One of Them (Val)

[Aello]

Aello took note of his smile, there was something strangely sinister about it. But then, how could that hardened edge not appear to the trained eye? He was a Nitrozian, they were known for that, were they not? "Been here long enough, may as well be," Aello replied simply before shaking her head a little, and looking out at the hallway, lined with cages, slaves, crates and the like. Her muddied eyes danced around the area. "If that is what you wish, it can be done," Aello commented, as she retrieved a raven feather fletched arrow from her quiver, and deftly laced it onto the serving. Seconds later, her three middle fingers of the right hand were drawing the string back. Her stance had changed, her left foot leading the right. Her body turned to expose only her profile. The arrow's point clicked against the supple curve of wood; the area near her hand's grip. The string creaked as Aello closed her left eye, and eased the string behind her left ear. She took a deep breath, "there is no one," she whispered, as her eyes continued to search the corridor for a worthy target. It took but a moment for her to spot a fair skinned slave carrying a large crate before him. "See that man all the way in the back?" Aello asked, "bearing the crate with bits of straw sticking out?" She'd pause, awaiting some sort of response before continuing. "One arrow will be shot between his splayed fingers. One arrow loosed to make him drop whatever it is he is carrying, ok?" she asked, before she stopped talking, and took one more deep breath, in through the nose, and out through the mouth, before ceasing to breath. In that moment of silence, she drew the arrow's point over her target, and released. Aello's arrow shot forth, sending the string into a humming frenzy as it darted past other people moving through the corridor, going about their business, the occasional bug that had worked its way inside. Breath came suddenly as the heart skipped beats, and time seemed to stretch into eternity. Until the time the arrow's point imbedded itself in wood, just between the man's farthest finger and thumb. His eyes went wide as he grunted, the bundle jostled by the impact, trembling in his arms, so furiously that he lost his hold. It slipped to the side, cascaded over the coiled muscles in his arm, and landed with a loud thud on the floor. The arrow's end still shaking. Smirking, Aello turned to Valerius as she lowered her weapon. "Satisfied? Or would you like to see some more?"

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„You are evading my question“, Valerius informed her coldly. He had asked her whether she had family in Ravok, but she hadn’t told him. He wondered whether he should ask again, but then he decided that it could wait until after the demonstration. Depending on how great her skill with the bow really turned out to be, he might just be willing to change his mind and leave her alone. „You can do that?“ he asked and arched an eyebrow as she proposed a target. She was either a liar – in which case he would likely not be that eager to do business with her anymore – or really very, very good – in which case it would be better if he stayed on her good side and assured her continued cooperation with the Kelvic Research Institute. With those thoughts in mind he positioned himself next to her, arms clasped behind his back and waited. As she released her arrow, he held his breath. „Amazing“, he remarked as the arrow found its target. He glanced at the man who had dropped the crate, and then he shrugged his shoulders indifferently and turned back to face Aello. The man could pick his things up alone. „I am more than satisfied. You are probably better than some of the soldiers of the Ebonstryfe.“ Valerius tended not to be particularly generous with compliments, but he decided that Aello deserved one, despite all the things that were wrong with her.

[Aello]

The smirk held as Aello dropped her bow, allowing its end to hit the ground. She leaned up against it casually as she extended her hand, hoping for a shake. "Good, then it'll be a pleasure doing business with you," she said, her voice strangely neutral, despite their raking over Val's body. As soon as he had taken it, or not, she'd pull it back and pick her bow back up, hiking it onto her shoulder. "Excuse me, I'd best retrieve that, good arrows being so hard to find these days," she'd add, before bowing her head slightly and moving off. Weaving through the workers until she found the one she had terrorized. She'd brace the crate with one hand, while pulling her arrow out with the other, and putting it back in her quiver with its brethren. When she was done, she'd mutter a quick thanks before walking back to Val. "Now, if you'll excuse me in full, I'd best see myself to the forests. It seems there is a quota that must be filled. A rather large order, seeing as there are a multitude of bellies to supply with a fresh supply of meat." Her eyes sparkled as she jerked her shoulder, forcing the bow to fall back into her hand. "You'll have it on your doorstep by midday on the morrow," she said, before brushing past him to go about her business. Thankful that she managed to make it in and out without a scratch, she began to breath more easily, even as her grip tightened about her bow's frame. "Father watch over me."

[Persona]

Thread Award! Aello: Skills: Interrogation +1 Negotiation +2 Subtergfuge +1 Rhetoric +1 Lores: KRI: Full of Kelvics in Cages Valerius Nitrozian: Skills: Persuasion +1 Rhetoric +1 Negotiation +2 Interrogation +1 Subterfuge +1 Lores: Aello: Skilled With a Bow Notes: For future reference, the KRI is across the lake from Ravok (or at least, it's on the north side while Ravok is more south-ish on the lake), so it’s a little farther than the “outskirts” of the city