You! (Orion)

[Min]

The slap seemed to have some salutary affect – at least, it made him stop talking for a moment, and stop shouting out that she was a thief. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay quiet for long. She had to admit, the guy had both balls and an unflappable self-confidence in his own allure as a real “catch.” Too bad his over-inflated ego wasn’t matched by anything that Min found appealing in a man. The Myrian had concluded that it was a minor miracle Orion Michaels hadn’t yet met his fate at the end of some sharp pointy object, wielded either by some vexated female or potentially any male with even halfass fighting skills. Orion seemed to be the kind of man that just cried out to be taken down, more than several notches. But Min was able to ignore his stupid blathering, easily, as if it was no more than the annoying droning of an insect in her ear. A frown was all he got in reply to his smirk, as she wrapped a fairly strong hand around his bicep, gripping him with iron hard fingers. She gave a yank and, rising, helped him to his feet. For a long moment she held on, tight, maybe too tight really. There would probably be bruises on his arm come the morning. Looking him straight in the eye, she said gruffly, “Yes, indeed – let’s get you home and then we’ll see what comes next.” It was obvious, to her, that the best way to elicit his cooperation was to make him think he had some hope of making progress with her, a la “treating her right.” Mentally she did an eye roll, but she tugged on his arm encouragingly. “Tell me where you live – I’ll let you go if you promise not to run away.” Not that he’d get more than ten steps without falling over again, she thought to herself, with a slight smirk of her own. That might be kind of funny, actually – chasing him to his house in a series of runs, stumbles and falls. There was just something so…predatory… about that image, that Min could not resist a small smile.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion Drunken Orion viewed himself as considerably more suave as he was in an inebriated state. Having already moved miles past his accusations of her wrongdoings, he was more focused on the beautiful woman who had but moments ago slapped him. That was until her surprisingly strong grip found itself on his bicep. She must have been holding it tightly to help him up. Right? That was the rational Orion used, at least for the few moments where it made sense. Pain rippled through his arm as her fingers and his flesh became one. “Ow ow ow ow! What the petch is wrong with you, woman!?” He yelled, trying to rip his arm away from her, but her pincer like grip would yield no ground. Any complaints ceased immediately when she spoke again. The skies above may as well have opened and rained down pure, glorious light upon him, for the energy he felt, the charge he received by the possibility of this actually happening was truly blessed. “I’m at the Traveler’s Row.” The slurred words came through a stupid looking grin that sat on Orion’s face. He paid no mind to where he was walking, as wobbly legs managed to keep him upright for the moment. “I don’t see why you should let go,” he mused, leaning closer to the Myrian woman. “I can assure you that you won’t want to by the time the night’s over.” The smoothest man in Syliras? Not at all, though Orion would argue that fact to the grave. Step by step the interesting pair made their way towards his apartment, Orion nearly giggling with giddiness the entire trip. Orion had clearly found the line where he had any control or charm, burned it, hid the body, and ran miles beyond it, yet he had himself convinced that the bronze skinned woman actually held any interest in him beyond their required work relationship. “Just down this corridor, Miss Min.”

[Min]

