Walking through the door, stood Elsa. In her usual attire. "My, is there someone else wanting to buy?" she asked mildly, commenting on what I had said.
She walked up to the table and took a seat. "I know the older fellow, but I don't recognise this young girl, care to enlighten me?"
I leaned back in my chair, resting my chin on my hand, and gave Elsa a calm, unbothered smile. "I'm known by many names… all of them Shiro. Nice to meet ch'ya. i gave a quick look around, noticing Rom's expression shifting, as he realised that one of my names was fake, either Shiro or Belova. But before he could voice them, I winked, which made him pause, and relented.
Elsa, on the other hand, seemed delighted. Her eyes sparkled with intrigue as she grabbed her glass, "Mysterious. I do like a girl with secrets." (to crack open, figuratively, and literally. but not the sexy kind.) Her expression gained a slight change, and she took a swig of her milk, licking her lips off of the white residue. (no, not cocaine)
Hah, she is so going to kill us all, doesn't matter what I do, so might as well have a little fun before the fight starts.
My fingers drifted toward my stomach, brushing over the fabric lightly as unease bloomed in my gut. Just being in the same room as her felt… wrong. disgust... that's the word. i disliked being with her, she just gives me the feeling of disgust.
Tilting my head, I allowed a small smile to play at my lips. "Care to tell me your name? It'd make things a lot easier. Or… would you rather I call you Blacky?" I let the words hang in the air, watching her carefully.
Elsa's gaze flicked over to me, a smile tugging at her lips, though her eyes held something sharper, and hungry "Blacky, huh?" she murmured, letting the name roll off her tongue. "You have a way with words, Shiro."
Her voice was smooth, almost syrupy, but I could hear the underlying edge in her tone. "My name is Elsa," she added.
"OK, ok, now," Felt said, giving a gesture with her hands, with an impatient tone. "If everyone's properly acquainted, can we get down to the sale?"
Elsa and I, glanced over to where Felt stood, before the gaze fell back to before. while Rom was rubbing his forehead with a grimace.
"I already made you an offer," Elsa said carelessly, her tone almost dismissive. "Ten gold pieces for the trinket."
Felt nodded before turning her attention to me, her finger pointing in my direction. "Now, you, since you want to buy it now, for some reason. How much are you willing to put down?"
"Well, right now, I'm willing to put down 19 gold pieces," I said with a smirk, before leaning back. but not before giving Elsa a wink.
yep, I am bluffing, but it's not like I will need to actually give it over, but funny thing is, I am betting, one less than the most she has.
Felt's eyes glittered with greed, but she swung her attention back to Elsa. "And how about you?"
"My employer gave me extra to sweeten the deal, so 20 holy coins. just enough to beat you out," she said casually, With light smugness attached.
i raised an eyebrow, with my fingers curling in front of my chin, and grabbing hold, slight mock shock on my face. "20 holy coins, wow. 1 whole coin over my bid. How mean..."
I leaned forward slightly, my gaze fixed on Elsa as I tapped my fingers on the table. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to dish out a bit more then, won't I?" I paused for effect, enjoying the tension building. "Hmm... 25 holy coins sounds just right."
Elsa stiffened ever so slightly. Her eyes flicked back to me, a subtle crease forming between her brows. She hadn't expected that. After all, why would I open with nineteen if i wasn't close to tapped out? A normal person would've gone with fifteen or jumped to twenty, maybe even Eleven. But nineteen? It was such a deliberate number, it should've been a tell… and yet we'd just met. There was no way she could've anticipated that I'd only have 20.
Felt's eyes widened, her mouth parting in a small gasp before she quickly cleared her throat and leaned in, excitement gleaming in her gaze. "Damn, didn't think you had that much. Well, looks like she's got you beat, Elsa. Or do you have anything else to throw in?"
Elsa offered a half-smile, casual "My my. Unfortunately, my employer only gave me exactly twenty coins for the job." She gave a soft shrug, lifting her hands slightly. "So that's all I've got," and indifferent to the loss.
A quick glance at Rom, and I noticed the faint crease in his brow—he was thinking. Probably putting together that Elsa's apathy wasn't right. Not enough to act on yet. He's sharper than I expected. tho, it makes sense, I guess. He was a war vet, right? General in the demi-human war or something? Eh—whatever. Not important right now.
"Oh," Felt said, clearly disappointed.
I snorted. "Pfft."
Her head whipped toward me. "Hey, what're you laughing at?"
I held up my hands. "Nothing, nothing." She narrowed her eyes but let it go.
"Weird… never mind." She turned back, hands diving into her pocket. "Well, I guess you won it, Shiro."
She was just about to pull out the insignia when,
"But there's one question I'd like to ask you," Elsa interjected.
Felt paused, slipping the trinket back into her pocket, clearly hoping this might drive the price up again.
"Yeah? What is it?" she asked.
Elsa's gaze turned back to me. "What do you want to do with the insignia?"
i blinked... before realising she was talking to me, not felt. why on earth would you look at her then?
"Well, hmm. I guess I could tell you," I said, giving her a lazy smile. "See, my boss wants it. Really wants it. So much so that she told me to come and get it or die trying. But funny thing is… she never actually told me why. Not a single reason."
Elsa tilted her head. "And does your boss have a name?"
"She does," I said smoothly, "but I assume you're smart enough to guess she'd rather it stayed... confidential."
"You know," I added, letting my voice drop a little, "knowledge is power. She'd be horribly upset if I just gave away her name for nothing."
"Oh? Really?" Elsa's voice was teasing now.
"Yes, but... maybe I'd let it slip for something worthwhile. Something good enough that I won't end up a butchered corpse by the end of the week. But only if you're willing."
Elsa's eyes glittered. "And what did you have in mind?"
"Well, your employer must be curious about who else is after the elf girl, right? Mine sure is. So how about a trade? Employer for employer. Sounds fair, doesn't it?"
Any competent assassin or agent worth their salt would never give away that kind of information, anything about them selves would just become a liability. as that could easily get spread, and could offer more harm then good in the end, but... that all becomes negligible, if the opposing, doesn't let it get out the room. while reaping just the benefits.
Elsa's smile widened. "I'm a member of a guild of assassins out of Gusteko that fulfill contracts almost all over the world. I work for Mother, as she's the one who sent me to buy the trinket," Elsa said.
Rom's reaction was instant. He stepped back from the table, hand gripping Felt's shoulder as he pulled her away with him, calm but firm.
"Oh my?" i murmured, clearly enjoying this exchange, this little roleplay, with only i playing the game. "Then I suppose you'd also know who contracted the job, right?"
Felt blinked up at her grandfather in confusion as he continued to inch her away, unaware of the danger she was being quietly steered from.
Elsa gave a slow shake of her head, still smiling. "Capella assigned the mission, but I can't tell you who hired her. That would break protocol."
She glanced back at me. "Sorry for that. Now, how about you?"
I gave a soft sigh and leaned back.
"Well, I guess that's it, then. Sorry, but I won't be giving that info up after all"
"huh?"
A/N words... words words words words words woooords words. :D words.
(I feel bad, even though I shouldn't. is this dragging out too much? should I just quickly move on? or do you guys like my dialogue?)