Volatile [M]

[Lowen Thorn]

@DragonSong



"Stay away from me you fucking bastard!"

The man ran down the docks of Suna and Amaya followed. He knew there was a bounty on his head, but he really didn't think anyone would come after him for the small fee placed for his petty crimes - especially not the infamous Amaya Midgar. Damn Serenian trash running a muck in Thanatos.

"Oh, but where would be the fun in that?" Amaya called out to him as he ran away, a sly smile on his face as he paced forward. He was unarmed, his arms folded over one another against his chest he strolled down the dock. "Why are you running? This dock ends. What are you going to do? Swim?"

"To hell with you!" he spat, almost out of breath. Shit. He was right, the dock had ended. He whipped around to face Amaya and pulled a knife from his pocket. "Okay, hot shot. This ends here!"

The bounty hunter was in no hurry to reach the man at the end of the dock. He continued to walk forward at a leisurely pace. "Huh, what am I going to do for food today?" he asked himself, contemplating. "Getting pretty hungry. Maybe I will hit the tavern or something. Ugh, their food is trash, though. Well, at least this guy won't take up too much of my time."

"The hell you say?" the man spat again, both panic and irritation in his voice. First he was after his livelihood, and now he was after his pride!

"Oh, come on," Amaya said snidely as he closed the gap between the two. "That's rude. I wasn't talking to you. Say you're sorry!"

Without hesitation, he leapt forward at his bounty. Ducking out of the way of the man's retaliating dagger, he threw a right hook that landed square into the man's chin.

The man tumbled back, hazed from the blow, and dropping his dagger in the process.

Now's my chance.

Amaya grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arm around his neck and putting him in a choke hold. "You know, this would be alot easier if you didn't strugg-"

The other man started pushing back until the both of them went tumbling off of the dock.

"Fuck!" Amaya yelled as they fell over.

Splash!



"Got another one for ya."

Drenched from head to toe and dripping on the stone floor, the bounty hunter slung his unconscious captive to the ground before the Khans. There was a loud thud as the man's body hit the floor and was immediately followed by the exhale of removing a heavy load.

"What happened exactly?" the man standing opposite of Amaya asked. "Why are you all wet?"

"Went for a little swim," the bounty hunter shrugged. "Had to cool off somehow after chasing your boy around."

The man knew it was pointless to question Amaya any further on the matter, and thus decided to change the subject. "I have another job for you," he said slowly, eyes scanning the unconscious man briefly. "Not your average job either. This would could prove to be dangerous."

A grin tugged at Amaya's lips. "I'm all ears."

[DragonSong]

She didn't like risking the forays into the small villages around the base of the mountains, but sometimes she just didn't have any other choice. Foraging was all well and good, but she needed real supplies-- and she was no hunter.

Keeping her eyes down and overall just trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Yona darted about on her errands in the early morning light, before most people were really up and about. Hopefully it would limit her chances of being seen.

Of course, even if she was seen, she had no idea who might recognize her, or what they'd do if they did. Still, not a risk she enjoyed taking, if she could at all avoid it.



Pack newly resupplied and the sun reaching mid morning, Yona finally had a moment to breathe. She ducked into the first tea shop she found, tucking herself back away in a corner and ordering a single cup.

[Lowen Thorn]

Amaya never had a jungle beauty as a bounty target before. Not that that mattered, he was never the man to discriminate based on race, sex, gender, or religion - they were all just money in his pocket at the end of the day. However, this one may prove to be different.

Yona. He didn't get a last name. Hells, he didn't know if there was one. From the way the Khans described her, she was a tiny little thing with tan skin and with a build that would give someone just enough strength to get out of bed in the morning. Not much to go off of, he thought.

Maybe she would slip and reveal herself to him. They told him of her great elemental abilities, so perhaps if he saw a woman lighting a man's face on fire he would have found his mark. Wishful thinking.

He knew he needed to be careful, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't tingling with the thrill of the chase.

"Might as well find something to eat first," he yawned, making his way inside a nearby tea shop on the corner.

[DragonSong]

The soft chime of the bell above the doorway had her jumping every time it rang-- though luckily the shop was small and out of the way enough that it didn't happen too often.

