Regaining The Upper-Hand (Antar)

[Shai]

Timestamp: 72nd of Fall, 511 AV
Time: Morning

Shai kneeled upon a silken cushion; in all directions she was surrounding by wispy gossamer curtains several layers deep. But, of course, there was no breeze to flutter the sheets. In her palms lay a delicately carved hoop with a slim ebony silk membrane pulled taut over the frame. Eyes probing, the willowy woman south to comprehend the pattern in the dusky fabric. There was no doubt or hesitation in the spider’s recognition of the device; it was an embroidery circle. Not just any hoop though, it was her own from Kalinor.

Her mind struggled through a suffocating veil as she sought to answer the overwhelming question of what she was stitching. Slowly her mind brought together the pieces. How could she have been so blind? It was a spider’s web in silvery-blue thread. Such a common pattern, at least normally. Shai had stitched hundreds of webs over her years. This one although seemed vastly more complex than any she had ever designed before. It seemed as though the longer she focused upon it the more intricate the pattern grew, seeming to transform at each further progression of her thoughts. Shifting subtly her mind began to wander down into the stitchings seeing more than simple thread, instead each seemed to be a story. Some would say a picture was worth a thousand words, but it seemed to Shai in that moment a stitch was worth a life-times worth.

At first she was unaware of the phenomena occurring within her mind and when she became away that the pattern was taking over her resistance began. Struggling physically against the weight of the threaded restraints. When all seemed lost, and the memories began to invade her mind the world vanished into stark white as swift as a wick catching flame.

Shai tossed twice in sluggish succession before sitting bolt upright with no prior warning. She had fallen asleep in Antar’s tent the night before and fortunately had woken up in the same location. The rogue was not completely forgiven for last night’s escapades and since he was still in the tent she would let her continued displeasure be known. Her escalated breathing quickly brought under control; it had been a nightmare and nothing more to continue to be worked up was ridiculous. The logic seemed sound but that didn’t stop the images from haunting her, dreams meant nothing anyways.

For now, although, the past could wait. Shai always woke up a mess, her braid askew, hardly holding and the terrible state of her clothing after having been slept in. Tugging out the tie restraining her hair, the Symenestra began to work through the tangles with nothing but the blunt backsides of her claws for a comb. On the long list of objects she kept within her cloak, which currently lay in a corner of the tent, toiletries were not among them. Letting her eyes roam as she fixed her hair the same way she did every day, the thief’s eyes lit upon the most relevant facets of the tent. After items and escape routes her gaze rested upon the rogue. What precisely does one say in this situation? Thank you for dragging me back to your tent after you led me into a trap and let a crazy robbed human attack me? Well, he had saved her though she would have to push to recall it. Well, there was only one place to start. Shai parted her lips to speak only to find her vocal cords immobilized by a hearty yawn. Clicking her tongue once after the yawn had finished with her lungs she continued, “Good Morning, Antar. It is still morning I hope?”

Truth be told Shai preferred to keep nocturnal hours for safety and to facilitate her trade. When she woke up during the day on her own it was usually nearing sunset so trying to keep this human’s hours as she had been for the past handful of days was shifting her cycle. Still, after the events of last night there was a fair chance she had slept most of the day away.

[Antar]

Antar blearily mumbled something as Shai stirred, trying to clear his head and squint away the brightness of the morning. He hurt a bit, okay... maybe more then a bit. The blood pounded in his temples and his head ached with a pounding which could not be explained away beyond the worst of the worst days after an all night bar run shooting down drinks of any and all alcoholic beverages. Not to mention he was stiff a little, and exhausted.

Cracking one eye open as the woman he had half dragged back to the tent levered herself to a sitting position to stretch, yawn and then blearily speak out a question of the time was enough to make his head seem as if someone was taking a bit of broken glass and shoving it into his temples. Her words soon set off Ellise, chirping as she rose beneath the blanketed cage.

For a moment, he tried to hide his head back under the pillows and press his hands about his ears, all to shut out the noise as more waves of uncomfortableness passed over his senses until finally he spat out a curse and a plea for Ellise to be quiet for now, she'd be taken out to hunt later. Miraculously, or not, the falcon seemed to settled down. But through the sliver of sight left to him amidst the shadows of the tent, Antar could still see the stretching woman struggle to rise.

