(Flashback) Cold Winter Nights (Adder)

[Blythe]

Blythe pulled the sheet up as high as she could, gripping it tightly in her hands. They grew even whiter than before with the force, and her toes began to peek out of the edge of the blanket, she had pulled it up too much. The blanket was itchy, and now dirty from the liquid Adder had fed to her, but she ignored that being that it was helping to lock in the heat, and warm her shivering body.

"Where are you from?" Adder blurted out. "Mura," she replied simply. "And what the hell are you doing in Sunberth? All by yourself even? If anyone else would've found you you'd most likely have ended up a slave..." Blythe nodded, her eyes glazing over with what should have been tears. But she didn't let them fall. The man was staring intently at her with his golden eyes, his hands on his knees, casting shadows over his shirtless form, accentuating his muscles, more than likely, making them seem larger than they actually were, making him seem more powerful than he actually was.

"Looking for a friend of my sisters... but I suppose he's dead... can't find him anywhere, so I'll probably just head home..." Blythe said, before the weight of his words hit her, flooding her with a harsh, cold, and simply cruel reality: she could have been raped, she could have wound up a slave, or frozen to death, but from what she had seen having had two bodies a few moments before, having watched him care for her, none of those things had appeared to have happened.

Blythe really wanted to cry now, but she wouldn't let herself, and what if Adder was deceiving her? What if he had merely done all of those things, and was acting all innocent to make her trust him? So that he himself could use her for whatever means he intended? What if he was a slaver? Surely a Konti like herself could fetch a number of mizas for him.

Blythe pulled the blanket up more tightly around her, she must remember to keep her guard up, she thought.

Blythe looked up again, starting to notice the scales that lined his body. What was he? she wondered, knowing he couldn't be a Konti like herself, and what had she gotten herself into? she wondered, as he said, "but where are my manners... Are you hungry?"

Blythe thought about it, she didn't feel hungry, her stomach wasn't growling. "No... but, what did you do with my things?" she asked, looking around the room, and being unable to find them, "I have some food in there, and maybe, I'll want it later," she added, mainly for good measure.

[Adder]

He nodded while listening to her explaining. Friends? In Sunberth? -he thought grimly That's a rare commodity to come by in these parts... As she told him she hadn't found the person she was looking for he played with the thought of selling her as a slave for his own profit. She'd most likely be sold to a wealthy man to advise him in his exploits and endeavours.

Remembering something he had read in one of his inherited books Adder asked her "Are you perchance a Konti? The woman who's in charge of these quarter's is one as well and you do carry a resemblance..." Thinking about Calyn made Adder 'forget' about all ideas regarding selling Blythe. What would the retired assassin do if she'd hear about him slaving in Sunset Quarters. Involuntarily he grinned.

Adder pointed to the heap of clothing at the foot of the bed. "There's your stuff. I was carefull enough not to break anything and I have not stolen either." he said, before she would randomly accuse him.
He stood up, turned his back to her, so she would have a bit of privacy and walked over to his main cupboard. Then he took out his piece of rope and put it on the table next to him. It had been resting on his clean shirt, which he also produced from the cupboard. Slowly he pulled it over his head.
"Let me know when I can turn around alright?" he asked while reaching for the rope to put it back in its place.

Unknowingly to Blythe he watched her shadow on the wall.

[Blythe]

"Are you perchance a Konti? The woman who's in charge of these quarter's is one as well and you do carry a resemblance..." Adder asked, starting to grin, a strange and slightly sinister glint in his eye, it made Blythe nervous, and sent a chill up her spine. What was he thinking? she wondered, not sure if she should answer him or not, but not wanting to seem rude, she replied simply, "yes."

Adder pointed to a pile of clothing and her bag, it had been sitting at the edge of the bed, Blythe was surprised she hadn't noticed it before. "There's your stuff, I was carefull enough not to break anything and I have stolen neither," he said, before standing and turning his back to her.

Blythe held the blanket more closely to her chest scrunching it beneath her chin in her hands, causing it to make a sort of frumpy heart shape. Her eyes looked up at Adder's back worriedly. He had seen her... naked? she thought to herself, trying not to let it get too her too much as she lifted the blanket forward a bit, just to be sure that his words weren't just her imagination. She was met with the site of her scales, pale skin, and bare body. Blythe shuddered, he really had seen her naked.