Yona still found herself flinching as the newcomer entered the tea shop, and she glanced up warily over her half finished cup of tea.

Hm. A foreigner. That was interesting...

But none of her business. Quickly dropping her eyes, the ex-priestess returned her attention to her now lukewarm tea. She needed to finish up and be on her way, quickly. She'd wasted too much time here already.

[Lowen Thorn]

It must have been his lucky day.

How coincidental it would be that the first shop he went into, there was a woman matching the description of his target. Of course, he showed no sign that he even acknowledged her presence as he made his way into the tea shop and over to the front counter. Surely he couldn't be that lucky that Yona was not only in town, but in the same shop that he was in - an establishment he very rarely frequented.

Only one way to find out.

Ordering his beverage and a breakfast pastry of sorts, he tossed the worker behind the counter a coin tip. "Thanks," he said casually before turning on his heel. As he made his way out, drink in one hand and pastry in the other, he acknowledged each of the few patrons before his eyes landed on the girl. Offering up a polite smile, he went to sip his tea before tripping over his feet.

Playing the dumb klutz came all too natural to the bounty hunter, so much that he was starting to believe he actually was a klutz. Taking a dive forward, his pastry lunged out of his hand and the contents of his cup slung through the air in Yona's direct path.

"Shit!"

[DragonSong]

"Ah!"

Caught entirely by surprise, Yona could do little more than throw an arm up in an attempt to shield her face as she was soaked with tea. It wasn't scalding, thankfully, but it was still plenty hot.

Gasping, she shot to her feet, trying desperately to shake hot liquid off her skin and clothes.

[Lowen Thorn]

Thud!

The sound of his body collapsing onto the hard ground could be heard from every corner of the shop, and it was followed by a convincing groan of pain. Convincing, of course, because it was real. Sometimes the act had to become real to pass off as genuine.

"Ow," he grumbled, sloppily getting to his knees. "My gods, that hurt."

After shaking off the fall, he peered up to meet the woman he just soaked with his tea and his eyes quickly shot wide. "O-Oh!" he said with a shameful glance. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

[DragonSong]

"I-I'm fine." She had to hiss it through gritted teeth, subtly trying to magically cool the tea that had landed on her without drawing attention. Still shaking at her robes, Yona shook her head as she looked up at the stranger.

"Oh, ah, forgive me, are you alright?"

[Lowen Thorn]

"Oh, I'll be alright," he said with a shrug before getting back to his feet. "I've been a klutz long enough to get use to the fall. My breakfast on the other hand," he trailed off, an embarrassed grin slipping into his lips as he looked upon the fallen pastry and spilled beverage contents.

"Looks like I need to make another order," he finally said. "Can I get you something? It's the least I can do after.. that," he motioned to her soaked clothes.

[DragonSong]

Yona resisted the urge to shrink back and instread forced a polite smile, glancing around the shop, praying people wouldn't pay them too much attention. "No no, it's alright. I'll just-- excuse me, please, I don't mean to-- I don't want to cause trouble."

Head lowered, she tried to dart passed him toward the door.

[Lowen Thorn]

Going so soon?

Amaya was tempted to throw his arm up to block her path, but it was too early days to cause a scene in a public setting. At least, no more than he already had. Rather, he sunk back into the awkward state of a man who just embarrassed himself and was all too eager to let the situation fizzle out.

Shifting his weight from side to side, he momentarily avoided eye contact with the woman and cleared a path. "Of course," he finally said, defeated. "Sorry again."

The sly eagle doesn't kill at whim.

[DragonSong]

With a breath of relief for the clear line of escape, Yona mumbled a quick, "Right sorry it's okay, thank you," and all but fled passed him back out through the door of the shop and onto the street.

She nearly barreled into a woman carrying her washing on her hip, who served to avoid the slender girl with a sharp curse and a glare, but Yona only had time to gasp out a brief, stammered apology before hurrying on her way down the narrow dirt lane that led back out of town.

She followed the small road for nearly an hour, keeping a wary eye out for anyone who might have spotted her in town. Finally, near a bend where the road curved past the ever-thickening trees, she paused just long enough to glance up and down the road to make sure she was alone before darting off into the trees.

