The Blind Leads the Blind

Was that... uncertainty? The hesitation and light stutter caught Twiggy's attention instantly. Unseeing violet eyes stared in Shiloh's approximate direction. The scent was very clear, and the audible stammer finally helped Twiggy apply a label to one of Shiloh's emotional scents, at least well enough to apply a reasonable guess to it.

The laughter, it was accompanied by another scent. Relief? Amusement? Hard to label. It sounded strange, but Twiggy kind of liked it. It wasn't a laugh of mockery. The thin man smiled, uncertain, until the laugh cut off, and the smile fell away with sudden concern, eyes wide and brows raised high.

Still, the humor returned, this time in the other man's voice. The question did ensure Twiggy knew what was so surprising. He smiled. "N-not through water, but um... smells linger, a-and... I don't think it's you that I'm s-... smelling. I um... I've been able to smell you s-since you rescued m-me." He nodded. "T-the scent is kind of f-faint, though—r-really faint."

He fell silent a moment. "D-did... I surprise you? B-by smelling the fish? I um... my nose is very sensitive. I... m-most of the time I can i-i-identify... identify how a person is—is feeling by scent. Y-you're... um... difficult. Ver... very difficult."
 
Shiloh listened attentively to Twiggy. Underestimating him was easy, but the fact that he was full of surprises remained. Underestimating him would be a mistake. And that was something to avoid.

He gave the man behind him another glance, caught a glimpse of a smile as he talked, but his eyes were more focused on the tattoos. Were they related to his unusual physical abilities? Again, thoughts with no answer that merited no further attention, while the man's tentative question did. For a moment, Shiloh considered outright lying and saving face - that was gone when the man mentioned smelling people's emotions, even if he said right afterwards that Shiloh was tough to read. Sudden realization that he was probably taking too long to reply while overthinking dawned on him, and the halfbreed launched into it.

"You did." Friendly tone, but the halfbreed chose his words carefully. "That's a much better sense of smell than I've ever known overland. I'm not surprised I'm hard to read, though. I'm..."

He fell silent. Clashing currents of emotions - on one hand he wanted to speak about himself, on the other it was likely a risk. He'd decided not to underestimate the man a minute ago, after all! Even if Twiggy did not seem like the fighting type, and seemed like he would be rather accepting of Shiloh's monstruous nature. It'd been a long time since he'd been able to talk with someone with this amount of freedom, though, and he didn't want to lose it... but on the other hand, if the risk paid off he'd be able to talk much more freely. And, of course, there was always the fact that he might have to kill the man. Was opening to him really such a good idea?

He bit his lip, a very human reflex that didn't work too well when one had razor sharp teeth and had him quickly hissing a curse, maybe just a few seconds after falling silent - he thought fast, even when hesitating.

"Well, I'm probably not something you've smelled before." He finished, in the end taking a half-baked compromise that his tone transmitted he wasn't too happy with. A shake of the head, more for his own benefit than Twiggy's, and he was back to a friendlier tone. "It's probably because I don't have it that that kind of sense of smell sounds really useful. What are the drawbacks, though? Because... well, nothing ever comes with just pluses."
 
So, it was surprise he smelled! That was good to know, but the trailing and silence worried him. His eyebrows knit, and he turned his head side to side, to listen for heartbeats, breathing, footsteps—some clue that his companion was still there. Before he could ask, Shiloh cursed, and Twiggy whined, brief and quiet.

Still, the other man did speak again, and resumed the friendlier tone not long after.

The worry eased away, but still nagged at Twiggy, like he should ask. Instead, he opted to respect the other's privacy. They just met. He didn't want to lose the amicable aspect over curiosity.

Still, it did make him wonder.

The topic shifted away from Shiloh and back to Twiggy—specifically, his nose. The sheer amount of pessimism that came from the question was surprising, the more he worked through how to answer—what did he have to worry about with his nose?

Finally, and answer came to him. "O-oh. I'm... I'm more sensitive to things l-like pheromones and—and other things that... that rely on scent to cause an ef... effect," he answered, then frowned as realization struck: he just told a stranger about one of his (admittedly many) weaknesses. Maybe he could play it off?

