The lioness and the leopard. [Open!]

[Rhindeer]

OOC: You got it!

---

Yasmin hoped he had a plan, because with his sudden departure, she hadn't had a chance to give him the description of Faruq's new guard. However, with any luck, Herrick would either figure it out through his own research, or find a chance to reconnect with her before it went down. He hadn't even confirmed whether or not this was happening that night or another night!

For a moment, Yasmin had felt a little panicked over that, but then she realized it didn't matter.

If Ahmed fell ill and Faruq came to fetch her, that would be her cue. All she had to do until then was rest, and rest she did.

It was dark when Faruq roused her from sleep, swinging the cell door open and coming to nudge her ribs with his foot. "Wake up, girl! Get up!"

With a yawn and an annoyed look, Yasmin sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her good hand. "Huh? What's going on?"

"A change in plans is what's going on. Ahmed's useless tonight, too busy heaving his guts up, so you're taking his place. Don't give me that look! You've been loafing around here all day, you should be rested enough to stand around a few hours."

Which, truthfully, was what the job normally entailed. Since Yasmin had been owned by Faruq, she had never heard of anyone attempting to actually break into his home, but money made people paranoid. And of the slaves Faruq owned, it was Yasmin and Ahmed that he trusted. For all that he gave Yasmin a hard time, she had never gone against him; after the master she'd had before him, she had never felt any need to. Besides, it would only get her killed.

And so it came to pass that Yasmin found herself in her master's home (which was more like a tiny palace), patrolling the familiar halls with her scimitar at her hip, dressed in a simple linen shirt and kilt, her face covered with a slave's veil that left only her eyes uncovered. It was quiet in the building, and Faruq had long since gone to bed, but Yasmin knew what it all meant, and her body thrummed with nervous, excited energy.

This whole thing was crazy. And there were so many ways it could go wrong.

But if it went right, she earned back some of her respect--and got a little subtle revenge in there, too.

The only trick would be fighting one-handed and on a bad leg, but even that should be okay. She had gotten some rest in, had a good meal and had her fill of water, and this was all to be staged, anyway. Hakeshna willing, it would go both smoothly and believably.

[DaGlobster]

The night had come, and Herrick breathed the cool air in thankfully. He thanked the gods for a night like this, because he was wearing his full gear setup. A menacing black cloak that covered his head and mouth, leaving only his nose and his eyes visible, a veritable trove of all kinds of tools on his person, and all of his weapons. His leather armor still looked the same, but the mottled brown color of it would help him blend in with the buildings. Apart from all his gear, he also had some parchment and a pen, so he could map the premises and take down notes.

First, there came the preliminary scouting. He took out a hand telescope, and observed the front of the estate for about ten minutes, taking note of the guard patrols and the layout. He mapped this out, including lines to represent the guard routes and even drawing the things he could hide behind.

After he did this, he dropped from the rooftops, and ran the short distance across the street and jumped up against the wall, climbing up its rough surface. He peered over it cautiously, then pulled himself up and over, landing silently on the grass that edged the courtyard. He snuck through, and entered the estate proper.

He spent the next hour or so lurking through the halls, mapping it as he went. He made sure to swipe some pieces of silverware so he had something to drop when Yasmin fought him off, and went on his way. Then, that's when he heard her.

With a gait like that, it was obvious there was someone with a slight limp patrolling the halls, and he immediately knew who it was. Herrick prepared himself, then moved out into the open, about forty feet ahead of Yasmin, as if he meant to cross the hall.

[Rhindeer]

And there it was. Her cue.

A figure moved into view, and though the figure was covered head to foot, it had to be Herrick--because it was a figure that was not supposed to be there.

Showtime!

Whirling around to face him, careful to put her weight on her good leg, Yasmin drew her scimitar with an ominous hiss. "Halt! Stop right there!" she called, loud so her voice would carry--and hopefully rouse her master. She pointed her sword at him and glared at him from over her veil as she fell into a defensive stance, her body thrumming with the thrill of an impending fight. Sure, it would be a fake fight--but her body wouldn't know the difference, for to her, each and every fight she'd ever been in was real, was life or death.

She would have to be careful not to incapacitate him.

"Drop your weapons right now! Right now! This is your only warning!"

