Oh, Here She Comes

[Cobalt]

( @Draco )

Quinn wasn't actually aware of the con. It hardly mattered. She'd been offered a job she could do, a job she'd done before a thousand times for fun or love or money. Mostly fun. Money was a bonus, but even Quinn's own reputation could not have dropped such an opportunity in her lap. No, this was destiny. This was her fate. This was a higher calling.

She was gonna start a fight.

There were plenty of people nearby doing normal people things, so many pretty Serenians flouncing  about their candy-colored business, filled with the useless inevitable ennui that came of civilized living. That was all right. Quinn was here. She was here to help. She was going to start a fight.

For the sake of mixing business and pleasure, she picked a swishy waif of a fellow. She loosened the laces on her sleeveless tunic so that the sun would cast long shadows down over the dark muscled skin beneath, and rolled her shoulders back a couple of times before ducking her head down and drifting with the crowd to blend.

Then she struck!

"The fuck did you just say to me?" She reached to snatch at his sleeve. "You say that to my face, you fuck."

[Draconian]

It was always a hassle to go out and meet people. They were late. Oh, they'd forgotten. Was that today? I could have sworn the letter didn't say for another week. Cadreinth pushed a hand through his hair, irritated, frustrated. If the people he needed to talk to were busy, that was fine. That was why he was out here. Taking a walk while the potential business partner - which was looking more slim by the moment - got his things ready. Because the letter had the wrong date, but oh, he couldn't find it, really. His fingers in his opal hair, he was not having a good time and it instantly got worse when someone snatched his sleeve.

The words clicked and he froze, turning to glare quickly over his shoulder.

Was this happening?

It was confusion first at the violent outburst, but he yanked his arm away from the woman and just stared at her. Did he bite? Cadreinth considered just walking away before he gave her a once over. He was unarmed, wearing simply clothing. The only way anyone would recognize him would be if they knew who he was in the first place and while opal hair was a staple for his family, it wasn't exactly uncommon.

"Excuse me," He started, "But I believe you have the wrong person." He dusted off his arm and gave her a steady glare, "Have a nice day, Ma'am." His teeth clenched and he started to turn away before he snapped and regretted it later.

[Cobalt]

Look at him, salty already. She'd picked one in a shitty mood, bless his pasty little soul. Quinn covered her delight with an outraged gasp. She had the right person. She had precisely the right person, and all was good and beautiful in the world.

"Don't you ma'am me like you don't know me!" Look at him already. So angry. She made a sharp sweep with one hand between them, swift and slicing. "I know this act and believe you me I feel stupid for falling for it as long as I did! You don't get to just walk away like this doesn't affect you!"

At her raised voice and broad gesturing, heads began turning to see what the commotion was. This might be enough of a distraction but Quinn had not been told to half-ass this job and so half-ass it she would not.

[Draconian]

Okay. What?

Cadreinth just stared at her, frowning. He looked around and people were looking just as curiously as he was. Rather, the ones that weren't glaring at him were looking curiously. "I don't know you, Ma'am." He held his hands up, palms out. He tried to smile, though it was more a grimace, "So I'm going to go, and you can find the right person you're angry at." He gave a polite bow of his head and turned to walk away, "Have a nice day."

[Cobalt]

So mad and still trying so hard. Look at him trying to make his face smile! Quinn had chosen a good one, one of those genteel boys who didn't shout at women in the streets or even address them too familiarly. How long would it take to get him to stop calling her ma'am? That was her first benchmark. First the ma'am would drop, and then she'd find out what he was really capable of.

Every man had it in him. Every single one. Quinn just had to drag it out, was all.

"How dare you!" she howled, shoving some poor hapless stranger out of the way to get closer to her target. "You may have all your little friends convinced but you can't fool me, not anymore!" Quinn wished that she were wearing shoes so she could throw one at him. That would have been good. "You always do this! You always think this will be good enough, is that it? Are you that fucking stupid?"

[Draconian]

Deep breath.

Cadreinth gave her a tense smile, his hands at his side.

