Abandi

When Leoric grabbed her, which she had expected him to do though it was a bit more rough than she liked, she fell into his arms like a rag doll being tossed about. She looked up into his eyes as he stabbed the painful question into her ears, tears settling in but not quite brimming over.

"Oh Leoric, you don't remember me?" She straightened her body, preparing herself for the answer she already knew was coming. The tears now slowly falling down her cheeks as she stared into the eyes of her husband, knowing he didn't recognize her just from the way he looked at her.

"Gemini, Leoric. It's me, Gemini. Your wife." The tears increased while her body stayed rigid, knowing if she gave in she would completely break down and she could not let that happen.
 
Leoric stared blankly at this woman, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"I have never seen you before in my life."

There was only his task at hand, there was no time for strange crying women, claiming to be spouses. He had to find the girl, and this woman was certainly not her. He watched as the tears welled up in her eyes at his words. Surely, this woman must be insane, chasing down him, of all the men in the town. This would not do. He had to find the girl.

"Why shouldn't I kill you?"

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Baurthos followed the one-armed man, keeping enough distance between them as to avoid detection, but the Coin's guidance ensured he would not lose him. What would he even do if he caught up to this man? Question him? Kill him? He was unsure. There were many variables leading up to any kind of encounter. Leoric and he were supposedly on the same side, but neither would likely stand up for the other, and say this man caught up to the woman he was tailing... What would that result in?

Baurthos kept up his pursuit but decided to wait for the right moment to decide his actions. Perhaps an opportunity would present itself, but Baurthos was prepared to fall back into the shadows if necessary.
 
Gemini locked eyes with Leoric.

"Without you in my life Leoric, I am already dead." She put her hands on the hilts of her weapons and took a deep breath. "Do not bother killing me, I will never stop loving who you once were Leoric, before they came and stole you away from me in the middle of the night, but I will follow you no longer." She spun on her heel and began walking back down the alley to the main road, wondering if he would blow off their encounter or if it would make him think about his younger years, and possibly missing time in his past.
 
The woman turned abruptly, and walked off, her hair briefly sliding past Leoric's face. For a brief moment, he caught a whiff of her scent. A quick fleeting thought, of a land he could not place. A house, a bed, a barn... What was this? A memory?

Leoric was puzzled, but snapped back to reality when he saw a shadow approaching the alleyway.

"Wait," he called to her. "You've been followed."

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Baurthos continued to follow the one-armed man, but when he began to suspect the man was aware of his presence, he decided to fall back, choosing to try to beat the one-armed man to Leoric and the woman instead. The rooftops, while potentially exposing him, were quick, and he circled around past the one-armed man, catching up to the woman, who was suddenly yanked into an alley. Leoric, obviously aware of his followers, had made the first move.

Baurthos could already feel the weight of the quiver on his back, and in his excitement failed to notice a figure approaching the alley. The one-armed man? He could bollocks up the whole deal, so Baurthos drew a knife and threw, hitting the figure in the chest.

But it was not the one-armed man.

"Shit!" he cursed, under his breath. His position might be compromised by his rush to judgement. His eyes did not have time to catch up to his reflexes, and while he cared little for taking the wrong life, he realized he may have blown this chance.

He fled.
 
Gemini stopped when he told her to wait, hoping something had changed his mind, but when he finished his thought she immedately crouched down in the alley way. Going from farm girl to assassin in no time, her thought process changing immediately. This is what I get for being so blinded by the thought of finding Leoric, I haven't been hiding my trail. She cursed at herself under her breath, annoyed with the way she had acted. As she looked to the shadow of a person at the end of the alley she thought she recognized the height, but the sun was in a way that made the face of the person shadowed from her. Thinking that the darkness of the alley may help her she slowly turned back to Leoric and stood on her tiptoes next to him, grabbing his shoulder with her right hand and whispering into his ear.

"Does this alley have an exit? We need a way out." When the man in the alley fell over Gemini narrowed her eyes. This is not good. She moved closer to the beginning of the alley way, keeping her eyes out for anyone who may have made this man fall over. When she got to the man she saw he was ragged and very much dead, a small dagger hilt protruding out of his chest. Must have hit the heart. She crouched over to get a better look and saw the blood dribbling out of the wound and the face of the man was unfamiliar to her. Making her way slowly backwards, keeping her eye out again she stopped before she came to Leoric, turning around to face him.

"I do not know that man, but he is dead from a knife wound to the heart. Have you any idea who he is?" Her tone was all business now, there was no more hurt or tears when she spoke, only the dead speech of an assassin.
 