Well, at least he was cooperating, Min thought to herself, as – after initial pitiful protests – Orion let himself be led – or perhaps in his mind, accompanied – by the Myrian, back to his quarters. The Traveler’s Row? Min had wondered at that mention of the same place where she abided – it seemed odd they had never yet encountered one another in coming and going. Perhaps they kept different hours – they certainly had different interests. For the most part, Min was at the Soothing Waters, often long after her official work hours were over, studying the local herbs and experimenting with mixing and mashing and infusing. Thrown into that was her interest in the poisonous properties of the local flora, but she kept those parts of her studies much more quiet. When she wasn’t at the spa, she was either at the bazaar, chatting to other herbalists or keeping an eye on her knife seller, or she was at her own room, sleeping the few hours she allotted herself each night. As they approached the housing complex for those who were not quite dedicated, long term residents of the city, she kept her mouth shut though – not offering to tell him that she too lived here. He might easily find that out in some other way, but she thought it best to not plant any unwanted seeds in his alcohol soaked brain about the fact that they were ‘neighbors.’ In truth, though, she thought it highly likely Orion would recall very little of this night come the morning, and that would be all to the good. In response to his silly, self satisfied assertions of just how desirable she was bound to find him, she had only huffed the tiniest bit under her breath and kept her fingers on his now willing arm – loosening her grip just a bit – and her eyes straight ahead. He didn’t seem too upset by her lack of response of any kind – probably he was too far gone to even notice, unless she belted him again. Min had to wonder if this was how he typically was when bedding women – for obviously, regardless of his success rate, Orion was very accustomed to this little game. Perhaps the women who were unfortunate enough to find their way into his bed were either as drunk as he was or they just didn’t care. Or maybe he stopped far short of the amount he had so obviously over consumed on this night, if the pickings were good and he was on his way to scoring a victory. Well, it wasn’t her business how pathetic he was when off duty. She only cared to preserve a sharp mind and a skilled set of hands for those who would need them some day – other than that, Orion Michaels could be as wretched as he liked. They reached the entrance to the Row and Min escorted Orion in, unbothered by who might see them together, even with the state he was in. Orion indicated which corridor to take and her grip relaxed even more. They were close and within a minute or two she would be shed of him and could go to her own tiny room and nurse her disappointment over losing this chance to possibly make some progress with her task. Orion had been walking with that loose limbed, rubbery gait of a drunk and she was tired of helping to support his weight when his balance threw him her way. At least he had been very tractable – almost gleeful – as they had come along, and she was pretty sure it was due to his ego interpreting this encounter in a way that had the outcome already fixed in his sodden mind. She hoped that the final transition from corridor to room would go smoothly, though she knew that ultimately, if he got too funny with her she could quite easily deck him, and then just shove him inside and go. That was the plan, anyway. “Which is your room?” she asked, in a no-nonsense voice, peering into his face to make sure he was paying attention to where they were.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion came along with Min with no protest, no angry quips, no accusations. But he didn’t stop talking the entire time. “You know I’m not nearly as bad as you might believe. I see the way you roll your eyes at me. You can’t stand the way I do things.” Swaying back and forth, the only stopping him from going back to the cold ground was the bit of support the Myrian woman offered Orion. Of course, he thought he could stand on his own, but he wasn’t going to argue about her having her hand on him. “But here you are, walking me home. Kinda makes it hard to believe you don’t have at least a little fire for me.” Slurred, ridiculous words poured out of his mouth, as he looked over to the beautiful woman beside him. “I might be drunk, but I’m not stupid.” Glazed over eyes scanned her face, his half twisted, half cocky expression glowing from the blood rushing to his cheeks. He’d lost track of how many drinks he’d had long ago. “You’ve got no intention of joining me this evening.” The longer they’d walked, the longer he’d had to sober up a little, the realization that she was just leading him on to get him to go home dawned on him. It was frustrating, even though it was kind of her to ensure his safety. He’d forever go on unaware of her role in preventing the loss of his coin, instead focusing on the carrot at the end of the stick being ripped away from him. Even if the carrot was never really there to begin with. “I’ll take care of myself from here,” he said coolly. The pouting was no doubt unattractive, and as successful as he could be at times, other times he would sabotage any chance he had at a good time. “Have a good evening.” He wrenched his arm from her and turned down a corridor, using the wall to keep him upright. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he lamented the failed evening. He missed the fight. He misjudged Min. And how he’d go home alone. Having someone reject him so completely and directly really sent his confidence off center, and he could only hope he’d had enough alcohol to make this night be a black spot in his memory rather than a testament to his inabilities.

[Min]

She had heard his many words, as they had walked along, she listening while Orion babbled. Min disagreed with most of what he had to say – she thought him to be every bit as bad as she imagined – if by bad one could count acting in a way that clearly showed he had no self-respect. Self-love, maybe…but he acted like a person with no sense of dignity – and no common sense either. He was right, though, in that she didn’t care for the way he did things. The only side to him that she had been able to admire to date was his medical skill. That was enough to make her care about him getting home safely, and that was all there was to her gesture, or so she told herself. Pity, compassion, a shared humanity – why waste such sentiments on this man, who had so little regard for himself, except in the worst way possible – arrogance. As they had drawn closer to the Travelers’ Row, it seemed the light was dawning, and his tone became one more of self pity. Once again, to his statements she made no direct reply, only shooting him a cool look and raising one eye brow as if to say ‘Oh you’re finally getting it, are you? Took you long enough.’ Min felt no qualms about having ever so slightly intimated that things might go otherwise. She was doing him a favor – after he had done nothing but screw up her night. So why should she feel any remorse for bringing him home with the veiled lure that he would get what he wanted from her? She could justly feel some small sense of satisfaction that she had fooled him with her ruse - though truth be told, she only felt a bit...sad. But in response to her last question, his words became just a tad bitter, pulling his arm from her grasp and lurching off down the corridor. If it weren’t for the wall, he’d have been flat on his face again. That was Orion, she concluded – very much in need of props to keep himself upright – be that booze or women or yelling at others to feel superior. With a deep sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest, and in a very low voice, more to herself than for his ears, she replied, “And you, Doctor Michaels. I wish for you many good things. Let this night be one of them. But I do not believe it will be so for you.” With that, she turned and began to retrace her steps, which would carry her to another part of the lodgings and her own spartan, empty room.

[Accolade]

Min

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Stealth	+ 1 XP
Blowpipe	+ 1 XP
Socializing	+ 3 XP
Rhetoric	+ 3 XP
Observation	+ 3 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Becoming a Shadow
•	Foiled by a Drunkard
•	Orion Doctor Micheals strikes again

Orion

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Rhetoric	+ 3 XP
Seduction	+ 1 XP
Observation	+ 3 XP
Socializing	+ 3 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Fearing a Myrian Temper
•	Being Drunk..AGAIN
•	Drunk But Not Stupid

Notes :

Wooo! you two..

The Sylir has spoken

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