"I... I mean, January's hard f-for everyone, with—with mating season, but my n... nose is the most sen—sensitive, so I m—... may as well be an an—animal."

Good job, Twiggy. Just admit you're not a human at all. Next you'll blab that you're a Hunter and shit will hit the fan because nobody bothers to make sure you're a good guy or not if they have magic, Twiggy scolded himself in his mind.
 
Shiloh nodded as the man explained, more for his own benefit than Twiggy's. Vulnerable to smells, was he? A small smirk appeared in his face as he thought about their next destination - a sahuagin village that smelled bad enough for Shiloh to notice would not be too fun for him. And was he stuttering less? Maybe feeling more comfortable? Or was it just Shiloh getting used to his unusual speech?

His next sentence, however, was almost even more interesting than knowing one of the man's weaknesses - since Shiloh had no way to make use of that one -, making Shiloh wrack his brain for a few moments. January? Was that a place, a time? Probably a time, since mating season was along it. But when was mating season for humans? Did they even have one?

His ignorance about facts humans considered basic came back to bite him again. It wasn't that he didn't talk with them, or that he didn't know about their politics and tendencies. But when it came to mating? Well, nobody found it a good idea to go talk to the half-aboleth monster about those things, and when he was rummaging through someone's mind there were more important things to go after. Though, then again, it might be something that wasn't a human-thing and just a Twiggy-thing? After all, he was most likely not a full human. Perhaps if he was given an option to talk about it...

"I... really don't know much about how these things work for humans." Hesitation and doubt vanished as he talked. "I thought you were in heat all year round." A brief pause, with a shrug. "But I don't even know when this 'January' is, so..." A flash of a grin, a bit of a triumphant tone in his voice.

"You must be from really, really far away. Which..." His tone died out a bit, triumph draining. "Actually makes sense, since there are no deserts nearby. So how's this being in heat thing work? Do you lose all control?" He quickly changed subjects, feeling absolutely no shame about the one he was broaching. Human taboos were not something he was educated in, either.
 
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Twiggy blinked, then blushed as he realized that he'd worried for nothing, though Shiloh did ask about it, and now his slip was starting to bite him in the butt, especially since he didn't like or want to lie. It always felt wrong. He'd rather say nothing, but he'd said he'd be honest and open, in a way.

He swallowed. "January's—it's a month w-with thir... thirty-one days, a little—little bit after m-midwinter. It... starts a-about ten days after the winter... w-winter solstice, and in places w-where it gets—gets cold, it often snows th-then." He gnawed his lower lip. "A-and..."

Time to fess up, at least partly.

"I'm only um... most—mostly human, so um, most people you... you'll meet who are hu... human, they won't go into—go into heat."

"But um... No, I d-don't lose all control, b-but... it's like being—um—drunk? It's hard... harder to make ra... rational choices." He absently scratched the shorter hair at the back of his head. It felt weird, without a knotted cloth around his head. "But um... females, they ovulate a... a lot. One or m-more times a day. Males, um, we... We tend to get rougher a-and... less worried about um... c... consent."

Admitting that hurt. He'd never raped anyone, but if he'd had the strength, he wondered if he would have tried.

Suddenly, he added, "Not... not me, though! I could... couldn't if I wanted to. I'm... I'm really w-weak."
 
With his leading the way Shiloh did not get to see Twiggy blushing, but he did get to hear all about January, which was interesting. People thought in such different ways all over! And it was good to learn a bit of some other culture through non-invasive means.

But all of that paled next to Twiggy's next words, which brought Shiloh to a slower pace, turning to look at Twiggy every few paces now - up and down, left and right, but not for long enough to trip. But no, he'd looked well enough when he suspected the man wasn't human, and even with this new information he still couldn't find something that made the man look inhuman. Maybe the tattoos hid something, or maybe they didn't and Twiggy just seemed human despite not being. Was that a good thing? Being inhuman had its ups and downs, and while Shiloh couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of being able to pass undetected, he knew that the man had as much of a choice as Shiloh himself. Neither option was as ideal as choosing when to grab attention and when not to.