Ryogen had been a bit overwhelmed by the strange reuniting of Gemini with her husband. At first, he seemed not to remember her, but there was a hesitant moment when she had turned to leave. From the shadows, Ryogen watched how Gemini’s posture changed, and he decided to mimic her, crouching down low and pressing as tightly to the wall as he could. He kept a vigilant eye on Gemini as she moved , noticing the strange form and how it suddenly hit the ground. Nervousness shot through Ryogen’s body as he saw Gemini check the body, but he knew, deep down that she had the skill it took to get herself out of trouble if the need would arise. </SPAN></SPAN>
 
Leoric saw the figure go down and immediately knew the man was dead. He was unsure of where the attack had actually come from, but he could give a good guess, based on where the man fell. He also suspected that this woman could be involved with the artifacts, since it was more than likely that Baurthos was the knife-thrower responsible for the fresh corpse in front of them.

"This way. Stay low."

He and the woman slowly backed out of the alley, using the shadows, and Leoric eventually scrambled up to the top of the building behind them, seeing a man leaping from rooftop to rooftop some distance away.

"Baurthos, that traitor." He mumbled, drawing his bow, and firing a warning shot at his untrustworthy "colleague", causing Baurthos to drop down off the roof and disappear into the town.

"I still don't know who you are, strange woman," Leoric said, calling down to her, still crouched in the alleyway. "I have a picture of something in my mind, perhaps a dream or a distant memory, but I've no time for that. I have work to do. Don't get in my way, because for some reason I don't want to see you dead."
 
Aki's mind wandered as they walked towards Norwood. The hustle and bustle of the city soon flooded in to his head, and rather than roil with the possible locations of Gemini and Ryogen he was distracted by the passerbys and their actions. Children ran across the street in front of them, while the more adult occupants of the street shot them awkward glances. Aki assumed it was his garb; a long, sweeping blue coat with dull golden hems. However, Abandi brought his attention to the true cause.

"I...uh..." He stumbled over his words as his eyes finally caught the problem. His free hand reached over to her dress, gingerly attempting to reconnect the top of the dress without a stray touch, but he ultimately failed in this task. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

The two walked a bit more, scanning each side of the street as they did. It was not long before they happened upon a tailor, the mannequins in the large windows of the shop giving away its detail. Abandi pulled him inside it, her eyes lighting up as the pair entered the shop. The place was well kept, a stark contrast to the dirty and dusty streets outside. It was most likely a constant battle to keep the grime of the exterior from invading the nigh pristine interior. A tall, slender man approached them as they walked in, a clump of fabric over his shoulder and a large needle in his teeth. His eyes trailed over the two of them; first over Aki's dusty coat, and then over Abandi's revealing dress.

"Can I help you?" Even through clenched teeth the annoyance was present in his voice.

"Yeah. My friend had a wardrobe malfunction." Aki nodded his head sideways, referring to Abandi. "We need a new dress."

"Oh, I see." The shopkeep was still a bit hesitant, but he moved forward and took Abandi's free hand. "Well then, dear, are you looking for a custom design? Or would you be interested in one of our fine dresses on display here?" He paraded her around the story, introducing her to various mannequins and the clothing which hung upon them.
 
Abandi was rather embarressed at the exposure of her breasts, it didn't matter how little was showing because it was more than she had ever shown before. Having Aki see her like that was horrible, especially after their kiss. she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide as best she could as they entered the store. When the shop keep started pointing her towards the dresses, a light purple one caught her eye. It was less of a dress and more of a skirt, but the style and fabric made Abandi smile. A halter design would hold it to her body, with a corset-like back tied with black silk.

"you like that one?" The shop keep turned the dress on the hanger, holding it up to her and watching as her eyes sparkled. "you must try it on them, go..." He practically shoved the outfit in her hands, making Abandi blush and walk toward the back room. Her grabbed a pair of tight black spandex as he walked with her, knowing it would not be appropriate for a young woman not to wear something underneath. He shoved her in the small changing room, separated by a curtain and instructed her how to put it on. Once in to the clothing he opened the curtain and clapped with excitement.

"You love amazing! but let me fix the back for you!" He smiled, closing the curtain so aki could not see. The halter fit her perfectly, showing only a small crease in her cleavage as compaired to her ripped blur linen dress. The skirt was much shorter than she was used to, but the spantex shorts underneath made the outfit look modest, and complemented the black and purple on the halter.