Now, Blythe was terribly uncomfortable, and uncertain as to what she should do. She definitely didn't trust Adder, which was so unlike her, and she was truly starting to wonder what had happened in the time between her being on the cold Sunberthian streets, and (supposedly) Adder's bed. Just what had he done to her? Was he working with someone? she wondered, starting to get a little paranoid.

There was a light thud, like something was opening and closing, and Blythe was snapped out of her train of thought. Adder had reached into a cupboard and produced what looked like a shirt and a rope, placing it on himself. She held the blanket closer as he called over his shoulder, "let me know when I can turn around alright?" Blythe nodded, even though Adder couldn't see her do so.

Blythe held the blanket to her chest in one hand, and crawled over to the edge of the bed with the other, the blanket slipping away from her back, and exposing it and her butt. Blythe blushed, so much for staying covered up, she thought, as the blanket curled under her legs and her feet, providing a nice rippling effect.

Blythe reached for her things and pulled them onto the floor, she sat back down, tucking the blanket beneath her, quickly opening her bag to make sure everything was still there- all of her items were there, but it looked like he had either eaten one of her apples, or it had fallen out. She was leaning towards the first scenario. She lifted her pouch of mizas as silently as she could, it felt as heavy as before, so she assumed everything was there too, not having time to count them all out, being that it seemed as though Adder expected her to change.

Blythe straightened out her white dress, and threw it over her body, pulling it down over her. She stood up, straightening all the creases, and making sure everything was in order. Next, she sat down on the bed, feeling it sink beneath her weight, and tugged on her brown leather boots, Blythe sighed, she wished she had her mother's cloak still, she just felt... exposed.

"Alright, you can turn around now," Blythe called over her shoulder, wishing she could have allowed herself to walk out the door while his back was turned, but knowing she either wouldn't get far if she tried, or would die in the cold of the winter night.

[Adder]

He watched the shadowplay on his cracked lime wall. Adder felt a bit like a voyeur but reminded himself it was just a precaution. At least she didn't reach for the bottle or a log or something to hit on the head with and crash his skull. One never knows with strangers...

She was apparently crawling over to the bed's end and he found he was fighting the urge to have a peek. Adder grinned because of his impudence.
Next she checked the contents of her backpack, instead dressing first. He was growing impatient for she had still not made any attempt to get her clothes back on.
But finally she pulled the dress over her blonde head and refitted her boots.

"Alright, you can turn around now," Blythe said. He did and found her sitting on his bed, wearing the same virgin white dress, a bit soiled at the bottom, as she had been in the streets.

It hit him like the hammer hit the anvil. "Right..." Adder said, scratching the back of his head. "Nothing happened or anything, girl..." he tried another reassuring smile. "It's a tactic we use to counter hypothermia... Bodyheat it's... well." He dropped the subject as he suspected it made her feel uneasy.
She was alluring yes, and Adder Rayne wasn't a too uncommon sight in Braga's House of Happy Endings but he wouldn't take advantage of someone like that. Some of the people he worked with though...

"Your sister's friend is dead." he tsk'ed "well that is unfortunate though not unheard of here. You got someplace to go? Some one you know?" Adder asked and sought her lavender eyes. "Somewhere to spend the night?" The thoughts of the profits he'd made should he be able to sell her were whistling again in the back of his head.

[Blythe]

"Right..." Adder said, as he scratched the back of his head, little bits of white skin, dandruff, floating down and off his head like snow from the bottom of his fingernails. Gross, Blythe thought to herself, as Adder continued speaking, "nothing happened or anything, girl..." he tried another reassuring smile. But it failed miserably as soon as it spread wide enough where Blythe got another good look at his teeth. There was simply something about them that was a little... off, but Blythe simply could not put her finger on it no matter how much she stole glances at them, or thought about them.

"It's a tactic we use to counter hypothermia... Bodyheat it's... well..." Adder continued, but Blythe wasn't paying as much attention to him at this point, so she may have missed some small part of the conversation. Nothing was making any sense anymore, nothing was adding up. Something was very very wrong, with him, with this place, and this gut feeling caused Blythe to feel a great sense of urgency. Her heart was pounding in her chest, like a drum. Her palms began to feel sweaty.

"Your sister's friend is dead." he tsk'ed "well that is unfortunate too not unheard of here. You got someplace to go? Some one you know?" Adder asked.

Blythe nodded at the first part of the comment, "yes, it is, and no." Adder spoke again before Blythe had the time to complete her thought. "Somewhere to spend the night?" Adder finished. "Only on the street, my home is in Mura," Blythe replied simply, hoping it'd be enough, and that he wouldn't get any strange ideas now that he knew she didn't exactly have any place in Sunberth to go back to.