He'd reach a hand out to the tent flap to see it wasn't even noon yet. Syna's light hadn't even reached a quarter of its way across the skies yet.

Grumpily, he gathered it was time to take the day off, and by jove he was going to sleep. Sleep and be at peace... but that still left the woman waiting for her answer. Uttering a brief grunt of irritation the rogue would lever himself up by the waist halfway to encircle the woman's hips before summarily bearing her back down to the bedrolls he kept side by side. Without further explanation, he'd throw the covers across her before burrowing his head down into her hair. Pulling Shai closer to cuddle in her warmth he would half pleadingly mutter a single, pain filled, simple term."Slleeeep."

[Shai]

Shai flailed as the rogue pulled her back down, the cilia across her skin reacting reflexively to stop her supposed tumble. The bedding was tossed back over her, it reminded her of the scent she’d acclimated to; Antar. She let his presence melt away the few remaining tendrils hanging to her emotions from the dream. For a moment, she lay beside him without considering the past or future. But, that was quick in passing as the most recent memory returned to her and with it her agitation towards the rogue.

In one breath, she was stealing his warmth and in the next his blankets. Her fangs seemed blunted against this man; she wouldn’t do him true harm for whatever reason. But, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be petty. Shai snagged the blankets and rolled away, taking every last one from the rogue. “I cannot imagine how you can sleep like that” She remarked still facing away from him, “It would seem to me that you would get awfully cold, especially this late in the season.” The spider added saucily.

She tugged the blankets over her head and burrowed deep down into them, in her tussling she managed to turn back around so if he pulled the blanket back he would find her looking at him with a smart little smirk painted upon her lips that she couldn’t banish. Perhaps she had forgiven him more than was intended. Antar was good to her, treated her better than any person she had encountered since leaving Kalinor. Maybe that bought him leeway; after all he did save her the night before.

Biting her lower lip with benign teeth, Shai held in the sarcastic laugh that didn’t fit the mood she was intending to promote. How ironic that a human of all creatures manages to curb her darker tendencies? She felt nearly normal around him. The spider she had wed had failed, but this human who she had bedded upon a whim, who had sought her out for a job had managed to soften her. One thing was certain she was getting soft and that was dangerous in Sunberth.

But her musings on letting the façade slip brought her to something else. Antar could not be as gentle as he treated her, not and survive in this city. The man was an assassin, but if he wore a mask he hadn’t shown her that face. I wonder if I have a strange effect on this human? It was odd to consider indeed; what she had intended to be a one night escapade was quickly evolving elsewhere. The evidence was clear as the morning sun rising…over his tent with her in it.

Shai flipped open a corner of the blanket to peek out at the rogue, “I could share, but I think you owe me. So you should come up with some compensation or your ad—“ the spider cut off, she almost said adorable, ludicrous . “bottom is going to get exceedingly chilly. Quickly I would assume.”

[Antar]

Annoying... the rogue thought as he peeked one eye back open. She...Shai, his lovely symenestran guest in his tent, like the thief she was, had just stolen his extra blankets... All five of them!

Taking a bit of time to look under the bundle of blankets he saw two deep pools of violet eyes playfully looking at him with a smirk hidden on a certain symenestran's face.

'Snarky wench.'

Two very bloodshot eyes would look back at hers, before he winced in pain. Pushing such things aside though, the rogue would sigh loudly in exasperation as the symenestra made her demands. "Compensation? Bah, this is one time the debonair that is I; is just far to tired to give that to you woman... but... you did take my blankets. Naughty spider... you'll get a squishing of a 'compensation' later though."

With those words he'd lean down to gently kiss the spider holding his blankets hostage on the forehead, and closed his eyes to rub his temples a little just before snidely flipping them back down to cover her.

Seriously... the wench had stolen his blankets, and thus his only source of warmth for the moment, how could this be?

Unless... he crawled over her to grab his third bedroll... she was currently lying on the second.

With that thought in mind he pressed down on the bulge beneath the blankets where he assumed where her derriere was and made a grab for the heavy woolen artifact of warmly delight. With a quick jerk, the heavy bedroll slid over Shai's back until it was draped over them both as a new third blanket.

