he was going to get a knife through the stomach.

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

She slowly arched a deliberate eyebrow. The Fulsi was amusing and relatable, but damned if she would let him know that. Kindred spirit or no, she had found the supplies first, and she intended to keep them. Riley could appreciate confidence - or cockiness, in this one’s case - and resilient good humor, but that certainly didn’t mean she would forgo her goal. “Maybe if you stopped trying to rugby tackle strange women, your life would be easier.”

After a moment of considering both her and the blade, he settled on the former, and her other eyebrow rose to join the first. “Keep calling me baby, and I’ll “practice” my right hook on your face.” When he stepped forward, though, she stepped back. There was no honor in survival, and she was no fool, to be taken by some charming flirt. Serial killers were known for appearing quite normal, and she found that the same principle applied to killers in general. Although her read on people was usually pretty good, she knew better than to trust first impressions, and she was highly wary of his broad smile.

Still, there was something to be said about a man who resorted to snowballs as a weapon.

Riley dodged the one chucked at her face, but that moment of unbalance was all it took for him to get in her space. Fingers closed on her wrist, and she snarled, twisting free even as she tried to return the favor by securing his right hand with her left, intending to dig her thumbnail into the tendon in warning. His grip was tight as she yanked free, but she ignored the slight burn in favor of getting the knife between them. Although she’d fully intended to slip the blade between his ribs, instead she found herself pressing just enough so he could feel the threat, poised to thrust up and into his heart. Despite herself, she didn’t want to kill him, and she was getting the sense that there was little he could to stop her from leaving if she really felt like it.

They froze like that, Riley warily eyeing his free hand, breathing hard, more from adrenaline than actual exertion. “That was stupid,” she informed him after a beat. “Should’ve just kept your distance.” Part of her itched to shove him away, the instinctual part of her brain that said he was strong, taller, and far too close, looming over her, forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. Intellectually, she knew that the safest thing next to several meters of distance was to have them against the edge of your blade. In range but not in contact presented too many opportunities to the opponent.

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

Her hand had seized his wrist and she had slipped from his grip before he could blink, the knife a threatening pressure against his side. East's eyes were wide, not so much out of fear but out of adrenaline. They stayed like that, frozen in some strange dance, East thinking, why do I keep finding ways to get myself hurt? It would have made sense to just let her go, but now it was becoming a sort of game to him, reminding him of times when the cons that he and Leon had preformed were life or death. His heart was beating rapidly as it was.

"What can I say?" East replied to her, his lips tilting into a boyish, cocky smile. "I just can't stay away." His mind fell into an assessment of the situation. There was nothing else around them that he could use to his advantage, and the knife was keeping him planted where he stood. She had not stabbed him, however, though the entire time he was thinking, she's going to kill me. He wondered if the Empathy had worked, and if that was the case, what else he could do with it?

She was a rational girl. She didn't want to hurt him, he didn't think. She just wanted to take the supplies back to her Ring, which was not unreasonable, just inconvenient for him. She still held onto his skin, and even if she wasn't, it would have made his next action easy enough. "I have to admit, this knife is putting an edge between us," his tone was on the verge of flirtation as it was, and as he spoke he glanced down to look at her fully, with the intention of conveying the mild thought of attraction through Empathy. He didn't want to overdo it, however.

"You really don't want to hurt me, do you? If you had, you would have just stabbed me through the ribs." And that was the truth. His eyes, dark in the night, were glinting mischievously. "Why don't we try and compromise?"

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

Before she could think better of it, she rolled her eyes, a brief moment during which Fuller or Jonah would’ve knocked her feet from under her. The Fulsi, however, either wasn’t skilled enough to take advantage of such a fleeting opportunity, or choose to let it pass. Either way, she wasn’t inclined to point it out. “Is there an off switch on this thing?” she demanded instead, prodding him lightly with the knife. Apparently not, as evidence by the next sentence out of his mouth. If she hadn’t already been staring at him, Riley would’ve done a double take.

“Seriously? I think that’s probably the worst line ever. I thought Fulsi were supposed to be arrogant bastards, not corny, cocky flirts.” She didn’t miss the look he gave her, and it had her frowning slightly. It wasn’t unusual for people to check her out, but was unusual for her to experience a little thrum of satisfaction along her spine in reply. When Riley first saw him, washed silver by moonlight, she’d noted that he was attractive, but that was more of a clinical thing. Shallow though it might be, you could tell a lot about a person from their looks.

It had been years since she’d allowed a pretty face to distract her from work. This one wasn’t even her type, but she found herself noting the heat radiating from him, the pulse thudding beneath her thumb, skin smooth beneath her fingertips. He wasn’t, she observed, that much taller - it would be a simple matter to stretch up on her toes to kiss him, if she so chose. And that was getting a little ridiculous.