[DaGlobster]

Herrick smiled under his cowl, and turned around, drawing his rapier. As opposed to his casual self, this Herrick was different. This Herrick looked at Yasmin with an imposing glare, but a friendly smile appeared temporarily, visible under the cowl that was tight to his face. "Show me a good time, Yasmin." He said, just loud enough for only her to here, and the smile's impression disappeared. He slowly drew his rapier, the blade ringing with magic.

Suddenly, from two doors on his left and right, a couple of guards burst forth, one from each door. They had their scimitars drawn, and murder on their face, but Herrick was unfazed. Cheesecutter flashed from his belt into his hand, and he flipped it upside-down into a stabbing position, promptly driving it into the neck of the guard who came closest to him first.

The man died immediately, his spine severed from the neck down, and Herrick twirled out of the way of the second man's downward swing, leaving Cheesecutter in the first's neck. The first fell over, knocking the second out of balance as he turned around to face Herrick, and Herrick capitalized by planting his rapier hilt-deep into the second's chest, right through his armor and just below his heart.

As planned, the man let out an agonized yell, trying to find a grip on the rapier's blade as he slowly slid backwards off it. A twist upwards, and the blade entered his heart, causing the second to collapse backwards, dead. Herrick directed his eyes at Yasmin again, and chuckled. "A better time than those two." He whispered, and pulled Cheesecutter out of the other's neck, putting it back onto his belt. He charged forwards, aiming a series of downward slices at her, with plenty of time in between them for her to realize where he was swinging and defend herself.

They'd have to pick up the fight once Faruq arrived, but Herrick was intent on taking it slowly, so Yasmin could get acquainted with his style of combat, figure out his telegraphs and his movements. He intended to speed things up when they were actually watched.

[Rhindeer]

The guards were killed, and Yasmin watched them die without a word before she headed for Herrick, sword crossed in front of her. It wasn't that death no longer upset her, though years in the arena did force a certain level of desensitization on someone--for their own survival and sanity. It was that death no longer shocked her.

And so without another glance their way, she charged to meet Herrick, her scimitar arcing down to deflect and parry. She didn't put her full strength into it, for she could feel Herrick was holding back, too. Instead, she slowed down, made her motions a little more deliberate, made her body language more obvious. She didn't try to hide her intent but instead let it show in her muscles and face in some obvious "tells". She would mask them again once Faruq arrived, but for now she focused only on teasing out Herrick's skills and observing the way he moved, and adjusting her style to compliment his--which, she assumed, he was also doing.

She also had to adjust for his weapon; scimitar against rapier was certainly different, his blade quicker and more whip-like, hers solid and inflexible; his longer, hers shorter; style versus strength. She took notes as they telegraphed their moves, and soon understand what she would have to do to "win".

And that was when Faruq stumbled onto the scene, in his bedclothes and yelling in mortification.

Meeting Herrick's eyes as she held her blade against his, she smiled beneath her veil. "Showtime," she whispered. "Let's not kill each other."

Without waiting for his answer, she swept his blade to the side and moved in close to follow up with a jab toward his middle.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick's smile flashed for a brief moment under his cowl before Yasmin broke off and begun her attack, for real this time. Through the short amount of time they had to romp by themselves, he had managed to pick up on all her telegraphs. Although his rapier was enchanted, he knew he'd be better off dodging than trying to parry her scimitar with it, given the sheer weight of her blade. He twisted to the side, whirling around her as he stuck close to her body, practically using her to support himself as he did so.

As he passed by her, he quickly whispered "knock the pistol out of my hand" into her ear. As soon as he dodged around her, his hand went for his pistol, and he removed it from his belt. Blisteringly quickly, he had it drawn, and by the time she should have been able to turn around, he was lifting it to point the barrel at Faruq, his thumb slowly pulling back the massive hammer of the firearm.

[Rhindeer]

Goddess, how tempting it was to not knock that pistol away.

How tempting it was to find out if Herrick would actually shoot Faruq should she fail.

For a split second, too quick for a posh man like Faruq to notice, but perhaps just enough for an observant fighter like Herrick to sense, Yasmin hesitated. But then she was moving again, her blade whirling as he pointed that pistol at her master.

