Closed Punishing the Sinner II (Hadyn)

[Matthew]

Hadyn. He quickly jotted that down, blue eyes sparking for a moment as he commited it to his mental library. The interaction between the two random strangers and his date went quite well. She seemed to play up her natural personality and just add a bit of elegance to it, leaving the two guests with a look of surprise and brief irritation. Whatever game they had come over to play, Hadyn and Matthew had quickly derailed it and then went along their way. Whatever the case, the two allies were now known. Not even a few seconds after they had walked away, the two strangers headed to another nearby couple and started to give them their version of the story, stealing sneaky glances at Matthew and Hadyn every now and then and dropping haughty little chuckles. Matthew was beyond them at this point, completely focused on Hadyn and her question. "Apparently. I didn't pay attention to classmates in University." He furrowed his brow, briefly looking confused, his intellect obviously not enough to understand the common workings of the common mind when it came to being in school. "I paid attention to the actual schooling itself. You know. What was paid for when I enrolled." He glanced back over to them for a second, trying his very best to remember if he had ever seen the man... but soon came up short, shaking his head with a puzzled expression. After a brief moment, he turned, fully facing Hadyn in a sudden movement. His stare quickly turned intense, and when his voice came out, it was extremely polite and laced with a tone of apology. "I was so eager to get to this little event that I failed to ask your name. I apologize. That was very rude of me." He actually felt quite bad about it. He hadn't once considered her as a potential customer, just because of the way their relationship had developed. If she would have been though, or was, then he hadn't been a very attractive harlot at all. Not asking a woman her name wasn't that nice of a move. He was lucky that he was being used in a way, just as she was using him. It helped soften the blow, even if he felt it was still a blow. He held her eyes for a second longer, a proper and open apology apparently quite important to him. Then, he turned back, scanning over the crowd. They were still filling out. "You haven't seen him yet, have you? It seems like people are still arriving. I believe the real pull of the party is the games that will go on. The gambling and all that. Have you ever gambled? Poker, or blackjack?" He tilted his head at the girl, leaving out the fact that he himself only knew the rules. He would have to figure out some other way to win. He cast another glance around, checking for the rich woman he knew their target was with. He hadn't spotted her yet, so that is why he was assuming her date wasn't here. He popped another grape into his mouth, his eyes glancing down at Hadyn's chest. He was oddly professional about it, though with what he did for a living, that would probably make sense to her. It wasn't like the sight was uncommon to him. His next question was a bit from left field, but he thought it was a rather good question. "Do those make it hard to breath? It looks like it is drawn tight in order to push your breasts up, but that must be at least a little uncomfortable." He continued to keep his tone fairly low, making sure their discussion of her chest remained private.

[Hadyn Skellig]

University. A term Hadyn wasn't terribly familiar with. She was fortunate to even learn to read and write properly. The thought of paying to become educated in books and theories seemed excessively prudish to her. What would one do with those lessons? Certainly not construct a sword or build a barn. Social skills among students and the professorial types were often lacking (as evidenced by their recent interaction). But she conceded the academics were necessary in society at least in some respects.

"I believe someone once told me some folk read because they cannot think for themselves." Though her voice was quiet, the expression on her face was cynical, indicating a lack of conviction. A slight smile, a hint of her true sarcastic nature, touched her lips as she glanced at him. "Y'might run into that kind of thinking in Syliras, I'm afraid to say."

Glancing around the party as they moved away from Matthew's acquaintance Hadyn kept a sharp eye for Tobias. She was relieved they'd arrived earlier than him, giving her time to acclimate to the setting and feel out these people. Now that she'd had a taste she could be definitive in her dislike for this realm of Sylirian society. Though the lower class had their problems they at least didn't prance around like yearling colts. So busy was she in observing the people that she was caught off guard by his apology. Well that was unexpected. And nice. It had struck her as odd, him not inquiring after her name. But like him she was so entranced by the subject of their interaction that it hardly bothered her. A carefully constructed smile graced her lips, not wanting to slip out of character, though her eyes displayed her appreciation.

"Don't worry over it," she assured him with a gentle squeeze against his arm. "And no. Not yet. Seems he's either hidden himself in the crowd or has not yet arrived." Hadyn took a survey of heads but found no blonde mop amidst the glittering denizen. She looked back at Matthew with a raised eyebrow as he inquired after her experience in gambling.

"No," she replied cautiously. "Not a gambler. I lose enough Miza at the bar." A slight grin. It was nearly impossible to hide her true character but she managed with comments like that, the twinkle in her brown eyes suppressed only so long. She took another sip of wine as Matthew chewed the grapes in an almost impatient manner. She could hardly blame him. Pulling the glass from her face she stared at him as he stared at her chest.