[Lowen Thorn]

The bounty hunter's sly smile hinted at excitement as his eyes followed the direction she darted off to. He had a general idea of where she was going, and he would eagerly follow-up, but not right away. Chasing her down immediately might just give him away.

He went for another pastry - better to fill up now. Returning to a seat with a replenished breakfast, he took each bite absently as scenarios played out in his head. He'd give it a couple of hours, and then he'd bump into her again.



People that whistle are so obnoxious. That was his thought as he whistled obnoxiously, though fluently, which each step taking him further from town and closer to the thick of the forest. When he wasn't whistling, he was singing, and those two transitioned back and forth with intentional cringe. He continued this stride for some time until he was sure he would've drawn attention to everyone and everything in his nearby surroundings.

It was getting near nightfall.

"Well," he said aloud, just loud enough for eavesdroppers to hear, but quiet enough as to not be so obvious. "Guess I'll set up camp here tonight."

[DragonSong]

The whistling was really quite irritating.

Yona found herself glaring in the general direction of the sound from where she had set up her small nest in the fork of three branches of a massive tree, her pack still slung over one shoulder as she had just been preparing to settle down.

Stupid foreigners. Even this far away, she could hear the thick accent in the muttering voice--well, it probably wasn't muttering, it just sounded like it from her current positioning. Grumbling to herself, she curled onto her side in the crook of the tree and squeezed her eyes shut determinedly.

She needed to rest for a least a few hours before she kept moving again.

[Lowen Thorn]

As if on cue, the bounty hunter began to sing with loud authority, basking songs of beautiful women and daring adventurers. He had collected some wood for a fire, and promptly got it lit as he took his seat in the dirt to enjoy the warmth of the flames as his voice rang through the air.

After a moment of amusing only himself, he chuckled and looked aimlessly to the sky. "You can come out now," he called out - detecting the woman prior to his antics. "I promise to stop singing if you do, and I would love the company."

[DragonSong]

Yona froze.

Keep calm, keep calm. Okay, he knows you're here-- that doesn't inherently have to be a bad thing. He was a foreigner, right? Maybe he was just...traveling.

...

Okay, she couldn't even really convince herself of that. Still, she found herself debating the merit of climbing down from her little nest: on the one hand, it was clearly a risky move. On the other, he already knew she was there, and if she stayed in the tree she might just end up cornering herself.

Oh...fuck. Hissing a Thanati curse under her breath, the young woman slipped down from her perch and dropped to land almost soundlessly on her feet, creeping forward through the underbrush toward the circle of light from the stranger's campfire.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Oh hey, you again," he said almost nonchalantly, barely meeting her eyes as his gaze lingered on the flame. "Take a seat. The fire's hot, and the night's just right."

Stretching his arms out behind him, he peered up at her and shot a friendly grin. "You got any food?" he asked shamelessly. "I'm starving."

[DragonSong]

She hesitated, and then almost immediately felt guilt swamp her for the hesitation.

"Wealth is measured not by what we have, but by what we give away." Ruka's voice echoed in her eyes and she shut her eyes, letting out a short, sharp breath. True, she had only just resupplied in town, but that meant she actually did have a little extra food.

She'd just...have to be more careful about rationing the rest, that was all.

"Here." Yona dug in her pack for a moment before coming up with a small loaf of bread, which she easily broke in half, handing the slightly larger piece out toward the stranger with a small, shy smile.

It didn't occur to her to perhaps be wary of bumping into the same stranger twice in one day-- at least, no more wary than she usually was.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Thanks," he said with the uncanny ability to be both carelessly absent and appreciative. The portion of bread was in his mouth just as quickly as she handed it over, and it would be hard for anyone to think he was enjoying his food the way he gulped it down ruthlessly.

Still, once he was finished, a satisfied smile twinkled on his face, and he nodded at her with another show of appreciation.

"So tell me a little bit about yourself," he started, being as relaxed as one could be sitting in the dirt. "Who you runnin' from?"

[DragonSong]

Yona stiffened. She felt her magic suddenly rise up, pulsing just beneath the surface of her skin, as fight-or-flight pounded behind her eyes.

"What makes you think I'm running from anyone?" she asked, working hard to keep her voice as even as she could manage. Her eyes flickered toward the trees, judging the distance. If she ran now...