As the seer began to describe what being in heat was like, Shiloh opened his mouth, pondered what he was going to say, and then swallowed it up by being more interested in listening to Twiggy's description of what heat involved. And, perhaps even more interesting, his reaction was... well, odd. Nervous? Shiloh couldn't help but be curious. Was he worried that he wouldn't get a partner if he couldn't force them?

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about that. I imagine you won't have any trouble getting whoever you want to consent once they know you're not fully human. " He looked young. Perhaps too young to know about these things? "But... Not sure how you'd prove it." He stopped, turned around, looking at Twiggy. "You look so completely human."

Without asking for any permission or even giving any warning, the halfbreed turned around suddenly, stepped towards Twiggy, and reached out for the seer's ears with a tentacle. A gentle pull from them separated the lobes from his hair slightly, giving Shiloh a good view of the tips of his ears - disappointingly not pointy. "Nope. You look as average as they come." He shook his head, turning back towards the bridge. "Barring the tattoos, of course, but still... " A brief pause, hesitation. Well, why not? He couldn't think of a way this information could be abused. "I have to admit I'm a bit jealous."
 
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The scent of surprise met Twiggy's nose again, and he tilted his head. Shiloh's follow-up brought Twiggy to a halt, and unseeing eyes grew wide as his mouth fell open.

Being partly inhuman was considered attractive here, enough that people wanted it, if he could prove it? Did that mean his 'looks' didn't matter besides that he could pass for human? No weird jaw or skinny arms could sabotage him? He remained stunned even as Shiloh stepped toward him and used a tentacle to mess with his hair.

Did Shiloh like his hair that much?

Or...

No, Shiloh said he was jealous.

Twiggy blinked slowly, especially as he came to realize Shiloh couldn't pass for human. He'd not realized it before, because he didn't use his eyes, but as suddenly as he realized it, he said it: "Wait, s-so your ten... tentacles aren't j-just... magic summon th-things?"

The seer stopped and covered his mouth. "S... sorry if that was—was rude... I thought may... maybe you were—um—a magic user, a-and you could um... summon the ten—tentacles." His face grew rapidly more red, and he thanked whoever that the heat in his face was surely not visible—unaware that it was not only visible, but blatantly obvious.
 
There was surprise painted on the man's face as Shiloh talked - probably too young to know about these things indeed. Which didn't bode too well for him, because Shiloh wouldn't be able to tell him how these things worked among humans all that well.

But any concerns to that regard were forgotten when Twiggy's next question came out - and before Shiloh could even formulate an answer, an apology for it along a reddening face. Even if Shiloh had been the kind to take offense at matters of his looks it would've been difficult to believe the stuttering, blushing man meant any harm. And while it probably wasn't right to be amused by the man's worry and struggle, it didn't do any harm... did it?

"Don't kno..." He caught himself, stopped. Best not say he didn't know magic. A brief pause, a second or two as he pondered how to "rescue the sentence" and he continued, his tone as amused as ever. "No, it's not rude. I just can't imagine what gave you that idea. Depths know I didn't act like a human back there." A thumb pointed backwards, not even in the right direction for the base, and a moment later Shiloh brought it in front of him, staring disapprovingly for a brief moment. A shrug, and he dismissed the thought, breaking into a smile as an impish thought broke into his mind. Childish, though. Too childish? It would be abusing the blind man... just a bit. He got so few chances to be childish, though! But still.

"While it'd be very amusing, asking you to describe what you think I look like wouldn't really be fair, would it? So instead..." Well, he hadn't thought that far, so there was another pause, stretching five or six seconds - blank. "Well, I can't think of something right now, so we'll figure that out later. But in exchange, I'll let you know how I look. Deal?"
 
Twiggy flushed still more at the teasing, full aware that making a deal like that was stupid, but now he was curious, and he didn't think rubbing his fingers all over the other was welcome.