Chuckling lightly at his small victory, Antar would pull the struggling bundle of blankets a little closer, muttering a bit, "Hah hah, now I got you my pretty!" He'd pause a moment as a small wave of exhaustion washed over him. "Can we go back to sleep now, dear? I'm really tired... But you know," He'd let his hands travel the curvature of Shai's body through the blankets, letting himself take the luxury of pulling her closer when his palms found a firm hold on her hips as he continued, " with a bundled up spider for a new source of warmth I bet I could find plenty of ways in the future to keep this tent warm at night."

[Shai]

Shai laughed quietly and wriggled out from her cocoon of blankets. Running her fingers through her silky hair to attempt to make it remotely manageable, she watched him. As she studied him her eyes slowly faded from twinkling mirth to the opaque estimation of a predator calculating its options. As soon as the expression set in it vanished and the previous gentler mien returned. She made a tsking noise with her tongue, “You tell me to sleep, but here you are getting your hands full of spider. Such a contradictory creature you are.” Twisting her hair around her hand she pulled it back behind her to keep it out of the way. “Let no one say I am stingy, this gift I will bestow on you human from the benevolent corner of my heart.” She chuckled, hoping he understood it for a joke. Then with the pad of her index fingers she poked his chest, “It is a small corner though so do not push it, rogue” in an equally playful tone.

Drawing herself close to him she intertwined her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. Her speech was muffled but still intelligible at this proximity, “Let us sleep for now. Wake me when you do?” The inquiry was almost unnecessary unless the rogue slipped from her grasp she would awake as soon as he did. Shai kept her legs from tangling with his though she normally would have woven them together. The burns on her skin still hurt and every time she brushed past them she was reminded of just how much. When they woke up she would need to tend to them so that they didn’t scar. Scars could potentially harm her ability to walk walls which was something she could not live without.

She kept her peace regarding his quip about nights to come. The spider would play with him and she could enjoy his company. But it was far too soon in her estimation to be concerned about future encounters, even though they seemed likely. The woman doubted Antar meant to imply what she had read from the statement, which was ultimately why she said nothing. Although the prospect wasn’t entirely unpleasant, she wouldn’t voice any such opinions; that made them too concrete. But, at least she knew that the nights she chose to sleep in his tent she would be safe. Maybe, for once in a great long time she might actually get a decent night’s sleep. A nice rest, at least, after their games for the night concluded.

Closing her eyes the spider let the sound of the human’s beating heart be her lullaby. Falling asleep to the rhythm of Viratas’s gift insured she had no further nightmares. In her sleep the spider exhaled soft breaths that bespoke of tranquility…and also vulnerability. Such a weakness was something Antar might never glimpse when the woman was conscious, but in slumber even she could not control her physical presence.

[Antar]

“Let no one say I am stingy, this gift I will bestow on you human from the benevolent corner of my heart... It is a small corner though so do not push it, rogue”

He remembered those words, and wondered what they could mean despite the playful banter which grew daily between them. Wondering aloud the rogue would mutter under his breath as the symenestra lay upon him, simply stroking her hair until he was sure she was asleep. "Oh I'm sure I could make that small corner grow if I wished."

She was different now, her expression relaxed from the hardness that Sunberth had forced upon her , and in sleep many a person's thoughts and emotions might shine through. For now though, a small furrow of her brow was all he could read of her troubles, her vulnerability. But in the future who knew?
For a moment he would feel her stiffen, subconsciously or not, and then soften, perhaps hearing those words within her dreams, as the roge wrapped his arms around her to secure her there. Her weight upon him wasn't that unpleasant, she did weigh a little less then a human woman of her size; it was rather almost the feeling of having a cat lie on you, heavier then it should be, as if it knew it could increase its weight to bother you.

But for some reason Shai wasn't a real bother...

She did make for a rather decent blanket of warmth as well... though the garments between them ruined the sensation a little. He did have the unfortunate circumstances to stay asleep in his shirt and trousers. So much the pity, especially since it could ruin his bedrolls over time... he might have to institute a better policy in the future if she visited his tent again.

But none of that mattered now, though a bit of armor for his chest might be appropriate if she nipped from time to time; those fangs were rather wicked.

Wrapping his arm about her he would secure her where she lay atop him as he drifted off to sleep. He would dream a set of dreams. First of smooth skin, long dark hair and a pleasant fragrance of that which was Shai pervading his nostrils; bits of half worn memories, of their past nights, mixed with interesting fantasies that only a male's sleeping mind could conceive.

