I am the flea you cannot flick! [Aeyt!]

[Rhindeer]

"Yes. That is exactly the reason," Einin muttered, and would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't watching him walk passed. Realizing she was watching, she jerked her eyes skyward. Gods be damned. Insufferable man. But so what? It wasn't like that mattered! Even she could recognize that he was attractive--her and basically the entire rest of the noble court, right?--but that didn't mean anything! Anyone with eyes could see it, and see that the cut of his clothes suited him.

It was just basic facts!

Just like how his breath smelled good when he kissed her.

Bloody, literal bastard.

She marched after him with a scowl, putting a little more sway in her shoulders as she went (and feeling rather ridiculous, like a monkey) and snatched up her sword and slipped on her mask. Without even waiting for his signal, she launched into an attack, lunging forward fiercely with a sharp thrust at his lower left.

[Aeytrious]

Einin was fierce in her attacks, and she was learning fast. This pleased Ryk greatly. He showed her basic ways to disarm her opponent and some dirty tricks to use when fighting 'villains' on her adventures. If he had any unexpected business that took him away from the city, he would be happy knowing she could handle herself a bit better. That didn't mean he wouldn't have a detail tailing her all the time anyway.

A few hours of training, and Ryk had really worked up a thirst. He was thinking it was time for a liquor break. He paused after Einin successfully showed she could handle the latest disarm maneuver.

"I think that's enough for today. How about we get a drink?"

[Rhindeer]

"I think that's the best idea you ever had," Einin panted, wiping her face off on the back of her sleeve. She felt about ready to drop and thought she had sweated most of the water out of her body, and she felt utterly disgusting and probably smelly, but cleaning up could wait.

Stretching her arms and rolling her sore shoulders, she tossed her sword to Ryk and peeled off her mask, damp hair tumbling out. "Ugh. Gross," she muttered, and pulled off her gloves to let her hands air out. He'd worked her hard and she had the bruises to show for it! And, more invaluable, the knowledge. She felt confident that the next time she headed out, she wouldn't get her ass handed to her quite so badly.

Hopefully not at all!

She undid her hair and tied it back again to fix it and flapped the front of her shirt to get a breeze going. "Were you thinking here or elsewhere? Because I'm kinda hoping for elsewhere. Y'know. Staying out of the house for as long as I can?"

Because things were awkward indoors.

[Aeytrious]

Ryk caught the sword by the hilt and slid it into a sheath that was laying nearby.

"Well I was planning on going to a seedy tavern later, but if you want I can clean us up and we can go now, in our great nearly matching sparring outfits."

He handed the now sheathed sword back to Einin. "This is yours now. It's far superior to the one you carry at night normally."

[Rhindeer]

"I get to keep it?" Einin repeated, taking the sword from him and looking at him in surprise. She hadn't really expected that, and the blade was beautifully made, fitting her perfectly. It felt a little wrong in some ways, though, accepting it from someone she planned on besting one day. "Ah...thanks..."

Come to think of it, she probably shouldn't even go to the tavern with him, all chummy-like. He was the enemy! She needed to remember that, no matter what kindness he did her. Though...on the other hand, know thy enemy, right? Right! She could learn more about him, gather more information, and perhaps learn a bit more about his world. Yeah! That's all it was.

"Anyway, sure. Clean us up with your cleany doo-dad! I can handle seedy. I ought to, if I plan on doing this correctly--get used to what the people are used to, and seedy seems a rather good place to find evil-doers and such!" And probably corpses, she remembered with a shudder. Gods.

Buckling the sword to her belt, she waved a hand at him. "Well, go on! Do your thing!"

[Aeytrious]

Ryk always had his, cleany doo-dad, with him, so he fetched it out and gave himself a tap. He was strongly against being gross and dirty when he was Ryk. In his Rufus persona, he could care less, but he had appearances to keep as Ryk. He then gave a tap to Einin as well, and they were both fresh as daisies now.

"You might wanna work your magic once we depart. It would not do well for people to see you about town dressed as a man, with your bright hair and eyes giving away that you're a noble lass."

Ryk adjusted Aestival and Hiemal on his hip after tucking his magic trinket away. It was rare for him to go about the town dressed down, but it would matter little. His face would be easily recognizable, and his gold would spend as easily no matter his attire.

[Rhindeer]

"Gods, I love that thing," Einin said when she was fresh and clean again, and she gave herself a sniff under the armpit to check, always amazed that that thing worked. "I really need one. But ah! Good point! Magicking it up, I go."