[Adder]

"No." she said. No? That wasn't the right answer. He grinned again and folded his arms in front of his chest. So she was all alone, eh?

But if he were to get any profit of the golden apple fortune had deposited in his lap, he would have to be careful and sensitive. For this apple had little paws attached to it and was highly suspicious of the current situation. Furthermore it was a Konti, indeed she was worth a small fortune, but it was said they also held magical powers. He twisted his mouth as if tasting something sour because of that thought. Magic was something he despised off...

"All alone and nowhere to go... I'll tell you what. You can sleep here for tonight..." he suggested plainly and wishing he sounded innocent enough as to not rouse her suspicion further.

"Let's face it. You can't spend the night outside, you already almost froze to death, and I don't suppose you'd like to spend much Miza's for the awful lodgings in one of Sunberth's inns." Blythe would almost certainly be scammed or tricked out of her money.

Adder cocked his head and let his pointy tongue slither over his teeth. I can sneak out before she wakes tomorrow. Planning for tomorrow he still kept his look on Blythe should she respond. She sometimes seemed so absent.
If she'd refuse... Well, then he still had his dirk and the piece of rope.

[Blythe]

"All alone and nowhere to go... I'll tell you what. You can sleep here for tonight..." Adder said, looking at Blythe with those eerie golden serpent's eyes. It wasn't how he said this, which was plain and innocent enough in its tone, it was what he said, 'all along and no where to go,' this unnerved her, had she been wrong in telling him that she was a long way from home? Blythe wondered.

Adder's eyes seemed to be glinting, a smirk spreading across his lips, the warm glow created by the firelight casting long shadows across the room, and hiding a large portion of his face, Blythe stood up, never taking her eyes off of Adder. Her bag was slung over her shoulder, and she felt like she may be able to pull off a hasty exit, should the need and overall desire to do so arise.

"Let's face it. You can't spend the night outside, you already almost froze to death, and I don't suppose you'd like to spend much Miza's for the awful lodgings in one of Sunberth's inns," Adder continued, as his eyes continued to sparkle. Look after me Avalis, Blythe silently whispered as she took a step back. Something about his eyes made him seem so very very predatory.

"Well, that's rather... kind of you," Blythe said, looking up at Adder, her lavender eyes doing their best to push any hint of fear that threatened to break through the wall of her irises; but she wasn't sure how successful she had been in this endeavor.

Danger danger danger! Run run run run run run run! the little voice inside her head started screaming as she took another step back and another, inching ever so slowly, wondering if Adder had noticed; she was sure he had.

Blythe backed into the wall, and it felt cold to her. The only solid thing in the room to hold on to, she thought, not knowing where it had come from, as she snaked her arms up along the walls, groping around for any sight of a door, or a window... a way out... a door handle would be so lovely right about NOW, Blythe thought to herself, as her heart beat began to pick up again in her chest. It was pounding against her rib cage, threatening to break right through.

[Adder]

Adder frowned as he watched Blythe's unease grow rapidly. She was be getting away... or at least trying to. His snake-eyes flashed to the door he had locked with a beam after entering, then flashed back to Blythe's amethyst alarmed gaze. "Blythe?" he slowly walked over to the door.

"You aren't looking too good. Maybe you should lie down?" he suggested warily. Had she taken wind of his intentions? "Calm down..."

She was feeling up the wall now. And her look betrayed occasional glimpses of fear. This was getting out of hand.

Trying one last time to save the situation he said: "Blythe... Easy now. Why would I have gone through all the trouble I've been through if I was going to hurt you?" he swallowed before continuing. "I would have left you there to freeze and you wouldn't have been the first death this winter caused."
Trying to throw it over a different stern, using another tactic: "Is it my appearance? This is what you get when a Dhani pays for a night with a whore..." Adder couldn't avoid feeling the pang of pain and regret calling his mother a whore. But it was reality.

He held up one of his forearms. "See scales... just like yours" he stroke them with his other hand, they made a dry sound. As if parchment was being rubbed together. "Can't fight your nature, Blythe..." By now he had put himself between her and the door.

[Blythe]

"Blythe?" Adder questioned, walking over to the door, it was a few paces to her right. Blythe looked over at it. Perfect, the dark red wooden frame had been fastened with a beam. Now what? she wondered silently praying to Avalis to save her, as Adder positioned himself in front of it.