He fidgeted a few moments, then bit his lower lip. "N-nothing that'll... h-hurt a child, but... but ok." He nodded after a moment. "I um—I'm curious, even though it... it probably isn't wise to make a deal like this with—um—someone I'm meeting for the f-first time."

The man offered a bashful smile as his hand tightened and loosened on his cane, and his other hand squeezed at his leather coat.

Another pause, and he was apologizing again.

"I d-don't mean to imply t-that you'd want m-me to hurt a kid, I m-mean! I just... um... owing favors and um... uh..." He slowly began to wilt in shame.
 
Shiloh chuckled softly to Twiggy's reply - of all the things to be worried about, he was worried about making a silly deal with a stranger? The fact that the worrying thing about Shiloh was him being a stranger was concerning enough. What, killing a bunch of people in front of him was just a daily happening?

But still, he'd accepted, despite his babbling about not killing kids. Though perhaps babbling wasn't the best word - there was some point to the man worrying about it, even if not much. After all, why would Shiloh tell a blind man to hurt a kid instead of doing it himself? But perhaps the fact that Twiggy had not thought of that pointed to how relevant the issue was to him. Or a lack of forethought. But, taking him at face value... he was a worrier, and he was worried about Shiloh abusing the deal. Which betrayed an unexpectedly intense intent to follow through. How far would that go?

"So harming adults is fine?" He teased the man again - in his defense, Twiggy made it too easy. "Don't worry about that. Wouldn't make sense to send you when I can do the job better." Light as his tone was, the halfbreed's words were backed by conviction.

"But anyways. My share." How to describe oneself? What impression did he want to give, after all? As he walked, Shiloh raised a hand, looking at its back. While lies were an option... well, if he had to lie to keep talking to Twiggy, that'd eat away that freedom to talk he so liked, wouldn't it? "I'm humanoid. I've got two arms, two legs, and..." And that was as far as the easy part went. "Five main tentacles, though each is made of a lot of smaller tentacles, woven together. Two on the shoulder blades, two on the forearms, one that's kind of like a tail. My skin's... greenish blue?" His factual tone turned hesitant, and he paused for a brief moment, shaking his head right afterwards with a huff. "Well, you're blind, it's not like you're going to care for the exact name. Uh... I've got solid grey eyes, which most people feel is unsettling. That and the teeth. They're kind of... like squares of jagged rock that fit perfectly together. Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to eat. Oh, and no hair. Anywhere." A small, devious grin slowly appeared on the halfbreed's face. "Don't need it, because I've got..."

One of Shiloh's tentacles slowly crept up to Twiggy's arm, gathering a sizeable drop of slime and pushing it onto the man's hand. "Slime. All over. Too slick to be solid, to thick to slide even when I walk. Can't really wear clothes with it, but it also makes it so I don't need to. Think that's all. Does it answer your questions?" Of course, it wouldn't. But would Twiggy dare ask them? And, if he did, how much would he apologize for them?
 
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A visible shudder traveled through Twiggy as he felt the slime in his hand. He still had plenty in his hair, on his face, and anywhere the halfbreed had already touched him. "Nnnnn!"

His shoulders lifted as he shook his hand. "I-I-I c-can imagine um... you're popular..." He coughed. "Popular w-with the women... W-with the tentacles, I m-mean."

He shuddered again as he remembered the sensation of the slime.

Absently, he wiped at his nose, only to discover it was bleeding more heavily. "Um... D-do you have a friend waiting um... n-nearby?" He shook his head and snorted the blood from his nose before he turned his head to try to listen to anything. "I s-smell something... v-very sweet and a-and... there's a magical c-creature n-near other than y-you."
 
Shiloh held back a chuckle as Twiggy shuddered, making a very unmanly noise as the slime dripped over him. Ah, poor land-dwellers. His next sentence almost, almost managed to force said chuckle out of him, but somehow the aboleth managed to hold back, feeling a bit unwilling to tease the man when he was just too young to know. Still, he really wasn't thinking the right way.

