"Oh... well, hello again..."

by **Roderick** on October 22nd, 2013, 6:18 pm

He smiled as she ran her fingers through her lovely black locks and gave him another mischievous smirk - the way her lips curved upward and the way her face became perfectly set hinted at her having practiced a lot. She knew she was an attractive young woman; he didn't doubt that she'd used that to her advantage many a time in the past. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little more, "So I've been told." She questioned and pouted at him about his wish to avoid entering into another fight; when she shifted her face about, he decided that yes - she definitely knew what she was doing right now. Raven stretched herself out casually as she began thinking of something they could do; commenting on his choice of words, he found another smile breaking out on his face - it seemed every time he let it slip away she said something and brought it back. Another playful gesture - a wink of one amber eye - and she told him they could go for a mix of everything he'd said - making sure to call him a rambling madman. All trace of aggression seemed to have leaked away from the two of them.

Suddenly Raven spun on her heels and began walking away, calm as you like, without any hint as to what she was doing. After a few paces she slowed to a stop and turned about to look back at him, that mysterious look shrouding her features again. She spoke, throwing in a suggestive comment as she did so - as she kept doing - for her own amusement he didn't doubt. Facing forwards again she started walking once more, leaving him to follow behind her. It was warm at this time of year, so he'd left most of his things behind at his apartment, opting to travel light for the day. Snatching his bow from where it rested against the tree he set off after Raven a few tics after she'd left, quickly catching up to her with several quick strides. From the angle he was at he could very clearly see the swaying of her hips as she walked, "Men are only ever born with one 'arrow'. You trying to get on my good side by saying I have more?" he knew exactly what she meant, but he figured he might as well play along, "You're making this day real interesting, Raven." Catching up to the woman proved an easy task, what with the advantage he had in terms of his long stride. As he was getting ready to move forward to her side she turned her head and called over her shoulder, asking if he had any 'special people' in his life.

"Do all your conversations go this way?" he stepped up beside her and smirked at her, slowing his rapid stride down so he matched her pace. "One or two, when I was a boy. Puppy love, you know?" He hadn't thought about love for quite a while; there just hadn't been any women recently that he'd taken a liking to. It was always possible to find a quick release buy hiring a 'companion' for the night, but he'd rarely made use of such services, especially since he could relieve the need on his own. "What about you? Found a handsome man to sweep you off your feet? Or did you sweep him off his?" he gave a playful smirk of his own, enjoying the tomfoolery of what was happening here. Life could be far too serious at times. "You still haven't given me a proper answer about you sneaking around. What do you do that makes you so quiet?"

by **Raven Nightfoot** on October 24th, 2013, 5:10 pm

Raven smirked at his question about her trying to get onto his good side by 'complementing' him with her arrow innuendo. "So maybe I am, would that be a problem?" she said giving him a sultry look over her shoulder. Another smirk crossed her face as he told her she was making his day interesting. "I'm glad.

When he answered her question about 'special people' she was slightly surprised, "Only two? That's uncommon for men who are handsome. Surely you don't have any problem finding woman that are interested." her voice was sincere when she spoke, Roderick was after all quite handsome, with his height and baby face. "...and yes, most of my conversations go exactly like this.

she answered, although she was joking.

"What about you? Found a handsome man to sweep you off your feet? Or did you sweep him off his?"

With this Raven let out a soft laugh followed by a large smile, "If he can sweep me off my feet before I knock him off his, he'd probably have a good chance." she said confidently before contemplating the real answer to his question. "There were two though, long ago...neither could keep up though." she said as she thought back on her 'exes'.

Only a moment passed when she flicked her hair to look in Roderick's direction, her thoughts of the past tossed aside. "Strict parents." she said with a shrug as if the answer was obvious. "You need to be good at stealth when your parents are knights and the rest of the knighthood knows your face. Even if I could manage to get past my parents, if a single knight or squire recognised me they'd force me to go home."

by **Roderick** on October 24th, 2013, 8:21 pm

Raven's lips curved upwards yet again, amber eyes glinting in the sunlight, "So maybe I am, would that be a problem?" No, not at all. "Don't see why it would be." he gave an amused smirk and shrugged. Another little smile as he told her she was making his day interesting; she seemed pleased to have made him happy. She seemed surprised to learn that he'd only had a few lovers in the past, given how 'handsome' he was, in her words. Archery had been the only thing on his mind when he'd come out here - having his ego stroked was unexpected, but he wouldn't complain; no point looking a gift horse in the mouth. Better not say anything about that - she'll make it dirty. Hearing that most of her conversations went along the lines they were going right now, he gave a quiet little laugh and smiled. As they continued their walk to wherever Raven was going, he inquired if she had found a man. It seemed he'd turned a handle because suddenly there was a big smile on his face, preceded by a little laugh.

