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Aggressive Interrogation (DragonSong)

Started by Kingfisher, December 07, 2017, 11:33:17 PM

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Kingfisher

The feeling of this woman against Joshua's arm stripped away all doubt; Tara was toying with him.  The disconnect between her overt closeness and mock hesitance let him at a loss, though.  He was not good with subtlety.  Direct confrontations and outright lies were easy to respond to, since he knew where he stood in regards to a speaker.  But this?

Taking another sip of his drink, the smith tried to will the blood from his ears.  Avoiding Tara's gentle hand, Joshua said, "I-I think you give folks too little credit."  The young man was visibly tense by now, and it was unlikely the girl would miss it.  He seemed about to say more until he cut himself with another sip of beer.

DragonSong

Hmmm.

Perhaps she'd come on a bit too strong.

She pulled back a bit and ducked her eyes again. "Forgive me if I'm being too forward- time on the road can do that to a person I guess, you forget what's proper." She chuckled, and it was only partly forced. Tilting her head a bit, she added with a friendly smile, "On hope you'll still let me repay your kindness with a drink or two. No ulterior motive, I swear." She raised a bad and laughed again, eyes bright and playful, keeping a careful distance between them now.

Kingfisher

Finally able to relax, Joshua offered a brief smile to the attractive woman.  "It's no problem.  I completely understand."  And to an extent, he thought he did.  People had needs, drives, desires.  They often craved connection and closeness.  The smith did as well, but he tended to handle things differently than most.

Finishing off his ale, the man shrugged the sword higher onto his shoulder.  "That all being said, I wouldn't turn down another drink.  I just need to put this guy away for tomorrow."  Joshua signalled for a refill before excusing himself, slipping toward his room.  Hanging the scabbard off a wall hook kept it out of the way before returning to Tara.

DragonSong

Alright. A little bit of a change of tactic then. No problem, she was good at adapting.

Tara smiled and nodded at his response, just the right amount of relief in her voice when she murmured, "Of course, thank you for your...understanding." When he left she slid her hand down her skirt, smoothing the fabric but also idly fingering the hilt of the dagger strapped to her thigh.

She might not need to use it after all. The man seemed amiable enough, for being affiliated with monsters. Maybe she wouldn't kill him, just...leave him tied up in the woods somewhere and be on her way.

Kingfisher

It did not take long for the young man to reclaim his seat.  Taking his refilled ale, he had a long pull.  At a glance, more and more of the towns folk were spilling out and Joshua realized the tavern owner would be closing shop soon.  The burly man was putting up an unopened barrel.  "One more?" he asked of the pair.

Draining his mug, the smith said, "No, thanks.  Bad idea to over indulge."  It was true enough; he would be light headed soon.  Barely so, but enough for Joshua's tastes.  He continued his own drawn out process of draining his mug.

The barkeep nodded and glanced toward the Bard as well.  "You?"

DragonSong

She smiled, and shook her head. "No, thank you. I think I've reached my limit for the evening." She cut her eyes sidelong at Joshua nd tilted her head slightly. "A long day, I take it?"

Kingfisher

Passing a glance toward Tara, the smith shrugged.  Moving his drink away from his mouth, he said, "Not exactly.  I've just had my fill."  Tipping his drink back, Joshua finished off the last of his beer before setting down his mug.  With a sudden yawn, the man undid the collar of his jacket.  "I always get a bit drowzy when I drink.  I guess I'll be heading to bed..." he muttered.  Slipping from the stool, Joshua made his slow way toward his room.

DragonSong

"Ah-" Tara bit her lip and reached after him, then drew her hand back quickly. "Does...your offer still stand? About sharing the room?"

She fidgeted a bit on the stool and mad a point not to meet his eyes, glancing at a point over his left shoulder.

Kingfisher

Turning, Joshua gave Tara an apologetic smile.  "I didn't mean to imply otherwise.  The room is still open to you."  The smith's focus slid to the master, adding, "I assume that's not a problem?"

The tavern master shrugged.  "Not my place to say what people can do at night."

Blushing, the young man snapped, with more embarrassment than anger, "That's not what I meant."  The older man simply waved him off, heading upstairs with his daughter, who herself seemed embarrassed by the turn of the conversation.  Deciding not to push things, Joshua just shook his head and showed Tara to his rented chamber.

It was not a large room, so not much would fit inside.  The door swung inward, revealing only three pieces of furniture: the small bed which looked looked just big enough for one person (or two if they lay very close together), a chair with a pile of blankets on it, and a small table that carried a small candle and a large knife, hilt within easy reach of the chair.  The sword from earlier hung beside the door, awaiting its owners return.

DragonSong

The bard ducked her head in faux embarrassment as she scurried after Joshua to his room. Her eyes flickered about, taking stock of the space, judging the quickest means of escape.

"Thank you for this," she murmured with a small smile for the smith. Her head went to pat the pack on her back. "I can lay out a bedroll, promise I won't take up much room." A bit of the playful glint was back in her indigo eyes and she tilted her head just slightly to the side.