"That, and getting on the good side of my Masters. And..." A tendril extended, touching Twiggy's hair very lightly - and a moment later Shiloh was making an inappropriate usage of his powers, as he simply pressed lightly all over Twiggy's body, at once. "Imagine." And there the chuckle finally escaped his lips. "Not that I ever will get the chance to do whatever you're thinking, breeding's highly restricted, and I don't imagine my bloodline's considered very useful." A shrug. Better than being kept just for breeding purposes, or so he hoped.

Any lightheartedness to his tone was gone the moment Twiggy mentioned someone else around them, someone magical - a servant of the Aboleth had very few friends on solid ground, and none of them would have this sweet smell Twiggy seemed to sense. With Shiloh's sense of smell, there was nothing to be noticed, but he had to trust the man's nose, and so the tentacle that had been telekinetically pressing on Twiggy channeled power instead to bring the man closer to the halfbreed. The rest of his tentacles shot out, half to the ground, shattering and pulling earth; half to the sky, turning the ground into solid, compressed spears.

"Where?" He murmured, quiet enough that hopefully only Twiggy could hear him.

A moment later, a voice rose up - female, loud, confident, with a certain foreign accent that Shiloh was completely unable to place that made it feel more exotic and attractive.

"Oi, oi. No need to wreck the earth, let alone yours truly." The woman that walked out of a bush was clearly the source of the sweetly smell, with her auburn hair braided with what seemed to be live flowers up to her back. Green-brown robes, bone and horn ornaments hanging from leather threads from her neck, pouches of herbs hanging from the rope belt on her waist, accentuating even further the woman's shapely form - curvy, generous, perhaps even slightly exaggerated proportions that even the loose robe couldn't quite hide, marking her as someone who often partook of the pleasure of food in Shiloh's mind.

"I was just, well, I wondered if you'd be able to smell with that slime you have, eh? Guess you can! So, uh, don't... do whatever you're thinking of doing with those rocks? I'm not your enemy!" Any minor hesitation in the previous sentence was gone, replaced by a charming smile and look. Despite her words, she didn't seem too afraid of getting blasted to bit - if anything, her fragrance had intensified, almost alluring, calling. But, of course, Shiloh couldn't quite smell anything under the barrier of slime that separated him from the world.
 
Twiggy didn't get it, but even as he gagged on the scent, he felt his body moving, trying to approach the strange woman. Held back by the halfbreed's tentacle, he could only get so far, especially with his blindness. The blind man felt lightheaded like he was swimming in the aroma, even as it choked at him and yanked.

"Perfume's too t-... thick," he murmured as he pushed forward, toward the source and unable to stop himself, though his steps were uneven. "Bait...?" He gripped Shiloh's shoulder, then gasped. "Just-uh-do—do what he says—"

Suddenly, he stopped struggling and simply leaned into view of the stranger.

"Hello, beautiful. I realize tentacles are attractive, but you're giving me an awfully heavy nosebleed. Mind turning down your perfume for me? What's your name?" He spoke with confidence—like he'd never stuttered before in his life—like every word he spoke was fact.

"I'm called The Eyes, and this is my companion and ward, The Power."
 
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The situation had suddenly gone out of hand. Having Twiggy struggle to get free was expected when faced with a Gaean, though it was telling that the man's struggles were of the not violent type. Perhaps it was due to his blindness, because he couldn't tell how Shiloh was holding him back?

But, well, thinking about that was simply dodging the bigger issue. Even thinking about how to fight the Gaean would be dodging the bigger issue, at this point, but it never hurt to have a plan, or... No. Focus. Even if the situation was sliding out of control.

Twiggy had suddenly changed. And that, that was worrying. Him saying a full sentence without stuttering would've been enough to make Shiloh suspicious. He'd done far more than that, his body, his voice, they'd all spoken of confidence. And, as far as Shiloh could tell, that wasn't a voluntary shift; or else he would've met that facet of the man in the camp. A small voice in his head pointed out that, perhaps, this was the way Twiggy acted when he met someone he was attracted to, but that explanation sounded... Well, unlikely considering the amount of magic involved from any of the three of them.