Raven answered confidently, as she'd done every time before, making a joke of her answer before she quietened down and gave his question some serious thought. She recalled two past men, noting that neither of them could 'keep up'. As quickly as she began remembering the two men she swiftly dismissed them, banishing the shadows of their memories with a flick of her hair and a look in Roderick's direction. "Strict parents." she shrugged in answer to his question about how she remained so quiet, explaining it as the simple need to stay hidden from her parents and the rest of the knighthood - an interesting piece of information, "So your supposed to become a Knight then? You're becoming more interesting the longer we talk." He looked on ahead for a moment as he stepped his way over a log, then turned his head back towards Raven.

"I meant your technique. What're the movements behind it? How do you place your feet? That sort of thing." he gestured at his bow, "You want to use your shoulders to do the heavy pulling with this." he offered by way of comparison, "Set your feet down gently - I've got that part worked out. How about everything else?"

by **Raven Nightfoot** on October 24th, 2013, 9:28 pm

The two of them walked on lost in conversation until finally the walls of Syliras came into view in the distance as they stepped out of the forest and onto the road. Raven had formulated a little scheme a while ago, when Roderick had asked her what her plans were for the day.

As they approached the gates she subtly moved closer to the young hunter's side, wondering if he would notice, not that it mattered. She thought on his question for a moment before answering, "You know, I honestly never thought about the methods, I just sort of go into stealth mode, I crouch and I watch where I step but it's more of a feeling than a method." she answered honestly, moving around silently had become almost instinctive to Raven after years of doing it, or attempting to, she had been caught her quite a few times.

The two of them were now within the city walls and walking down one of it's very busy streets, people ran about doing there jobs and going from place to place, the air filled with the noise of the crowd as Raven and Roderick manoeuvred through it. It had only been a chime when she spotted a wealthy-enough looking man approaching and it was time to put her plan in action.

Raven took hold of Rodericks hand, holding it as if they were a couple as she smiled up at him with that dumb look that 'weak' woman got when they saw a handsome man. Once the man was only steps away from them she stopped walking and released her hold on Roderick's hand as she began to yell at him angrily. "I saw that! You were looking at that girl weren't you! What am I not enough for you? Am I not pretty enough?" she said angrily before turning to the wealthy looking man who had now reached the spot where Raven and Roderick were standing. 'Poor Roderick, he has no idea what's happening, best keep it that way though, he doesn't need to know that he's being used.'

Raven turned to the wealthy looking man and began to speak to him, "Sir, you think I'm pretty right? If we were a couple would you be oogling at other women like my boyfriend is?" she said pleading her case to the unfortunate man. The man blushed red, he was clearly confused as he stuttered his reply. "Wh-what? N-No! I would never! Your b-b-beautiful!" he managed to stammer out with an embarrassed look on his face. Raven responded with a swoon as she grasped the man's arm lovingly and began to speak again, "Aww that's so sweet! See! Maybe I should break up with you and date this man instead! He thinks I'm beautiful!" she said, mock threatening Roderick. While she spoke her hand slid carefully into the man's pocket feeling around until finally they met with the familiar cloth exterior of a coin purse, the hard heavy coins could be felt through the material. With a gentle lift the man's coin purse was out of his pocket and hidden behind Raven's back.

The man, still looking confused and flustered at having Raven's 'affection' quickly became worried as he looked between her and the large man in front of him, with the bow strapped across his back. A panicked look crossed his face as he began to pull out of Raven's grasp, "Uhm I-I shouldn't b-be getting inv-olved with this, it's n-none of my business. Please ex-cuse me." he said before finally pulling away from Raven and stepping around Roderick before rushing off down the street.