But soon enough, the feeling of having a person so close to him as he slept would delve into deeper, darker memories. Memories of a time where his half sister had been ripped from his arms, and beaten to death in front of his eyes. Memories of being restrained against his will as the lash rose and fell, the one thing that the rogue hated to this day.

A few hours later, at noon... he would wake, in a bit of sweat, shaking slightly as small tremors ran up and down his skin, like a druggies latest come down off of the Night Eyes Dust. A sign of overgiving, and he knew it... rolling gently to the side, he would see Shai's eyes flutter open, the confusion of waking in her lavender eyes as her body's cilia still kept her tight upon his. For some reason, she would stay that way for a while, a clawed hand reaching up to comb gently through Antar's hair a few moments as her eyes looked every which way, including outside the tent where the sounds of the camp were present ; loud with the clang of steel on iron someone began to chop wood,and hammer off in the distance.

Then she would let him go, and the rogue would silently exit the tent to head towards the water barrel.

His temples were still painful, and the outside light made him want to squint and shut his eyes. But soon enough, he'd be drinking a long cold drink of water, and tearing into a barrel for some food to eat. He'd take some fruit back to his tent for Shai and would almost throw some at her while he ravenously began to eat an orange. He needed the sugars to help sustain him now, as he had been foolish to expend so much djed the night before; even if it was to help keep Shai from the worst of Eryss' attacks.

He would stay in silence, merely eating a slight meal, as the awkward silence began to stretch between them... his hands still held a slight tremor to them, and he would notice her gazing at him speculatively. But would she have the courage to ask her questions?

[Shai]

Shai awoke from a dream of aerial dancers, a feat her kind was famous for. To find the rogue had turned them over. She looked up at him but quickly skirted her gaze away as the sounds of outside life breached the confines of his tent. It seemed it was finally time to wake up and if the sun filtering in was anything to go by it was a high noon. Lovely… She hated the sun it tended to give her a headache and put her in a foul mood, but it was human hours. And it seemed all of her new associates in the Crimson Edge would be human. Pulling back the microscopic hooks she released the rogue and let him leave. Sitting up on her knees she waited quietly for him to return.

He hadn’t said anything. It seemed strange, he was always quick to talk but now he was just silent. Had she done something wrong? Shai caught the fruit as he tossed it to her. She would be ravenous soon but the fruit would take time to break down so she bit into it and then set it upon her lap to wait. In silence. It made sense not to speak he was eating, but still it felt off. Should I say something? but that train of thought brought up the question of what should she say? No she would wait for him to return to his witty demeanor. As she sat there thinking she fidgeted, messily fixing her braid and patting down her stale clothes.

Finally she just gave voice to the first question that popped into her mind, always a bad call. “Is your name really Antar?” She wished in the moment it had escaped she could draw the phrase back in, beat it bloody, and leave it in the slag heap where anyone who found it wouldn’t be able to identify it. Quickly trying to cover up the question she put her feet beneath her and the fruit on the ground. He was shaking? "Is something wrong?” She inquired neutrally although the raised eyebrow that accompanied it implicated otherwise. He had only been gone a short while, and she hadn’t heard a unusual commotion. So what excuse did he have?

Stop this. she berated herself. Shai had been acting like an immature child. “I will wait outside for you to… do whatever humans do in the morning." she trailed off unsure of what to imply. She knew her morning ritual and was greatly lapsing on it as she spoke. The Symenestra shrugged; gathered up her cloak from the corner and the envenomed fruit.

Shai briskly exited the tent and was momentarily stunned by the intense sunlight. But as she adjusted she located a relatively clear area and went to occupy it. Removing the crimson fan from her cloak, she laid the garment on the ground with the fan closed on top of it. The thief sat herself down upon the dirt and spread her legs. Stretching to the left and holding and then to the right, holding again.

Sitting up straight, the next stretch was the one she was currently working on pushing her limits. Planting her palms firmly on the ground she lifted up her hips and scooted forward, forcing them into a straight split. She couldn’t do it on her yet, but soon she would be able to. As a child she could, it was only a matter of practice. But the stretch wasn’t enough. Pushing limits was good, but to get better she needed to always press one step beyond even her limits. The lithe woman dusted away any loose dirt in front of her in preparation.