And that was without even considering that Twiggy had called him "companion and ward", which seemed to imply that somehow he felt Shiloh was the one being protected! Talk about backwards. Unsure of what to do or say, the halfbreed had no choice but to let things unfold, concerned as he was. The Gaean's wide, full-lipped smile pointed that she was in the exact opposite situation, feeling completely in control of what was happening.

"My, what a cute little thing you've got there, Dweller. And so charming, too. Might do you some good to learn manners from him." She cooed, taking a single step forward to Shiloh's angry glare.

"My name's Alyssa, poppet." A small curtsy with an imaginary skirt. "And I do have to say it's a pleasure to meet you, Eyes. You're certainly easier on them than your companion." A chuckle, another step. "Not that..."

A spear of rock appeared an inch in front of Alyssa. "Back off." Now that, that didn't require much thinking. Twiggy was already under her spell. Letting her touch him would be a terrible idea.

"Aw, just 'cause you Dwellers are eunuchs doesn't mean you have to ruin everyone's fun, darling." Despite her words, though, she did step off. And, as she did, the intensity of the perfume started lowering noticeably, until it was only a trickle of magic, enough to keep the magic alive. "Say, Eyes, how about you tell that stick in the mud to get lost for a while, and we get to know each other?"
 
The tall, thin man simply chuckled. "Oh, dear Alyssa, I don't think you really want that," he said with a regretful-seeming shake of the head. "You see, this vessel has very high potency."

His lips curled into a more obvious smile. "When you take the Eyes into you, you meet the Useless. The Useless begets the Useful, but the Useful brings the Suffering. I don't think you want that, dear Alyssa."

He tapped Shiloh's shoulder. "It's alright. She can't hurt me," he assured quietly. His smile looked almost boastfully confident as he waited for Shiloh to release him.

Finally, he addressed Alyssa. "As for my companion, I think he's rather lovely. It's a shame you can't see him."
 
Shiloh gave Twiggy a look. A suspicious look, briefly - and then Twiggy was released, almost shoved away, and the earthen shield that marked the halfbreed getting ready for a fight was rising up to surround him.

"Tall, dark, and mysterious. Well, the cards did get two out of three." Alyssa, on the other hand, didn't seem too fazed, stepping towards Twiggy as Shiloh backed away from them both, crouching slightly. The new Twiggy was far too confident in his fighting skill for the halfbreed, and Shiloh didn't want to risk underestimating him. Perhaps overly cautious but... letting him fight the Gaean first would not be a problem now, would it?

"I'm not too convinced about that whole suffering thing though, Eye-candy." She chuckled, ever closer to Twiggy, until she was in range to extend an arm and reach out to his shoulder, a light touch that was clearly very deliberate. "But I'm not going to force you if you're not... interested. You should be, mind. Practice makes perfect, if you come with me, by the time we part ways you're going to be a perfect lover."

A dramatic sigh, a flick of her hair. "But unfortunately, I'm not here for fun. I'm looking for... someone. So do you mind telling me about that companion of yours? Might just be what I'm looking for."
 
"Well, he's just encased himself in stone," he told her with a casual shrug. "He seems so shy, don't you think?" He turned his gaze toward Shiloh, then returned it to Alyssa. "If you tell me who you're seeking, perhaps I can offer you some information, though, for a price."

Utterly unaffected by her touch, the man simply smiled at her, his blindness seemingly absent—though in reality he saw what was happening in his mind a moment before it did.

"Perhaps assisting each other could be mutual."

His eyelids drooped as he crooked one finger around her hair and ran it downward, offering the impression of attraction, though he remained limp under his coat.
 
Any strategist with half a brain would tell you the same thing when faced with a psion. Different words, perhaps - keep them on their toes, stay aggressive, don't let them dictate the pace of the fight, harass them, - but one same meaning. Do not give them the time to gather their thoughts and focus. Shiloh was having a great old time while the two wary-lovebirds traded witty banter.

Inside the stone casing, his lips moved in silent whispers, his thoughts formed in silent shapes, even his hands moving in small, but specific patterns. None of this was truly necessary for him to use his powers, but it helped him focus, it helped him channel his strength. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, the halfbreed gathered power.