Kingfisher

By this point, Joshua had slipped out of his jacket, clad in his loose fitting spock as he glanced at the woman.  "I thought I said you could take the bed."  Indicating the chair, the smith explained, "This was where I meant to sleep."  Pulling up one of the blankets, he threw it over his shoulders like a cloak.  Then a thought came to him.  "Was there anything you usually do before going to bed?  A change of clothes?  I can step out if you needed any privacy."  It seemed unlikely she would do so, but he put the offer forward.

DragonSong

Tara chuckled. "I suppose I should. Weeks on the road certainly doesn't do one's clothing any favors," she murmured with a quick smile.

Turning her back afforded privacy enough, so she did so, stripping out of her blouse to replace it with a thinner, comfortable tunic. Her skirt remained- she was unwilling to reveal the knives strapped to thigh and calf.

Kingfisher

Joshua found himself instinctively looking away from the bard.  He was frighteningly modest, feeling guilty at the sight of a nude (or in this case partially nude) figure.  He turned when he felt she had had enough time to change and gave a relieved sigh when he found his estimate correct.

Moving on from there, the smith turned back to Tara.  He noticed something odd about about her current wardrobe.  "Why?" he began, looking down.  "Why are you still wearing your skirt?"  For the life of him, he could not think of a reason to leave it on.  Was she trying to hide something?  Joshua blushed again as his imagination took him where he had not meant to go...

DragonSong

Hmm...

Blushing. Wow. Even more innocent than she'd thought. In any other situation, she might have found it...endearing. Refreshing.

As it was, she saw an opportunity and took it. Making her eyes wide in her thin face, she tilted her head and looked down at her own skirt, then away bashfully. "I- well, I..." She cleared her throat and tried for a nervous laugh.

"I suppose I...could take it off, but I was...rather under the impression that would make you uncomfortable." Carefully, as though approaching a frightened forest creature, she shifted toward him and glanced up at his face through her lashes. "Was I wrong?"

Kingfisher

"I-uh..." Joshua stumbled.  "I suppose not."  Coughing to ease his still rising discomfort, he explained, "It just seemed odd, changing shirts and not your skirt.  I mean if you want to keep it on, feel free, but don't inconvenience yourself over me."  The young man was not sure which aspect of himself was winning his war: his willpower or his inner lecher.

At around that point, Joshua 'sensed' something.  He had never bothered trying to explain to others what it was like, so 'sense' seemed to be the best word on hand.  He felt five blobs of heat moving, moving in very suspicious, very human ways.  Five people were creaping toward the entrance to the tavern and without meaning to, the pyromancer was looking in their direction, through the wood of the now shared chamber door...

DragonSong

Tara's mouth curved up higher on one side than the other and she took a small step toward him. "It wouldn't be...inconvenient-"

Before she could get anything else out she sort of felt his tension, shivering through the air and coloring her perception of him. Instantly a warning tingle ran up her spine and she snapped her attention to where he stared at the door.

"What is it?" Her voice had changed completely, all soft titters and teasing lilts gone, replaced with a knife-edge of tension and barely controlled rage. Danger.

Kingfisher

Joshua moved quickly to the table, taking up his knife.  It slipped out of his scabbard with an airy hiss and for an instant, its long, forge welded blade was visible in the candle light before the flame was snuffed by the smiths breath.  Its straight blade was narrow and single edged, optimized for thrusting but capable of cutting.  Pushing Tara toward the wall, he prepared an ambush from behind the door.

"Looks like I pissed someone off," Joshua whispered as one of the assailants approached the door.  "Sorry."  Though after he said it, he realized they might have been after her instead.  Either way, they were both in it.

DragonSong

The bard snorted and her fingers flew gracefully to the tie of her skirt, dropping it so she could step out of it. Beneath she wore a thin pair of leggings that barely reached her knees- quite scandalous attire, if anyone who cared had been around to see it- and daggers were strapped to each of her thighs.

"You, kitten? Piss someone off?" She shot him a cocky, lopsided grin, a spark of magic and pure danger in her eyes. "I don't think you could if you tried."

Well, seemed like the jig was up. Whether she liked it or not, she was working on the clock now. Rather than face the door, she suddenly whirled and pressed the edge of her blade against Joshua's throat- not hard enough to break skin, though it would have been easy.

"Eyepatch. What do you know about him?" she hissed. "And I'd talk quick if I were you, kitten. Our little friends will be breaking down that door any second."

Kingfisher

Feeling the point of the knife touch his neck, Joshua froze.  Wait - Eyepatch?  Was that the man he had talked to earlier.  He had no great loyalty to the man, so raising his hands, he calmly said, "I spoke to a man with a patch earlier today.  He demanded half a dozen muskets for he and his men by tonight.  I said no."

As he spoke, odd thoughts clicked into place.  He would keep those thoughts to himself for now.  "Let's handle this now, and if we get out of this alive, I'll help you find him."  As he stopped talking the latch on the door lifted: Joshua did not dare move with the knife at his bare throat.  It was her move...

DragonSong

Tara locked her gaze with his for a moment, two, waiting, calculating.

He was telling the truth.

Damn. She'd been following a false lead.

With an irritated click of her tongue she spun away from him, both daggers raised and crossed defensively in front of her body. "I don't need your help, kitten. But I'll send these assholes off for you." She smirked at him over her shoulder and said in her best simpering-little-woman voice, "An apology for the knife at your throat, hm?"

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