Well, there goes her way out she thought as Adder continued to speak. "You aren't looking too good. Maybe you should lie down?" he suggested warily. "Calm down..." Calm down? CALM DOWN? she thought, well that was probably one of the last if not the last thing on her to-do list. Who was he to tell her to calm down? she wondered as her eyes darted wildly around the room, looking for another way out of this apparent nightmare. She felt like a bird trapped in a tiny cage, unable to so much as spread her wings, she felt like a mouse that had been cornered by a cat, she had her back up against a wall, both literally and figuratively, and she didn't know what to do.

Avalis, how do I get out of this mess? she thought, tears welling in her eyes, not knowing what would happen to her or if she'd see her family again. She didn't want to, but she silently cursed her sister for sending her here and her sister's friend for running away to Sunberth in the first place.

"Blythe... Easy now. Why would I have gone through all the trouble I've been through if I was going to hurt you?" Adder swallowed before continuing. "I would have left you there to freeze and you wouldn't have been the first death this winter caused."

Blythe considered his words, was that why she was here? She had passed out and Adder brought her back to his place? To revive her? She had seen the last portion herself, with her very own eyes from a third-party bystander sort of point of view, but she couldn't recall what had happened on the street, and any time she pushed herself to simply remember, everything went fuzzy and black, and her head started to hurt.

"Is it my appearance?" Adder began, as though trying to reach Blythe through other means. "This is what you get when a Dhani pays for a night with a whore..." he said as he held his arms out. Blythe looked over at him, tightening her hold on her bag's straps. What was he saying? she wondered, why this? Why now? And was it all a lie? Some sort of cruel mind game he was using to get to her? To trick her into doing whatever he wanted? Was she simply a pawn in his giant game of proverbial chess? she wondered as her eyes widened, and her hands shook. Her palms and eyelids began to feel sticky, presumably with sweat.

Adder was half dhani? Blythe thought, finally allowing her eyes to quit darting about the room and rest on him. Of course! A little candle lit up over her head, adders were a type of snake... his eyes... his scales... the way the sight of his teeth frightened her so... Adder was half dhani, a slithering serpent not to be underestimated or toyed with. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together in Blythe's mind, and she bit down on her bottom lip nervously. What had he done to get her here? What happened on that street? she wondered, was he really as innocent as he suggested?

Adder held up one of his forearms. "See scales... just like yours," Adder said as he stroked them with his other hand. It sounded as though one were scaling a fish. "Can't fight your nature, Blythe..." Adder said, standing directly in front of the door and staring intently at her now, his eyes glimmering.

"No," Blythe gulped, looking at him, with both fear and hatred, which was a foreign feeling in her heart. "I'm nothing like you..." she whispered into the air, thick with tension, that surrounded each of them, ignoring the soft crackling of the fire beside her. She wished that she could cut the air with her words, cut through it like a blade through flesh, but she had nothing, and no real way to defend herself, Blythe swallowed, a clump of saliva caught in her throat, she was really starting to regret not taking much interest in learning how to defend herself.

[Adder]

"No," Blythe gulped, looking at him, with both fear and hatred, which was a foreign feeling in her heart. "I'm nothing like you..." she whispered into the air.

Growing up in Sunberth... Growing fatherless... Growing up taking care of himself... Selling people, even killing... Hurting people... All the unsavory things he'd done is his life couldn't have prepared him for how hard the words of this young girl stinged. This one time he actually did something with good intentions, no matter how his nature had corrupted that intention, a truly innocent creature, Blythe saw through that...

You stupid daft mug... Like you said! 'you can't fight your nature' he slumped his broad shoulders. She was right after all.

His head shot up. Adder's eyes looked determined and a dangerous gleem had fallen over them. "Indeed..." he spat out. Reaching behind him, he turned the key in the lock and put it in his pocket. Now not only the sturdy beam blocked the door, but also the conventional lock.
"Im nothing like you... you're naive and think your perfect little life is untouchable. Truly coming to Ssunberth was a very sstupid thing to do." The s's came out more hissingly than before.

As quick as a coiled up rattlesnake he lunged forward, pressing Blythe to the wall. "Pissssing me off was even more sstupid." he hissed. "I swear on the lost virginity of my mother, I wasn't going to hurt you." he forcefully grabbed Blythes head, his thumb on one soft cheek and his fingers on the other.
Their faces were only inches away and he stared her down with his golden eyes. She smelt like the sea and lilies. Such a pity...
Adder just hoped he wouldn't have to hurt her. That would only damage the 'merchandise'...