"It's a damn cage," she replied dryly. "Don't know how these birds fit themselves into corsets all day long." Another sweep of the crowd. "My back will be done in by the end of this 'venture no doubt." Quickly catching herself from slipping into her natural accent, Hadyn took a sip of wine to compose herself before speaking again. "I don't think might chest has seen this much light in a few seasons. Consider yourself lucky you don - petch!"

Covering her lewd mouth and turning her head as if to cough Hadyn indicated with a tilt of her head that Matthew follow her gaze to the north corner of the room. There he was. Tobias Mordani. Dressed like an overdone fop with gilded buttons and beautifully damasked tunic, hair much longer than when she'd known him, brushed and slicked back. He looked like a damn idiot.

[Matthew]

As Matthew scanned the crowd, he noticed it was easy to pick out the Knights. There were probably a large amount of these people who were closely related to Knights, or Knights themselves. Nobility in Syliras seemed to be the more social of the higher-ranking Knights, as well as their related families. That would be something to keep in mind. He would have to make sure to stay within the law, which really shouldn't be that hard. He wasn't planning on doing anything too particularly illegal here. Hadyn's comment on spending Miza's at the bar caused Matthew to blink and return his attention to her, raising an eyebrow as he did. He was cautious at first, but then realized she was joking. He returned her smile, though it was noticeably forced. Not like he hadn't found her funny, just that he had almost completely missed the funny. He was just a tad bit clueless sometime, especially when he was outside of the bedroom. Her explanation of the corset made quite a bit of sense to him, and he nodded sagely. "I understand. Men don't have to deal with that sort thing. There are certain sorts of pants that kind of dig in and try to lift certain features, but those are more uncomfortable than suffocating. I offer massage services as well, though there is a definite erotic sort of twist to them. Just in case you are in need of service after this is all over." It was almost funny how smoothly he could slip in a little advertising here and there. His serious face and low tone betrayed his professionalism, though. His eyebrows did raise again as she referred to how lucky he was, but then the sudden curse caused him to duck. He tucked his head down and hunched quickly, as if thinking she was swearing because an arrow was heading at them. Then, she was coughing and nodding her head in a particular direction, and he realized she had just stumbled upon their target. He turned his head slowly, blue eyes becoming razor sharp and intense. He stared at the man for a second, looking him over. He didn't look like Matthew had expected him to. He was a bit overdressed and his hair was a bit too shiny, but that was common for those who tried a little too hard without knowing exactly what to try. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to Hadyn, slipping his arm from hers and gently tracing his fingertips down her skin. His fingers found hers and he laced them, and then gently led her from the food, heading to the back room he had spotted earlier. He pulled them right inside the doorway, where they could casually watch what was going on within the room while being able to glance outside at any given moment. There were various tables being set up and covered with fine red cloth, along with several crisply-dressed men and women in matching suits. Decks of cards and cups of dice were being distributed for various games, though Matthew had no idea what sort of games they were going to be. "Each guest gets a voucher for 25 gold mizas to spend. If they run out of that, they are more than welcome to dip into their own personal stash. In short, I want to target your old friend. I want to target his ego, and then when he takes the bait, I want to take it all. You are the trump card. You will be here when he is trapped in the game by his ego, and can't leave. Then you show up, and rattle him. You are his weak point, really." He glanced at the woman, leaning closer so their words could be a bit more private. It was again slightly sensual, just the way he slowly pressed his definition against her, and the slight husk his voice took on whenever he whispered softly. "Really, this is just the start of his torment. I am not the sort for swift justice." Matthew paused, then lowered his voice, a slight sliver of anger deep inside. It was odd to hear from the normally apathetic man. "I like to draw it out. Make it ache."

[Hadyn Skellig]

Lips pressed into a thin line she allowed Matthew to lead her through the crowd, maintaining a fierce visage, her gaze trained on her companion lest she make eye contact with Mordani. When they made it to their destination Hadyn stood stiffly in the doorway, adopting an aloof stare as Matthew spoke, explaining the setup. She could hardly focus on the tables being prepared. It took a sheer force of will not to grab a passing glass of wine and chuck it at Tobias. Nodding curtly in understanding the brunette took a breath before looking at her accomplice.

"Good man," she muttered wryly once he concluded. She too fancied the idea of making Tobias suffer, particularly when it was brought about by his own greed and vanity. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

Taking a final gulp of wine the woman took but a moment to compose herself. Really, very little of her manner had changed but seeing Tobias elicited a strong response within her. She'd expected to feel uneasy. Depressed at the memories between them. An ill fated romance. His conniving duplicitous words and finally the flaming rage he'd displayed upon her. But instead all Hadyn could feel was a ferocious anger. Turning to Matthew, she offered him a ghostly smile before taking his arm.

"Shall we?"