So sitting in her split the Spider leaned forward again, this time placing her forearms against the ground. She usually had a solid surface not just dirt so this might be difficult. Leaning into her braced arms the spider lifted herself up. As her legs left the ground she let them relax from the stretch, but they kept rising until she stood upon her forearms with her legs straight in the air. Her balance maintained by the hooks ejected from her for arms. The spider halted here and took a deep breath, holding as still and straight as possible. Then to finish the practice move she pushed her legs farther and fell into a back bend. Holding this a moment as well before pushing back up onto her feet.

Shai dusted off her clothes and braid, as she moved to retrieve her fan and continue warming up. She noticed Antar had left his tent.

[Antar]

"Darn spider... shoulda left her electrocuted... maybe he should electrocute her after asking such a strange question which made him ponder. But he didn't have the ability to create the meta-element of lightning... only lava... that might work. Perhaps melting off one of her toes or so?"

The woman had dared to ask such a question that had thrown him off for a pause... and then had the gall to leave as he considered it's risks.

Considered the actual risks to himself; and what it might mean for her in his future and then she had left. The mere hubris of her action, while alright in some circumstances had indeed lit a cold hard flame in his heart as he had buckled on his armor, and readied himself before stepping out of the tent.

His eyes, after a quick pull on of his gauntlets watched her as she stretched noticing her slim physique... despite all the problems she caused him she was still an asset and a liability. An asset to watch his back, and to train... but a liability in that he could become too close to her.

So why had he suffered like he was doing now with the tremors... because of her. Why was he allowing her close to him?

Being close to someone made you vulnerable.

That's what he'd been taught, that's what he had learned the hard way when he had pushed the knife into her heart... He shook himself visibly, warding his mind off the memory and the anger that still made his heart seem to sieze in his chest, and his voice to choke up.

She was stretching now, going through her forms with the fan, and he was ready, ready for most of anything. But moreso... he wanted to test her. Not for any particular reason, (or maybe their was?) but to see if she was worthy of being his student, just like Eryss had said... he'd barely known the woman for more then a month and the situation he had been under must have made something go askew?

Right?

Could he leave it at just a fling? Just train her and change the dynamic between them? Wouldn't that be the safest course of action?

No... no the safest course of action would be to cut all ties, kill all those in this camp in the dead of night and vanish elsewhere.

To go back to a life on the run.

... but he hated pondering that.

Hated the mere implication that would make him lose the slim sliver of peace amidst the chaos he had fought so hard to gain.

Could he risk more to keep that? What did that mean for Shai? As she made one last turn of the fan, Antar would walk slowly out to stand quietly about ten feet from her...

Noth had put his armor and weapons upon himself before leaving the tent; girded himself for war as he did on any other day he'd be in Sunberth. Just a habit, or a piece of ingrained instinct.

But looking at the spider, his eyes silently weighed her from beneath the cowl of his shadowsilk cloak... wondering what he should do.

Putting one hand behind his back, the slow ring of steel from a gladius being drawn would draw her eyes upwards , though for a short while Antar's hand would reach into his robe's pocket and withdraw the pale white mask that would hide his face and put it on. Somewhere in the preponderence of the spider he had come to a conclusion... to see if he would need to kill her or not.

With a flourish of the sword in his right hand, he would pause to withdraw another gladius in his left, for the first time dualwielding them both. "My dear apprentice; if you wish to know the truth about my name... prove to me you can hold your own. Moreover... should you win I shall tell you why there are risks to helping you last night. Risks I'm paying for now..."

[Shai]

Shai plucked her fan from the folds of her cloak, while she saw the rogue in her peripheral vision she didn’t bother with an outward acknowledgement. She skipped two steps back into same spot she had stretched in. One deep breath and she pulled her body straight into a line, her fan still firmly closed. Spreading her arms wide in a swift synchronized jerk she began her next morning routine. Let the man watch in his obnoxious brooding silence, she would not be wasting her time. She began a slightly modified routine by flowing gently in stark cosntrast to her previous jerk she brought her arms to her front and intertwined them. While she pulled her twisted arms against her breast, fan still in hand, the spider brought her right foot off the ground and twisted her leg around her left. In the strange stretch she bowed, so deeply her nose was less than half a foot form the ground.