Without thinking, she thrust her free hand out and struck him a hard downward blow on the wrist to dislodge the pistol before following up with a sweeping blow with her scimitar to put him back on his toes.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick's finger was in the process of placing itself on the trigger when Yasmin knocked the pistol out of his hand. If she didn't stop him, he was fully intending to pull the trigger, although he'd only graze Faruq's leg, exactly the same part where Yasmin was clawed by the leopards. Some would call it pointless, Herrick called it poetic justice.

Rather than let it fall to the floor, however, he stuck out a foot, catching it on the flat of his boot before it slammed against the ground and had a chance to misfire. Then, Yasmin swept her scimitar low, and Herrick kicked up into the air, clearing the scimitar and sending the pistol into the air and barrel first into a vase full of flowers, where it went off, completely removing said vase from existence and leaving a small crater in the floor. The pistol sat in the crater, covered with soil with a smoking barrel.

In response to Yasmin's sweep, Herrick stomped down on the flat of the blade intent on pinning it down to the floor as he brought his rapier hand upwards, intending to uppercut her with the swept steel wrist-guard of his rapier.

[Rhindeer]

Yasmin kind of regretted knocking that pistol away.

Dammit. If only that vase could have been Faruq's head!

But oh well, the show must go on!

With her scimitar trapped beneath Herrick's boot, she looked up just in time to see his gauntlet coming for her face. She reacted reflexively, letting go of the sword and falling backwards just in time to feel the graze of steel against her chin. She caught herself on her good hand, hooked both ankles around Herrick's leg, and yanked his leg out from under him before lurching forward and snatching up her scimitar. She didn't wait to see if he'd fallen; she only needed him off balance. But she bounced back to her feet and swept behind him, aiming a kick for the back of his knee to try to get him down.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick let himself be tripped up, spreading his arms to maintain his balance as Yasmin swept his foot out from under him. He had to admit, he was having some fun with this. As Yasmin's kick to the back of his knee came towards him, he made to swipe her leg away with the blade of his rapier before her kick connected, a defensive maneuver which turned out to be unsuccessful. He fell forwards, landing on his palms and cartwheeling back to a standing position, whirling around to face Yasmin. She wasn't the only one that was nimble here.

He pretended to have some kind of injured muscle from the kick, leaning slightly on his left leg. He lunged towards Yasmin, entering into a rapid-fire series of thrusts aimed at her legs and hips.

[Rhindeer]

OOC: That awkward moment when you remember your character has a broken wrist. Um. Oops? xD *edits last post to mention landing on ONE HAND. xD*

----

Yasmin noticed the way he favored his left leg, briefly hoped she hadn't hurt him too badly, and swept in to meet his strikes. She parried the first few, letting him put her on the defensive, but on the next one she parried with the back of her blade, locked their blades, and twisted her sword so the curved edge of the scimitar faced him. With a quick sweep down, she jabbed the point of her scimitar into his chest--thankfully encountering the hard armor he had protecting him there.

"Let's wrap this up," she whispered as their positions brought them close together.

For as much as she liked to show off, especially while Faruq watched, her body was still a mess of bruises and pain.

[DaGlobster]

Surely enough, Herrick's chest piece stopped the scimitar, the curved weapon leaving nothing but a deep cut in the tough leather. It helped that scimitars weren't that much optimized for stabbing, and that she wasn't really trying to run him through.

His eyes looked into Yasmin's as her blade lock brought them close together again. Something about the look in his eyes said he was having fun, and that they should definitely spar like this again. "Leaping stab. I'll leave my side open. Capitalize." He whispered back, and pushed her back just enough to force her back a few steps.

Herrick lept forwards, jumping into the air and following up with a leaping stab. It would be an easy enough move to sidestep, and if she did, she could land a non-lethal yet convincing-enough looking slash across either his back or his side.

[Rhindeer]

Yasmin fought back a grin, for a grin would give it all away as staged. But as she met his eyes, it was clear that he wasn't the only one having a good time with this.

"Got it. Don't die," she said, right before they unlocked blades and he shoved her back.