"Is there somewhere I can lead you? Perhaps to the authorities so that we can have this all figured out and you can stop pushing people around. Ma'am." It would look bad for him to yell at her. It wasn't about her being a woman, oh no, it was about him and his station. This was a very rude woman and Cadreinth didn't discriminate when it came to yelling at people. If this had been in private, oh, the yelling would be copious.

Public though.

Had to keep his image.

Even if almost no one recognized him, Gods Above he hoped no one recognized him.

[Cobalt]

"Lead me?"

Authorities, ha. Calling the authorities away somewhere might count as doing her job particularly well, but then people would ask prying questions who weren't actually a party to the chaos and the fun would end so quickly! Maybe just a little more fun, just a little, before that happened.

"Oh you would like that, wouldn't you!" Quinn spat on the ground, carefully avoiding his shadow because she didn't actually have anything against the poor bastard. "Lead me here, lead me there, make me look like I'm the crazy one because I'm tired of your shit! Oh you would like that wouldn't you."

[Draconian]

His fingers dug into his hair and he fisted it, and stared at her.

"Who are you?!" He let his hands fall down, "Fine, we'll figure this out nice and easy." He crossed his arms over his chest, "You have a problem with me? You'll let me know who you are and who you think I am."

[Cobalt]

Shit, he was figuring it out. He was figuring it out but she was so close to cracking him fuck would she get him first or would he get her? Who would crack first? Who would win? Quinn had to win this because she had to win, period. She would reach heights of unreasonableness that nobody had ever reached in all the history of life and she would get him first!

Quinn went still, and quiet, like her veins had been flushed with ice water that froze her inch by inch with freezing rage.

"You..." she said quietly, but intensely. "Are unbelieveable."

[Draconian]

What was going on?

He stared at her, frowning. Did she really... Was this maybe. He'd remember someone related to his wife. This woman was Adelan, that much was obvious if not by how she looked than by, well, how large she was. Cadreinths fingers were in his hair again and he sighed loudly, looking helpless for a moment.

"What do you want from me?" Most of him wanted to scream at her and just go away, but she'd probably follow him and make more of a scene. "Do you think I've wronged you? Because I don't even know who you are!"

[Cobalt]

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head quickly in a harsh rattle of feigned disbelief before staring back at this poor man once more. Of course he didn't know who she was, but look at his hapless little face! He was trying. He was honest to the gods trying to figure out who she was.

The ma'am had disappeared. She could do this! Quinn could do this.

"I just want a little acknowledgment!" she screamed. Then she sniffed hard, her shoulders wrenching briefly as she covered her mouth and nose with the back of one hand, faking that greatest of horrors: looming hysteria. "Why do you make everything so impossible!"

[Draconian]

Taking a deep breath he licked his lip, chewing briefly on the inside of his cheek before he moved closer to her. Dangerously close for him, though his hands were in his pockets. Maybe she was deranged? Should he take another approach? Coax her to the authorities so he can leave her with them and run away back to Jadenshine because screw this business deal. This town was going to be the last place he ever wanted to visit again.

"I'm sorry, My Darling, I didn't mean to make things so impossible." His hands were moved from his pockets and he held one out, open, waiting for her to take it. This could end well or with him being stabbed. Both were acceptable outs from this little scene. "I haven't been myself. Come, tell me what's wrong." It took far too much effort not to keep his eyebrows from drawing into a deep frown. Maybe if he played a long, she'd calm down and... Leave him alone.

[Cobalt]

Oh.... oh he was good. Fake a softening of heart at long last and people would get tired because now they were reconciling and there was nothing to see because happy people were boring. Only miserable people were interesting. Everybody loved misery. That was just a fact.

"It's the same thing that's always wrong!"

She took a risk and slapped his hand away. The first blow, but a reasonably gentle one, right? It didn't count, did it? It would have in Zantaric but this was Serendipity and everybody was all cuppycakes and sugarplums because they were too magical to debase themselves with anything so common as Quinn Simon.

"We always end up like this. Have you noticed it yet? I'm miserable and you don't even notice! You don't even care until suddenly it looks like everybody might find out what you're really like! And oh then suddenly I'm so important, well you evil gash I am onto you!"