Meanwhile, Alyssa was looking at Twiggy with a half smile. In Shiloh's mind, there was no doubt she was enjoying the hunt more than the prize; but whatever the case she seemed very pleased with the response, and attention that Twiggy was giving her. A hand rose to grab the man's hand in her hair, pulling it down to her shoulder casually.

"Well, no need to waste time thinking about your shy friend, then. I'm looking for ... about twice as tall as you, made of..." She paused, sighing, shook her head. Stared straight into Twiggy, slightly more professional than before, though there was no masking her lust. "You'd know if you'd seen her. Wood, stone, anything she's found nearby." A quick chuckle. "But of course you don't remember anything, do you? I might just have to give you a quick advance to jog your memory..." She winked, playful more than seductive, taking another step towards the blind seer.
 
Eyes simply laughed. "You're beautiful, Alyssa, but there's one problem."

It was a simple enough problem.

"I haven't seen anyone outside myself since the Useless was three years old, and vision was robbed of this vessel." He lifted his hand from her and motioned to his eyes. Close attention might have spotted that the pupils never shifted, even with changes in light and attention. They didn't stay quite straight in their sockets, either. There was no film over them, but the 'looking' he'd done was wholly for show.

"I'd love to help you, dear, but I need to protect my ward. If he doesn't mind, you may join us, but do turn off the perfume? The Useless is very susceptible."

Absently, he turned his attention from the woman and toward the source of something coming. Interesting—only partial images. Still, he didn't look nervous at all.
 
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"Scout log. Visual contact on three targets, using scope. About three hundred distance. Contact one is a classified asset. Contacts two and three are locals. Two looks like the lovechild between a squid and a very ugly human. Has some sort of powers, has covered himself in rock right now. Possibly a geomancer.

Contact three is very clearly a female. Large... assets everywhere. Too large. Not enough muscle. She seems to be flirting with One. One does not seem impressed, and I don't blame him. Directional mic is shit, by the way. I can't hear a word. Two is still in his rocky shell. Maybe he's not a squid, but an oyster. End log. Send."

The scope lowered. Of course he had to run into a meeting of freaks. Why wouldn't there be a random gathering of monsters in the middle of the woods. Why wouldn't the asset have a bodyguard that just destroyed a base, and then run into... whatever that woman was. Not natural, for sure. A small bleep inside his ear let him know there was a response to his message. "Play." He muttered. "Direct send. HQ. Must've been a bug in the transmission. Sounded like you told me to engage. Ah. Really now. End send."

The scope rose again to the man's eyes, accompanied by a soft sigh. The crosshairs swung wildly for a moment, then settled almost instantly. Deep breaths. Focus. Nothing but the target, the moment, the shot.



Shiloh's shell remained solid, letting the halfbreed focus in a peace he very, very rarely got to enjoy while preparing for combat. Focused as he was, though, he didn't miss Twiggy's offering to let the woman join - a brief breach of his focus as he fought the urge to shout straight against it, but nothing major, and so he just let things unfold outside. Until he was ready, of course.

"Aw, you poor thing." Alyssa cooed, wrapping an arm around Twiggy and pulling him closer into a hug. "I heard blind men saw with their hands so... don't hold back, darling." She teased, her lips barely above the blind seer's, hand moving to stroke his hair as she pressed him softly into her bosom.

"Do you really need to help that brute? You know the stories about them, right? If even half of that is true, he doesn't need your protection. But if you go with him, I'll never see you again." A soft sniffle. "Such a shame, for a cut..."

The thundering echo of the gunshot made the blooming red circle in Alyssa's forehead seem insignificant in comparison, but as the smoking edges gave way to blood, the woman slowly toppled over to the ground. A quick shake of the underbrush had something appear - something large, grays and browns and greens, shooting across the ground, something that disregarded Shiloh's attacks, not even making an effort to prevent the stone spears from impaling themselves on it as it sprinted towards Twiggy - or Alyssa.
 
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