As promised, he leaped and stabbed, and Yasmin indeed capitalized. She stepped to the side and slashed her blade across his open side in a hard blow that could have mortally wounded anyone else--but she trusted he was prepared for this, and knew what he was doing.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick spun with the slash, diminishing its effect to a nasty looking flesh wound while making it look like it hit him a lot harder than it actually did. He didn't try to hold back the harsh, pained yell that escaped his mouth as he fell over and came to a kneeling stop right by his pistol, which he quickly snatched up.

He stopped to sell the injury a bit more, before he shakily got to his feet and adopted a limping sprint towards the nearest window, crashing through it. He landed flat on his feet, and took a moment to get his bearings before dashing into a nearby alley, heading straight for his temporary safe house. He did stop, however, to dig into his pockets and go over his map in the darkness between the buildings, before moving on.

Tonight had been successful indeed.

[Rhindeer]

That looked nasty, and Yasmin hadn't actually expected him to get cut. She had assumed he'd protected himself enough to withstand a blow--but this certainly did sell the defeat better.

But it also made her feel a little queasy inside, because if he hadn't been precise, if he hadn't moved at just the right moment, that could have ended very badly for him.

But as he ran she chased after him, though she came to a limping halt when he crashed through the window and vanished into the night. Panting from exertion that wasn't at all faked, for he had given her quite the workout, Yasmin leaned forward with her hands on her knees and her head down and gulped in air.

It had worked. His stupid, foolish, crazy plan had actually worked.

Now to see if it worked on Faruq.

Straightening back up, she sheathed her scimitar and headed for her master, lips a grim line and beads of sweat on her skin. "He's gone, sir," she said, and bowed low. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."

Faruq looked pale, his eyes wide as they moved over the slaughtered guards--all fully trained men, and not a slave among them. They had chosen this work, which made their deaths a little less terrible to Yasmin, though she knew they would still have families and her heart went out for them. Still, unlike her, they had made their choice.

"Stop him? Girl, you..." The man worked moisture back into his mouth. "He did all this?"

Yasmin nodded again and chanced a look up at him. "He did, sir. He was headed for your room when I came upon him. He was making off with this." She nudged several pieces of silverware that had clattered to the ground when Herrick fled.

If possible, Faruq grew even paler. "And you stopped him..." Yasmin and he both knew that with the guards dead, if she had failed--or not performed--then Faruq would have died. She could have let him die, but instead, she defended him.

She nodded again. "Of course, sir."

Faruq looked at her, long and hard, as though seeing her for the first time. Then he smiled, a relieved if still frightened smile, and clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, Yasmin, my girl, I must say you've surprised me," he said, and shook his head. "That business I said earlier, about your earnings and confinement and such...let's wipe the slate clean, shall we? Come, walk with me. We need to fetch the guard. We'll talk while we go, about your...privileges, and how I think it's safe to say you've earned yourself a reward tonight."

With a hand still on her shoulder, they headed out together, and it was an effort not to smile.

It had worked.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick sprinted through the narrow alleys of Essyrn, the adrenaline of ten minutes ago now fading into a dull ache in his side. Using a stack of crates as a boost, he jumped up against a wall, running up it as he gripped the edge of the roof and pulled himself on top. He got himself oriented before sprinting off in the direction of his safe house, clearing the small gaps between the several buildings swiftly and without problem before he arrived.

It was the rooftop attic entrance to an abandoned tanner's shop, and he glanced around before unlocking the small trap door and jumping inside. He landed softly, and made the usual visual sweep for unwanted guests before relaxing, and setting himself down into a chair.

He rested for a few minutes, before deciding to address the shallow cut in his side with a few layers of bandages after he stripped down to his underclothing to sleep, eventually slipping himself into a bedroll. He'd find a way to contact Yasmin tomorrow, but that was tomorrow, and now was the time for sleeping.

[Rhindeer]

Hours later, after the guard had been contacted and the bodies collected, they had returned home and Yasmin's master had gone back to sleep. As for Yasmin? She spent the night outside his room, serving as sentry until her master awoke.

By the time morning came around, Yasmin was dead on her feet, so it was relief when Faruq had her escorted back to her cell to get some sleep. They would discuss her privileges later, when she was rested, he claimed. Which was fine by Yasmin, because she was sore and beyond tired, and it wasn't long after entering her cell that she collapsed onto her cot and drifted off into an exhausted sleep.