Changing her hair and eye color and hiding her beauty mark was second nature at this point; she had done it enough times now that she no longer had to look into a mirror to cast the illusion, she just needed to feel it. Pulling her hair to the side to check, she saw it was a mousy brown instead of its usual bright pink, and assumed her eyes were the same. Reaching around, she loosened her ponytail so it hung low and scruffed up her hair, not that it needed any extra help at this point.

Gods, one day she would love to figure out how to change more of her appearance with illusion, but unfortunately, superficial things, things that could already be changed naturally, was about as far as she could get. It was harder to trick yourself.

"Alright, I think that should do it," she said, and turned briefly away from Ryk so she could adjust her binding under her tunic, to make sure everything was still there and bound. "Do I look alright? No random pink patches or anything?"

[Aeytrious]

"The most pink I see is the flush in your cheeks, and the pleasant color of your lips," Ryk told Einin as he turned to lead the way. Rather than pass through the house, he walked through the gardens around the side of the manor and out to the front of the grand estate. Along the way, a Wolf servant fell into step alongside him. He handed the man his sparring blade, gloves and mask as they approached the front pathway. There were two more of his Wolf servants there waiting and they came up to him quickly and gave him reports on the patrols that were watching the grounds. They didn't know he was Rufus, but they had been appointed by The Red Wolf to serve Ryk, the greatest financial backer of The Soot Wolves.


"Quiet on all fronts Mr. Handelaar."

"That's good to hear. Myself and the Lady Einin here will be going to a dangerous part of town. You should inform whomever you report to on my whereabouts."

[Rhindeer]

Einin handed her gloves and mask to another servant and, ever nosy, listened in as best as she could. Not that there was of value to pick up, but it kind of amused her, this charade. Ryk had Wolves for servants, and they didn't even realize he was Rufus?

When the servants were gone, she pressed onward, heading toward the garden gate. "I suppose I should have let my family know I would be gone," she said, as she found one of the hidden ditches that lead under the gate, which she often used on her excursions. She dropped down and began to wriggle under it, crawling on her belly and brushing the dry dirt off once she'd reached the other side. "But I'm sure we can come up with a good excuse later."

[Aeytrious]

Ryk raised an eyebrow as Einin squirmed her way under the gate. He found the act mildly amusing. There were much easier ways to pass through a gate, like opening it. The lock wasn't even magical, he could have it open in a moment with the right tools, if he had need of them. It was more in his style to go over a gate, rather than waste time picking a lock, or crawling under it. Instead, he simply nodded to his remaining Wolf and they produced the key. There were very few locks in Arca that the Soot Wolves did not have a key for. With it unlocked, he opened it and stepped through.

"Indeed, I'm sure we can think of something. You are managing to keep everyone out of that blood soaked room. This should be a simple matter to cover up."

[Rhindeer]

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Two things!"

Stepping around to face Ryk, Einin poked him in the chest. "One, how do your people have a key to my gate? Two, how do you know about the room? And three, I need that key, you can't have that!"

[Aeytrious]

"That's three things not two," Ryk smiled at Einin, then he signaled for the Wolf to give Einin the key. "I'm sure Rufus has more than one copy," he gave her a wink at that. "As for the room. Rufus has you constantly watched, for your protection, and as on every nobles staff in Arca, there are Soot Wolves in your employ."

[Rhindeer]

Einin stared at Ryk, key in hand.

"How 'constantly watched' is constantly watched, because there was like no one around when that happened and if we're talking like peeping I'm really not okay with that!"

[Aeytrious]

"Peeping? Don't be silly. He would not allow anyone sleazy to watch over you while you undress and bathe. You are watched always though. At every moment of every day, you have a minimum of two shadows." Ryk waved off the remaining Wolf.

"None of my Wolves have seen the bloody mess, but the two of you were quite loud that night. Luckily a Wolf played interference with the servant that was going to check on the ruckus. Another one overheard the entire conversation though. That man truly is an enigma," Ryk leaned in to be sure only she could hear his whisper. "I have him followed as well. I'm still not sure if he's friend or foe, but he will likely prove useful either way."

Ryk tugged at his collar to adjust his vest, and rested his hand across Aestival as he stepped away from the safety of the garden. His coach pulled up next to them, ready to deliver them to wherever they desired.

"Shall we?"

[Rhindeer]

...Okay, that was a good point.