Raven stood there for a moment with a satisfied smirk on her face subtly shoving the coin purse into her pocket and beginning and turning to look at Roderick, "Sorry about that...don't ask." she said before turning to walk again, assuming he'd follow. Roderick was turning out to be a great accessory for her thieving.

by **Roderick** on October 25th, 2013, 7:12 am

Their conversation distracted him somewhat from the matter of just how far they had walked; he only realized they were drawing close to Syliras when the walls began to rise up in his vision as they cleared the forest and stepped out onto the road. A decent pace was made and the two soon crossed the distance between the Wood and the gates. With the last few metres between them and the city vanishing quickly, he heard the sounds of Raven moving around off to the side, but thought nothing of it when he saw she was a little closer. The fortress city was cramped and clustered, so they'd lose one another if they stood too far apart. Raven's description of how she went about her business was interesting; more of a feeling than a method? It was an interesting idea, and while he didn't doubt that there almost certainly was a method to it, for her it would have become second nature. They made their way into a busy street as he thought on that.

He'd taken his gloves off earlier, so the soft warmth of her hand in his came as a surprise. Suddenly they were no longer just two people making their way through the city; as far as anyone else was concerned they were together. Turning his head towards Raven, an eyebrow rising in surprise, the look growing a little as she fixed him with a dreamy stare and a smile. Just as abruptly as she began the facade, she slid her fingers away from his and completely stopped in the middle of the street. Whirling around towards him she started shouting up at him angrily - "I saw that." Saw what? "You were looking at that girl weren't you!" I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were married. I should pay more attention. She continued her tirade, demanding if she wasn't enough for him - if she wasn't attractive enough. Roderick failed to see where all of this was going, still feeling surprised and unsure even as Raven turned towards a well-dressed man and started demanding his opinion on the non-existent matter.

The poor fool turned red as a beet and started stammering in reply as he looked around in confusion; Roderick gave him a sympathetic look as their eyes met. Complementing Raven's beauty led the woman to grab his arm and speak again; she turned around and said she would be better off going out with this man instead. As she was talking she held herself close to the man, and Roderick found his eyebrows knitting together as he began frowning; what the petch was going on here? Looking around he saw that there were onlookers - people who had stopped to have a look. Taking a step forward the hunter waved a hand dismissively, "Beat it." A fair number seemed to lose what little interest they had and left, but the other remained; setting his hand to the knife at his belt and barking the order at them convinced the rest that he was in no mood to receive them. As they cleared away he returned his attention to the man and saw him pulling away from her, stuttering profusely as he started excusing himself; he made sure to steer clear of Roderick, who called after him, "I'm so sorry! She loses her temper so easily!" He had a vague idea of what had just happened, so he knew he should play the embarrassed lover - at least until he found out exactly what had just happened.

Raven on the other hand didn't seem nearly as flustered, a satisfied smirk on her face as she turned around and looked at him, telling him he shouldn't ask - though he most certainly was going to. As she starting walking away, he immediately started after her, closing the distance within a few tics and grabbing her roughly by the arm - as he'd be expected to. Bending himself down towards her he acted as though he were furious with her for the spectacle she had just caused, but in truth he was more confused and intrigued than genuinely angry. "Don't ask? Really? What the petch was that about?" He let her go and straightened, keeping an annoyed look plastered across his face - a rather genuine one, actually - as he continued, "I think I know what you just did. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you didn't just use me as a distraction."

Yet again this woman had made his day considerably more interesting.

by **Raven Nightfoot** on October 26th, 2013, 6:10 pm

Raven wasn't surprised when he grabbed her arm to question her, in fact, she would have been more surprised if he hadn't. So far it didn't seem like he knew she had stolen from the man, only that she had used him as a distraction...well distraction wasn't entirely accurate, an 'aid' might be better suited for the role he played.

She knew she should be satisfied with the one successful pocket she'd picked but she couldn't stop herself from searching for her next target, just one more. As she walked she glanced over at Roderick following beside her with a slightly confused look on his face as he curiously awaited her response. The two of them were walking along the wall of a tall building, Raven nearest to the wall and Roderick beside her and they were nearing the corner, of which they couldn't see around.

Then as if Raven's thoughts had manifested in the real world, a man emerged from the corner although he didn't turn, only walked straight and hurriedly, his head hung low as if he were watching his own feet. Raven had reached the corner a split second after the man had appeared and it was clear he hadn't seen her or Roderick.

In one quick careful move Raven reached into the passing man's shallow pocket and immediately felt and grabbed at the top of the man's coin purse, but instead of yanking it free she gently lifted it, allowing the man's steps to separate him from his hard earned coin. The man took only three steps and stopped dead where he stood, clearly he had noticed something had happened.