[Draconian]

Cadreinth took the slapped hand away and made it look like it hurt. His face crumpled and he pulled his hand to his chest, looking like his hand broke along with his heart. Shattered like glass right there on the street by the woman he loved. He reached out his hand again, his mouth opened to speak but no words came out. Just a croak before he licked his lips and shook his head, oh so sadly.

"Please." He took a few steps closer, his hands out. He was asking to be stabbed, but then the jig would be up and she would finally leave him alone. Gardenia was a smart girl, she could run Jadenshine, right? "My Darling." A few steps closer, "Sweetie. Sugar Plum. My Sweetest Adelan Rose." Cadreinth moved his hands to her waist and pulled her closer.

"I work. I work all the time to take care of you and the children. How am I supposed to know what's making you so miserable if you won't talk to me about it?" His voice was lower, but he made sure it carried out around them.

[Cobalt]

Oh. Oh yes.

Quinn took it all back, all the terrible nonsense about soft weak little Serenian nobility who couldn't fart without staff nearby to hold a wafting doily. This guy might be all right. He just might.

His sweetest Adelan rose. Quinn was going to die. She was going to have to lie down in the dirt with her face down in the road and sprawl her arms out and declare to the universe that she was done and she couldn't go on a moment longer in this life where people called her their sweetest Adelan rose. She settled for covering her face with both hands and just letting him pull her near.

This was what they were doing, was it? If he wanted it like this, fine. Quinn could make it like this.

She softened into an embrace with this total stranger who was flat-out making shit up because she had started it, and under the cover of nuzzling his neck for comfort, murmured into his ear.

"If I keep pretending we know each other, you gonna let me into those soft Serenian trousers?"

[Draconian]

She was taking it.

Well, she took it and then she ran away with it because he stayed still when she nuzzled into his neck and spoke. He was at a loss of words. What. He leaned back lightly and gently caressed her cheek, looking at her like she'd given him a new lease on life. "You started it, Adelan Rose." His hand moved back to her waist and he rubbed up and down her sides gently.  Leaning in, he pressed his lips to her ear and did his own whispering, "How badly do you want into these soft Serenian trousers?"

[Cobalt]

Finally Quinn could grin like she really wanted to. A chorus of, "Awwww," scattered through the assembled onlookers, who had gotten invested in the pointless charade happening in their midst.

With him so close, close enough to hear his breath warm her ear, Quinn shifted a foot forward between his, planting it in the dirt so that if he wanted to close his legs he'd have to back away again. She stretched one arm over his shoulder, carelessly and so very accidentally brushing fingertips below his collar on the back of his neck. She was still grinning when she turned and gently took the bottom edge of his ear between her teeth.

She'd done her job. She'd created a distraction. Didn't matter what happened now, because whatever it was... Quinn would be fine. She was always fine, and this one wasn't so bad himself.

[Draconian]

Hm. What to do.

Cadreinth gasped softly, surprised when practically bit his ear and for a tense few seconds he thought she was going to rip it right off. Instead though, he realized her leg was between his and she was just goin' for it. He licked his lips and pulled her close, taking a few steps back in the process but bringing her with him. A small smirk on his lips and he gave her a curious look, still leading her away from where they were on the street. "Did you get what you wanted out of me yet?"

[Cobalt]

Quinn listened to him smile and felt him slowly lead her away. He was either going to try to kill her now or he was beginning to have fun. He might try to kill her anyway. Maybe trying to kill her would be his fun. Hard to tell with some people.

Quinn suppressed a snicker rather badly, and hid it by following him forward and gently headbutting the stranger's cheek like a cat.

"What I wanted when I saw you, yeah. Just a commotion." One of her hands was creeping around his waist to his back to search for the boundary between his shirt and rather plain--if Serenian soft--trousers, optimistically exploring just how far it would be permitted beneath them in a public place. "You wanna fight about it?"

[Draconian]

Cadreinth smirked, the chuckle threatening to bubble out of his mouth. When she saw him, huh? What did she want now? Well, the hands at his back told him what she wanted now. If they were playing the pair of lovers, why would it do to stop now? His Adelan Rose. Part of him hoped that wold haunt this woman forever.  He leaned in, pressed his lips to hers and caught her lower lip between his teeth before pulling back and smirking at her. "Sure, let's fight about it. Rough and tumble, even."