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11 Ashan 718
The dark haired woman that traversed the town was inexplicably bored. There was apparently much to see, but nothing that she quite liked. Fine clothing and objects, stalls of food and vendors of trinkets; nothing seemed to appease her. Not with the soft rumble of her stomach and the headache brewing just behind her temple. She tucked dark locs of hair behind her ear, surveying the streets with little interest before stopping to consider her location.
Wandering had been what Nadine had suggested she do, rather than stay cooped up in their current living arrangements, temporary housing while they considered whether it would be worth it to stay or move on. The Naer was getting close to the former, for all that she’d seen thus far. Part of her had hoped to find something less savory than the just passing for legitimate business around her. Maybe then she would have found something worth sinking her teeth into.
The mere thought of doing so caused her stomach to speak up, wondering when she would feed herself. Yndira clicked her tongue, glancing around for something that might stave off her hunger for a little while longer.
It definitely beat the ice cold temperatures of Cylus, and it was only going to get hotter. It made jobs somewhat easier, with no snow and a lot more tolerable temperatures. As well as that, the ability to see easier made quite an impact to the life he could live now. Trying to hunt after high priority targets in pitch black made for a somewhat difficult task, the man thought.
Glancing around, the mercenaries eyes fell to someone - a woman. She was in the town, looking uninterested in near to everything around. Yet something about her caught Ryder's attention. Admittedly, she was attractive, but that wasn't normally all it took to get the Murder Maid to take notice. Etzos had plenty of attractive people. But this woman stood out, for some reason unknown to the mercenary.
He contemplated approaching, confidence was rarely an issue for Ryder. But since joining with Al'Angyryl, and saving Serah's life, the idea of approaching a woman just seemed like a waste of time. He had no interest in romance, nor did he intend on again, and he spent too much time taking care of his new companion to indulge like he used to.
With a small sigh, Ryder walked in the general direction of the woman, making it clear he was being friendly without being a creep. Creeps were uncomfortably common in Etzos, and every city Ryder had ever been in, so making sure to keep a friendly posture was always important. After all, his interest with women was definitely different to the kind of people that had never so much as hugged a woman, let alone the kind of things that were on their mind. If all Ryder got was a new companion or friend, then he counted it as a victory.
word count: 309
"The most dangerous people in the world are not the tiny minority instigating evil acts, but those who do the acts for them" ~ Suzy Kassem
Yndira paused, eyes trained ahead for a moment at something she might have been interesting. No; as pretty as her reflection in glass was, it wouldn’t be enough entertainment. Not with the rumble of her stomach and the growing irritation it caused. She looked back, attempting to find Nadine in somewhere behind her. But it was not the grim-faced woman she saw behind her. Rather, it was a pretty impressive looking young man. A welcome sight, greeted with a smile.
He was impressive; she could appreciate that. He had the look of a brooding hero - or perhaps even a villain, with the right push - as they would be described in one of the flimsy tales Nadine had told the Naer in her younger arcs. The man looked, easily, like he could circle his hands around a neck and squeeze the life from it. Yndira would know what that took; she’d done it a number of times herself already. And that was likely what brought a touch more light to her eyes and just an increment more to her smile. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to point her in the right direction of something worth eating.
It had been some time she’d last truly eaten. Back in Rynmere, actually, where she’d been accosted after a late night meal. Perhaps she would have done better to be cautious, but in hindsight: she didn’t care. What had mattered, and continued to, was that she’d been interrupted. That, that - had been rude. She still wanted to let her fingers slide through the flesh of the man who’d attacked her, graced with her cuts and bruises - had gone so far as to stab her. But this man and that one were two separate entities she had to deal with.
She regarded him for a moment longer, curious if he would approach or if they would be stuck in silent contest of who would move forward. But, then again - he could be the type that expected his prey to come to him, as she did at times. The dark haired woman inclined her head slightly before deciding that it wouldn’t be a crime to make him work for something he might want.
After a few trills of silence besides the woman, it was suddenly clear to see that this had become a little more than just a conversation. This was a game, or a hunt. One was going to talk first, and the tension meant that one was waiting for the other. Clearly this woman didn't lack confidence, her body showed that, along with how forward her smile had been. Yet she didn't speak.
Ryder normally enjoyed waiting, nothing felt better than someone he had his eyes on approaching him. Admittedly, he hadn't even expected it to resolve like this. Yet some was some flirtatious essence to the silence, between them both. As much as Ryder hadn't been looking to flirt, now he'd found what he saw as a challenge. But perhaps staying silent was the wrong way to play this, he pondered. If both sat silently nothing would happen, but if he spoke, then it would be him setting down the rules.