Jesus, get a grip, Riles. She snorted at him. “How’s this for a compromise? I continue to not gut you like a fish, and you get out of my way?” Releasing his wrist, she planted her hand on his chest and shoved him back a couple steps, even as she backed away, reestablishing the distance between them. Clearly the adrenaline was having an effect on her, and it was fun, getting back out and dealing with smartass enemies. But that wasn’t an excuse she was going to allow herself. No way in hell was she creeping back home to tell them that an attractive Fusli had pulled one over on her.

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

He had expected a comment along those lines, but East couldn't help but smile rather dryly as she proceeded to poke at him with the knife. "Careful, babe, I'm ticklish." He said it with just enough sass that it was obvious he was trying to prove that no, no he did not have an off switch. "Who said I was trying for originality?"

East was thinking, internally, that there were worse ways to spend his night than wrapped in a rather dangerous embrace. At least it was interesting, although he figured that she was probably tiring of the whole endeavor. There was also no way for him to tell exactly what kind of affect the Empathy was having on her, if any, which was vaguely frustrating.

Before he could reply properly, East was shoved away. He stumbled backward and looked at her with a false expression of hurt. "That's hardly fair." East stepped to the side of her, closing the distance between them slightly, but still well out of range. He eyed her, and growing bold, smiled. "What could I give you for half of them?" He was far better at bargaining than fighting, and being an Empath only made this more realistic for him. He raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, but at the same time he attempted to convey a similar feeling as before; attraction, although mild.

Now, East was just trying to amuse himself. She was beautiful, and he could appreciate that, even if she was being a pain in his neck. After that, he thought that perhaps it would have been better to try and make her feel compliant, or tired, but he was already doubting his abilities.

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

If he thought she was concerned with fairness, he was in for a harsh dose of reality. The wants of a Fulsi fell extraordinarily low on her list of things to give a damn about, perhaps only above the wants of a Carna. She eyed him with grudging amusement as he tried to barter with her, keeping her knife at the ready. “Nothing comes to mind,” she replied dryly. In the dome, supplies were the necessity of life. The only thing that could be better was a ticket out. And as far as she knew, no such thing existed. She had little doubt the Fulsi was offering favors of a particular sort, but while he was pretty, he wasn’t that pretty, nor was she all that interested.

Still, Riley considered him as she had the thought, and he had a certain charm. His cocky smile was well paired with the cheeky tilt of his jaw, the casual slope of his broad shoulders. Her gaze grew intense, lingering along his form, drinking in the smallest of details. Heat curled along her spine, and her fingers itched to trace the planes of his chest, the line of his sides. She regretted shoving him away, she wanted to curl against his warmth and feel the texture of his lips against hers. Wanted to feel his hands against her skin, his hair twined around her fingers.

But that was wrong. Very, very wrong. Riley shook her head, dazed, and realized she had leaned forward out of her balanced stance, as if longing toward him. That was wrong too, she didn’t pine for people. She didn’t do spontaneous crushes. She straightened with a frown, brow knitting. Playful wrestling could turn her on, but above all else, competence did, and he hadn’t been particularly competent in retrieving the supplies - the supplies.

A wash of fury abruptly cleared her mind, and her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You bastard,” she breathed. “Just what, exactly, were you planning to do if that little ploy actually worked?” It was easy to put all the ice she could manage into her tone, her voice colder and sharper than the bitter wind, heavily laced with scorn and disgust. Even as she spoke to him, however, her mind was racing, cataloguing her emotions to see if they were really hers. She felt steady now, clear, because although her body still ached for him, the sensation was easy to ignore. Her impulse was to back away, in case he could confuse her again, but she held steady.

“Does the term ‘date rape’ mean anything to you?” she asked with deadly calm, testing the weight of the blade in her hand. It wasn’t properly balanced for throwing, but they were close enough that she could make it work. Although Riley wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to save herself or her family, she didn’t cause harm needlessly. She had no tolerance for monsters, especially not of this sort.

---

ooc: sorry if this sucks, it was not cooperating. >3> also, turn for the dramatic, OOPS? xD

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

East realized his mistake almost immediately. It had been too much, too powerful. "Oh yeah, buddy. It's all kicks and giggles until you screw up," Leon had told him, once, and those words were painfully adequate as her expression changed abruptly to furious. His mind went blank, and then he thought of ways to repair the damage.

He wasn't playing a game anymore. She had something he wanted. He had made a mistake. And he still needed the supplies. In a split second before she snapped at him, East thought about the two options he had--continue with the carefree ruse he had presented, or break down to a much more apathetic front.

He settled on continuing with the ruse. It would be easier to play dumb, like that. East stumbled away from her, his hands going up on their own accord in a helpless gesture, his brows furrowing. "Wait, what? What? No!" He visibly scrambled for words, his eyes falling to the knife and then raising to her face. Mentally, he was trying to figure out how to best phrase either an apology.