Raven saw this and acted quickly as she grabbed Roderick's muscled upper arm and roughly pulled him against her body, pinning her back to the wall and she tilted her head up using her other hand(with the coin purse) to grab at the back of his neck and pull his head down until their lips were crushed together.

His lips were surprisingly soft against hers and Raven felt hers tingling from the sudden contact. She stood there pinned against the wall by Roderick, her grip strong, restricting him from moving.

The man who'd been stolen from looked around curious as to who had 'bumped' him, his eyes stopped for a moment on the tall man with the bow on his back, he saw that he was kissing a young woman and shook his head annoyedly muttering something about indecent youngsters before finally hobbling off down the street.

The kiss had lasted at least ten clicks before Raven released her tight grip on Roderick setting him free as their lips parted. She casually slid her hand down from his neck and behind her back as she stuffed the coin purse into her empty pocket. She sighed as her amber eyes watched his blue ones before casually side stepping away from the wall and into the street before slowly back peddling, another satisfied smirk on her face as she spoke. "You're welcome...Let's do this again sometime." she finished with a flirty wink before turning on her heel and setting off down the street, a noticeable bounce in her step.

Raven's smile broke through her visage at the thought of her successful day, it had turned out way better then she had anticipated. She had thought of giving Roderick a cut of the profits, but then he had gotten his payment in a very different kind of currency. Her lips were still tingling, reminding her of her kiss with Roderick. It had been more than pleasant.

by **Roderick** on October 26th, 2013, 8:55 pm

Raven seemed unperturbed by his reaction, completely ignoring it as she continued walking. Clenching his jaw firmly he stalked along beside her, letting the anger leak out of him. As they made their way along the side of a wall a man came streaking out from behind the corner, hanging his head and marching along quickly, as though he was late for a meeting. With surprising speed Raven moved forwards and slipped a hand into the man's pocket, letting his momentum carry his coin purse out into the air. The street here was all but vacant, the crowds having moved off in a different direction. Watching the theft play out before his eyes, Roderick saw the man begin to turn around - he didn't expect Raven's next move; grabbing him by the arm she set her back to the wall and pulled him closer, leading his lips straight onto hers.

Suddenly he felt the warmth of her lips and the moving of her tongue in his mouth. The suddenness of the sensation made him start and for a moment he fought against it, startled and confused and unsure of what exactly was happening. Yet as the seconds passed he felt his resistance melting away and he joined her in the kiss, holding himself to her and enjoying the moment; might as well take pleasure in it while it lasted. From behind him he vaguely heard the robbed man mutter something before he left. His embrace with Raven lasted for a few tics longer, their tongues dancing together before finally parting. She'd moved her hand from his arm and he stood looking at her silently, working through what had just happened as she slid her hand from his neck and hid it behind her back.

Sighing Raven looked up into his eyes for a few tics and then stepped away to the side, past him, backing away as she smirked at him. "You're welcome... Let's do this again sometime." With a wink she turned about and left without another word, a spring to her movements as she left the hunter to his thoughts. She'd used him as a distraction again and he knew he should have been annoyed by that, but he wasn't; right now he felt conflicted about what she'd done. It had all been part of an act, but all the same he'd enjoyed every second of it. Don't do it Rod - don't even think about it. As attractive as she was, and as much as he'd enjoyed himself, he decided developing romantic feelings for her would be the death of him. It was just a kiss - an act to hide a crime. The thought reassured him, though it couldn't do anything for his body; he felt it tingling as his heart beat a little faster than normal. Hopefully he wasn't blushing; that had happened before when things like this happened - though it had been when he was a lot younger. His friends back home had found it hilarious - and called him 'Red' for weeks after the first time it happened. Not a great nickname in hindsight - rather childish and silly, actually, but they used it to remind him about what had happened, so in that way it was rather effective.

Petch you Raven for reminding me of that...

Turning around and walking away Roderick considered smacking his head against the wall so he wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

by **Perplexity** on October 26th, 2013, 10:59 pm

Riddled with Rewards!

Roderick

Weapon: Longbow	+2 XP
Observation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP
Persuasion	+1 XP
Intimidation	+1 XP
Acting	+1 XP

Lores :

Raven

Stealth	+1 XP
Climbing	+1 XP
Observation	+1 XP
Acrobatics	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP
Acting	+1 XP
Larceny	+3 XP
Seduction	+1 XP

Lores :

Notes :

Placeholder "Oh... well, hello again..."