The corset was tied, showing off Abandi's newly discovered figure. She couln't help but smile, thinking of how great she looked. The outfit fit well with her personality, and it was much easier to move in than her previous dress.

it took her only a couple moments before she walked delightedly over to Aki, who was fiddling with some fabric not far from where she left him.

"What do you think?"


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Gemini looked up at her Leoric as he spoke and nodded her head. She didn't want him to see her emotional again, but the fact that he had felt something gave her hope. She wouldn't get in his way, but she would continue to follow his trail and find a way to speak to him again, maybe in a less threatening way. Once Leoric was gone she sat on the ground, pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around her legs, placed her forehead on her knees, and cried silently. The alley was empty and she needed to get out her pain before going back to find the group in the city.
 
While Abandi was taken by the shopkeep to explore her garment options, Aki busied himself with the manners of the establishment. A slow stroll took him around the shop, his eyes trailing over the various dresses. He took some delight in imagining Abandi in each of the dresses he passed; some were long and billowy, some were short and lacey and yet others were long and meant to flow behind the woman. A thought flashed through his mind of he and Abandi at some glorious ball, her hand in his as he paraded her around and showed her off to the nobles in his daydream.

Aki was awoken from his thoughts by Abandi's sweet voice. He turned to her and digested the garb she had chosen, his face lighting up as his eyes rolled over her form. "I like it." His lips curled upwards in to a smile and his face reddened slightly as he walked a circle around her, fully examining her new attire. It was vastly different from her previous dress, but it was not something Aki was going to complain about.

Abandi moved off to finalize her business with the tailor and Aki went outside, his hands finding a home in the pockets of his dusty coat. He paced back and forth outside, his eyes sweeping up and down each side of the road. There had to be a shop like the one Abandi described in this town, but there did not seem to be such a place in their immediate vicinity.

However, there was something interesting that caught Aki's eye. Above the top of a large building he saw an arrow land, its long arc taking it down in the middle of it's roof. Aki's gaze traveled in the direction the arrow had come from, though there was no obvious archer in his line of sight. It wasn't long before Abandi wrapped up her business and joined him outside. When she appeared he grabbed her hand firmly and tugged her in the direction the shot had been fired from.

"Come on," he stated as he pulled her behind him. "I saw an arrow land, and it was fired from somewhere in this direction. I'm willing to bet Ryogen and Gemini have something to do with this."
 
Abandi followed Aki without hesitation, smiling at her new outfit and how much more comfortable it was on her. Random villagers looked her up and down as they ran, catching only a glimpse of her before she and Aki both disappeared behind a cluster of buildings.</SPAN></SPAN>

“Aki, how do you know my brother has anything to do with this? For all we know, they could still be looking for Leoric…” Abandi was unsure of what they were running towards. Slightly afraid that it might be something she wouldn’t be able to control. A shiver set down her spine, making her grip Aki’s hand tighter. “I suppose a rogue arrow is a better lead than nothing…” She bit her lip contemplatively, with an overbearing feeling of insecurity.</SPAN></SPAN>
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Ryogen almost gave up his position in the shadows as he watched the sudden change in Gemini’s stature. She had coiled herself up around her knees, tucking her head down and began to gently shiver and shake. Ryogen knew all too well what that meant; Gemini was crying. He checked his surroundings carefully, watching for any additional movement in the shadows that surrounded him. When satisfied he stood up, running to her side. </SPAN></SPAN>

“Gemini…” He said with concern, placing his calloused hand on her shoulder. “It is I, Ryogen. Let me bring you to safety…” He asked permission before crouching down and wrapping his arm around her, lifting her easily up and cradling her against his body. He wouldn’t interfere with her sobbing, but he would get her out of harm’s way; it was the least he could do. </SPAN></SPAN>
 
Gemini sat, crying, for what felt like hours, but could only have been a few moments. When Ryogen came to her side she let him lift her gently from her sitting and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves a bit. Walking around in a city where someone is shooting arrows at you while you're sobbing did not seem like the best course of action to her. She put one arm around Ryogen as he had her, and leaned against him for support. Her crying had stopped and she kept her eyes alert, as alert as she could, but she didn't have the strength to walk on her own just yet. The tears and pain of seeing Leoric the way he was, was too much for her to handle, and she needed Ryogen's support.

"Thank you." She whispered into his ear before laying her head down on his shoulder, letting him lead her somewhere safe.
 
(( ooc post to keep this thread alive till kristin is back :D Still waiting on Forte to post, but he is a wow addict.... -_-))