She seemed focused, intent upon her pose, but in there was hidden meaning to choosing this posture. Normally she waited until much farther into her practice for this twisted bow but with it her eyes were mostly shaded with wisps of hair that constantly escaped around her hair line. The thief was watching the rogue’s shadow on the ground. Each of her poses took considerable time; it was what made them difficult and though she wanted to feign flippancy her instincts didn’t allow for it. Earlier she had come to the conclusion something was off and now she even more sure. Carefully she measured the moments by her pulse which was beginning to pound in her ears from holding her head so low.

While she watched the silhouette Shai had time to think, for whatever reason Antar was being slow, hesitant? No, of all things she had seen from this man hesitation wasn’t one of them. If he waited there was a reason but since the Symenestra was no mind reader, it was better to focus on what she could comprehend that waste time on useless conjecture. What she knew for certain is something had tipped the rogue’s mind from their first awakening to this one, and it was not a positive shift. Working through the line of thought the thief stumbled upon an idea that should have been obvious; silence is for business, both his and mine. Perhaps it was time to show the rogue why spiders were so graceful, to be anything but light-footed meant death in the woven city.

The sound rung to her ears before the shadow could clearly illuminate the situation for her. The cruel note of a blade being pulled from it’s sheathe, and again as if to mock her once more. This would not end well. She watched the two swords fall into the shadow’s abstract hands. The rogue spoke, but Shai hardly heard it. She unfolded her body with the uncanny grace of her people. Her right foot touched the ground and swiped out raising a cloud of the loose dirt into the air. Crouching low she stared at the armed man, who only moments ago had held her as she slept. One leg she had bent completely, this she rested upon the other was spread out, but so far that she lost power of maneuverability. Her right arm extended half the length of her stretched leg, her left fell straight at her side. When all her body was still she flicked open the fan in her right hand, mimicking in a higher pitch the very sound the rogue had used to alert her to his intentions. It was a defensive stance, and low. She couldn’t win against him in a toe to toe fight, she had to rely on her best asset; her alacrity and flexibility. It was a gamble to even hope she might be superior in him in this regard, but she kept low she could hopefully avoid his most powerful attacks with those swords. The biggest danger is he might be able to pin her, but still it was better off that standing straight up like a practice dummy.

“If we must, we will rogue. But it is naive to assume your way of fighting is the best way, or the only way.” Shai replied coldly. When she spoke of fighting she had intended it metaphorically, the man might not understand but she doubted it even mattered at this point.

[Antar]

'Fool.'

That was Antar's first thought as she began to speak; trying to lecture on the fallacy that his abilities was the only way of fighting. His eyes narrowed and he said nothing, merely gazing at his latest apprentice behind the mask. No glint of emotion would show itself in his eyes. Emotions were gone... gone or were reduced to almost nothing which would sway his actions with the placing of the mask.

The mask was something different, a physical barrier, a reminder of a different life, a different guise or pesona he took to do the most horrible of deeds. It would keep him focused and her words were sharpen that focus to a razor's edge. He had learned the truth of her words long ago... and the truth of the truth behind them. It was ingrained in his psyche as second nature, present with every action and every step. Every killer knew that those they went against would be different. Every target, and guard in their way. Every person would try to get away differently. Every man, woman and child would fight differently.

They would evade differently, act differently, breathe differently and races were no exception to the rule. Every living, dead, or undead sentient being or monster would react , distract, and attempt to destroy those that were attempting to destroy them in a different way. The true component of one's abilities, mind, body, and soul was determined by how well they could deal with the variety of conflicts such would bring.

How they would pursue, wear down, and destroy that which was in front of them. How they would plan to slip the knife into a creature's back, get close enough to snap the neck of a comely maid or maiden. How they would devote every bit of their consciousness to the single overriding task of the present.

But he would not tell her this... no... no... he would instruct her in it... though not fatally. She was his student after all... this would be the object of her first lesson.

Instead of answering anything directly, the rogue would alter his grip upon the gladius in his right hand and crossed it with his left, in a silent salute to begin as he took a single step to the left. He didn't bridge the distance, but rather focused completely upon Shai as a fighter, his mind recalling her agility, watching where her eyes went, hearing the steady cadence of her breath. The depths of his attention would create an unspoken miasma of thoughts between them all as sharp as a razor's edge. In an odd way, perhaps she should be flattered, as this was perhaps the only time since that first night she had wholly become the pivotal focuse of Antar's attention and the center of his world.

He would continue his slow movement watching to see if she matched his actions with an opposing motion as he began to circle her.