Maybe she had gotten a bit loud in panic and frustration, though she'd thought she'd been rather quiet. Either way, she was relieved "Rufus" was at least being classy about the whole tailing her deal, and supposed, in that case, it wasn't as creepy as it first sounded. Ryk was mentoring her, after all. He'd mentioned wanting to keep her safe. Alright. Made sense, she guessed.

Relaxing a little, Einin snorted when he mentioned Jarrett. "Ha, neither! He's a pain in my ass, is what he is," she said before she headed for the coach and slipped inside.

[Aeytrious]

"Take us to the Lifeless Lech," was all Ryk said to his driver as he climbed into the platinum inlaid ebony coach. It was expertly crafted, sleek and elegant, with the most posh and luxurious interior of black silk cushions. A small magic light in the center of the ceiling, lit the carriage in a gentle orange glow. The scent of cinnamon and vanilla was faintly present, and quite pleasant. Ryk spared no expense when it came to luxury.

"So how do you plan on dealing with your faux fiancé?"

[Rhindeer]

Leaning back in her seat with her arms folded behind her head, Einin arched a brow at the name of their destination and gave Ryk a dry look. Lifeless Lech? That...

Sounded like some place Jarrett would frequent. Gods, she would scream if there were corpses there.

Speaking of Jarrett...

She shrugged, took in a deep breath to take in the scent of the coach. "Soon, and discreetly. We'll 'break up' due to something like differences, something normal and natural. I was seriously considering stretching the engagement for the sake of not being pestered about husbands, because it's been nice having a whole day where that hasn't been the primary topic, buuut..." She shuddered.

"It was creepy enough dealing with his corpse...obsession...outside my home. Waking up to a mysterious, blood-covered room? Gods, no. So the only issue now it making the fake split to our fake engagement believable. I suppose I'll have to pick a petty fight with him in view of my parents."

[Aeytrious]

"Well that sounds thrilling, I do not envy you, surely," Ryk looked out the window as they rolled along.

The day's light was fading. Night would be on them soon. By now the Lifeless Lech would be filling up. It was a popular establishment, that boasted a third floor entirely devoted to Ladies of the Evening, and a basement in which high stakes fights were bet on. There was nothing lifeless about the place at all. It was a favorite watering hole of The Soot Wolves.

"Well if I can help in some way let me know. Perhaps, I could ask your father for your hand? I'm sure that would get your parents off your back after you break it off with Jarrett."

[Rhindeer]

Einin snorted a laugh at that and rubbed her face. "Oh dear gods, are you serious?" she said, and been about to discount the idea completely, because what, but...

Actually, it wasn't such a bad idea. After all, she had been thinking the same thing about Jarrett--except the problem was that it wasn't safe to keep him around. He was too obvious, he damaged everything in his path, and he apparently had a creepy mistress that wasn't happy with her. Plus, the corpse issue. She really couldn't reconcile the corpse issue.

Sitting up abruptly and turning toward Ryk, her expression turned serious. "No, seriously, are you serious? Because actually...yeah. Sure. I think my parents would be over the moon if Ryk Handelaar, ludicrously wealthy merchant, asked for my hand. They're not overly fond of Jarrett, but they were pretty happy when I danced with you. And you've actually made a legit name for yourself." Unlike Jarrett. She was worried about what would happen if her parents decided to dig.

She rubbed her chin, brow furrowed. "That could actually work. I mean, what the hell, right? Then we just call it all off whenever."

Sure, the guy was her arch nemesis and all, but it wasn't like she had men lining up to pretend to be her fiance.

[Aeytrious]

"Who said anything about calling it off? True love conquers all." Ryk gave Einin a sweet, charmingly innocent smile. Of course he was serious about the proposal. He had never had a fiancé before though. It would be a huge deal to Arca. He didn't actually plan on marrying the girl, as lovely as she was. Now that the thought was in his mind though, the wheels started turning. He was already so powerful, but he was not a noble. In Essyrn it wouldn't matter, his power would be increased by his wealth and status as a merchant. Here in Serendipity though, a title made all the difference. Einin wasn't his first thought for claiming a nobles title, Lord Handelaar instead of Master Handelaar, he liked the sound of that, but she was an option. A thought for later scheming perhaps. Secretly, his heart still held out for Lanna.

"I'd have to be much more discreet with my evening encounters if we were to be engaged. I do not enjoy an empty bed, but I try to maintain a gentlemanly appearance in public. A gentleman does not take another lady to his chamber when he is betrothed."