He looked thoroughly horrified. "That... That wasn't what I was trying to do! I just wanted to distract you!" He raised a hand to rub the nape of his neck, looking toward the snow. He scuffed his boot into it, knowing that his slumped shoulders and downcast gaze were things that, quite simply, conveyed things like embarrassment, regret, submission. "Never heard 'attraction is good for distraction'? 'Cause it is." It was a lame excuse for a joke, and East knew it. He glanced up, his brows still low over his eyes. "I wouldn't have done anything except take the supplies and go."

After a pause, he implored further. "The feeling is gone now, right? I was... God, just trying to distract you. You have a knife, I have some magic ability." East snorted and dropped his hands to his sides, not looking at her so much like a threat now but like he was trying to apologize.

Mentally, East was still thinking of ways to manipulate her out of the supplies. He was beginning to think that it wasn't likely to happen, and his only chance was to overpower her by brute force... but that had gone so well.

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[Riley Salvatici]

THE PAST AND THE CHASE

He stumbled away from her, which calmed her somewhat. She’d been told distance mattered with most of the Keeper-given skills, if they could do distance at all. Most people required skin to skin contact. It seemed this one didn’t quite have a handle on it yet, if his flailing was anything to go by. That didn’t stop her from baring her teeth at him. For all she knew, it was just an act. Or maybe he wasn’t feeling sheepish for what he’d done, but for getting caught.

“Well you might want to practice a bit more,” she pointed out scathingly, “before you try to ‘distract’ someone and end up in a rather compromising position. Such as being gelded.” If she didn’t manage it, Jonah sure as hell would. And he wouldn’t stop there. Riley, at least, might be willing to let the Fulsi live, but her brother would show no such inhibitions.

“It’s gone now,” she agreed. “Abject fury has a tendency to restore my focus.” She wasn’t willing to believe he’d stopped projecting, or whatever it was, out of the goodness of his heart. There was little doubt in her mind that if she’d given into the impulse to swoon like a fawning floozy, he would have happily taken advantage of the opportunity. She was unsure what, exactly, that might be, but the supplies at the very least. She was trying not to think too hard about what other liberties he might take, because if she killed the Fulsi on whim, risking war unnecessarily, her leaders would be displeased.

Riley tilted her head a fraction, consideringly. “Trying batting your eyelashes, next time, and you might have better odds. But you’re right, I have a knife, and you’re SOL. So be a good, perverted little Fulsi, and just stay put, yeah?” As she spoke, she shrugged her shoulders to resettle the back, and began to back away. It was time, as the saying goes, to get the hell outta Dodge. She had been enjoying their little game of wits, until the Fulsi pulled his fancy emotional-manipulation nonsense. Now all she wanted to do was run until physical exhaustion completely wiped out the sense of unclean violation that clung to her skin.

---

ooc: SORRY FOR THE WAIT, BEAT ME NEXT TIME D8 also I wasn't rly sure where we're going with this? o3o

[Ray "East" Kraus]

THE BEST OFTEN DIE BY THEIR OWN HANDS
AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

So, he'd had this one alias once, a man named Marko Conel. Looking at Riley, he very clearly remembered the con that he had pulled using Mr. Conel, and that it had involved a very sheepish, apologetic personality. So much of a person was their gestures, their expressions. With this in mind, East flinched at her words, thoroughly cowed.

"I'm... I'm glad it wore off," he ventured, wearily, mentally shrugging off her threat. His dark eyes flicked to her face, trying to read her expression, but he did this periodically, not holding her gaze. That shows confidence, and right now I'm a meek son of a gun.

He shoved his hands in his back pockets, shoulders slumped, lower lip captured between his teeth. "I never saw you." He didn't lay it on too thickly, however. He'd been acting too confident before to play off a complete Mr. Conel. He glanced up, and continued rather gallantly."In fact, I think I'll just go the other way. Supplies? What are those?" He was offering her a boon, in a way, his eyes beginning to glitter with hesitant amusement.

But the thing was, East had her smell. It was a fact that it was impossible to forget the smell of something, and he was filing this little encounter away, for future reference. He didn't like losing. He glanced up, and had the gall to flash her a smile, although it was a little nervous. "I have some obligations, you see. Scouting mission. My, my." East glanced up to the sky, which was thick with clouds and the scent of coming snow. "It even looks like a storm is rolling in. I'm not sure I would be able to smell a trespasser in this weather..."

He trailed off, gave her a wink, and in a flourish shifted into his cheetah form. East only cast her one more glance before he began to trot through the snow, along the border, with seeming nonchalance.

So, he thought, a little annoyed with himself. The first thing I need to work on is control. Obviously I came off a little strong. Like I was drunk or something.

ooc: just end here? you can post again if you want, though!

WHAT ANYONE WOULD WANT TO GET AWAY FROM

[RUMOR]

/END THREAD