"It's like we already said hello" Ryder smirked, pointing out the tension. Perhaps bringing it to light would draw some conversation out of the woman. After all, Ryder wasn't the kind to do all the work. He would initiate and, should the woman offer him a bone, he might play her game for a while. Despite his lack of interest in romance, this woman had entranced him, and now she was offering him a challenge. But the mercenary wasn't the kind to just blindly follow the task - where was the fun in that? "I was actually headin' somewhere, so you'll have to excuse me. Unless you wanna come. Just a small shop I need to visit" he offered, raising an eyebrow to the woman as he made the offer, before making it clear he intended to leave. Maybe, just maybe, the woman would be intrigued enough to follow. After all, if the blessings he had gave him one thing, it was an air of charm and superiority. If Delroth and Ryder shared one key trait, it was the vanity. Ryder wasn't about to chase after someone, he was going to be chased after.
After a few steps the man glanced back. "You coming?"
word count: 374
"The most dangerous people in the world are not the tiny minority instigating evil acts, but those who do the acts for them" ~ Suzy Kassem
She watched and waited, he waited and watched. It was a game; a good one, by the way it was progressing. It's like we already said hello. The complete meaning of his words were lost but the few she could pick up on made him wonder how dumb this man was. It sounded...weak, for some kind of conversation starter. Yndira resisted the urge to roll her eyes, came close to doing just that before stopping herself. He was a pretty man but not pretty enough to excuse one more line like that - she hoped it would be the last. It'd be a shame if she had to let him get away just because she was tired of hearing the same lines from Rynmere merchants and would-be nobles.
'Shop' and 'visit' were two words she could connect and be fine with. Her smile widened, steps bringing her closer to the man before he began to walk ahead. It felt, very distinctly, for a trill like she was a dog being lead but she'd played this game before and this was not the end of it. He had still not gotten her to open her mouth to utter a single syllable and that was where he missed out. He had tried it - and failed; what would he do in another attempt? Idly chatter about things unimportant to the Naerikk? Most likely; men were self-centered - they spoke about what they wanted to and that was what she would let him do until she grew tired of it or it was no longer necessary.
Still, her eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher more of what he had said, watching her step lest she find her shoes marred by dog shit like she'd seen several others fall victim to. She brushed a lock of hair from her face, glancing once more at her newfound companion for a moment before looking ahead again. Yndira could say she was also getting something of a tour of the place, walking alongside the man. He seemed to know where he was going, for the most part, and there would likely be some things that she could see in following him. If not, well - that was something to dwell on later when she berated Nadine for her horrendous idea of sending the much smaller woman out on her own.
While the line he had made seemed to fly over the womans head, or was ignored by choice, Ryder had made one success with talking to her, as she seemed to follow along with a smile at near to his pace. While it wasn't conversation, there was progress being made. Of course this wasn't the end of it, the game the two were playing could last as long as either could hold out with their willpower. Ryder, for one, had no intention of giving up. Not yet. "Here we are" he said, eyeing the jewelers in front of him. With a small smirk across his cheeks the man entered the building, whether he was followed or not. As he entered the building the woman behind the counter recognized him and came over with a smile. It was evident that she was an elderly woman, but still had a lot of life left in her. "Roger, yes?" she asked.
"Ryder" the bandit chuckled, not taking any offense to the name he was called. If anything the ability to say no to being called Roger gave him some confidence. He highly doubted he would have as many friends if he'd been called Roger instead of Ryder. With a grin herself, the woman made her way to stand beside the man. "Well what can we do for you today? What are you looking for?" she asked curiously. "Browsing" he said, looking to Yndira if she came along with him, before looking over a large selection of charms and pendants, a lot of which met the theme that he wanted - birds. Small pendants of ravens flying, others of hawks taking down their prey, some of more elegant birds. All of which, however, could fit what Ryder wanted. All he saw as an issue was the size of them. Something about them just weren't good enough for Delroth.
Assuming Yndira came in with him, Ryder looked back to her. "See anything you like?"
word count: 332
"The most dangerous people in the world are not the tiny minority instigating evil acts, but those who do the acts for them" ~ Suzy Kassem
A jewelers. She didn't need to read the signs to know what this place was, head tilting to the side as she walked in after him. The destination was different from what she had thought - she'd been thinking he'd be looking at swords and other pointy weapons and that would nice and cute but jewels were a lot better. The woman that greeted the pair was old and knew him, but that didn't matter so much as what she sold.
Peering around the shop, she had to say that this was quite a selection to choose from. But what the man - Ryder, from his correction of the hag - seemed fixated on jewelry depicting birds. Birds of all types; in motion, stopped. Feasting or resting. But she had no interest in birds unless they were on her plate. The Naer looked down at the selection a moment, expression blank, before she turned away to look for something else.
There had to be something worth her while in a place full of jewels. Just not...birds. Maybe he was had a special liking for them, but the Naer did not. She didn't really have much of a liking for any animal out of its capacity to be eaten and how much of a delicacy it might be considered. That was all that mattered in an animal for her; and maybe if it made a pretty enough design, she might be so inclined to wear it. To his question, she simply shrugged before looking elsewhere.
