{Alexandra} When two hunters meet
May. 21st, 2009 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfarers_lodgeOOC I must share this. I had a really hard time writing this, because I couldn't get the scene out of Rabbit Fire, with Bugs saying "Oh, you POOR man. How SIMPLY dreadful, did I hurt you with my NAUGHTY gun?!" out of my head. I still can't when I think about Alex seeing Khailash for the first time.
And now it's in your head, too :D
IC
The canopy was dark, and the night above was darker as Khailash stalked his prey. The tiger pushed it's way through the low undergrowth of the jungle, unaware of the monster trailing after it, fixed on it, confident that tonight would be the night that he would strike. He had already given chase over a week of nights, occasionally losing the trail as the tiger moved by day, but tonight he was ready, and would soon claim his prize.
The tiger paused in a clearing, lifting its head in the light of the moon. Khailash smiled to himself, stepping forward silently, raising his hand to strike-
A shot rang out in the small space, muffled by the sleeping jungle around it. Khailash's Beast roared in panic and anger as he attempted to bring it back under control.
When his vision stopped swimming, he looked about, and saw the tiger- HIS tiger!- lying on the ground, a bullet wound in its throat. He growled, stepping into the clearing, looking for the one who had snatched his prey from his hands.
"Oh, I am so sorry! Was that your tiger?" A soft, female voice asked, accent thick with unfamiliarity, and the body that stepped out to accompany it did nothing to counter that first impression. Her face was as white as a lotus petal, and she was clothed in red and brown. Her hands curled around a large rifle, and at her waist glittered the symbol of the crescent moon.
Khailash's growl peaked in his throat. That was MINE! Stupid entitled-
"BITCH!" He roared, losing himself to the anger of his Beast.
----
Alexandra had been looking for a tiger for days. The birds offered little help when they could be roused, and the black bucks that she had had passed had shied away, not actually wanting to speak to someone that smelled of gunpowder and blood.
Finally, after nights of searching, an elephant (of all things!) had pointed her to a patch of the jungle where it had seen a tiger prowling. Gladly she followed the advice, and came across scat markings, and bones picked clean by a great predator. She set to tracking the tiger, and again, after nights of searching, she found it standing in a clearing of the great jungle.
Alex pulled her elephant gun to her shoulder, and smiled faintly.
"Hello, sweetness." She murmured. Whether it had scented her or heard her words, the tiger looked up at her, eyes slightly puzzled at the thing on his territory.
She pulled the trigger, scoring a hit to the throat, and the tiger fell, blood pouring from his wound. Her smile widened, then dimmed as another Vampire stepped into the clearing, a growl of anger in his throat and the haze of a frenzy barely held in check in his eyes. She watched him for a moment, marvelling at the slick ebon claws of his hand, the sharp maw of teeth, and the dark veil of blue that shimmered on the surface of his skin, even as she shuddered at the doom they could bring upon her.
Alex stepped forward, keeping her body posture low and non threatening as possible, even as her Beast shied away from the fury of his.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" she said, grasping for the correct words in Tamil, trying to keep her tone light and respectful all the while, "Was that your tiger?"
She felt the frenzy before she saw it as he leapt forward, the roar of "BITCH!" putting to flight what birds had stayed after the gunshot. Oh, no! She thought as she answered his lunge by bringing her gun forward and firing, tearing a section out of his abdomen and then his shoulder as she fired again. He slashed down with his claws, dragging furrows through the soft flesh of her cheek as she turned her face away just in time. She swung up with the butt of her rifle, knocking his hands away as the vitae rushed through her, lending her strength.
There was no time for words as the other Kindred (Gangrel by manner, but Nosferatu by scent) continued his frenzied onslaught, the gunshot wounds knitting closed as the pair danced around the clearing. His claws flashed down again and again, scoring wounds along her arms that would have rendered any human helpless. By the same token she returned his regard, firing as she had the chance, and then as she ran out of bullets, defending and striking out with the heavy butt of her gun.
The rage burned through the other Vampire relentlessly as he kept pressing forward. She did her best, but could only score the most trivial of blows (for truly, what is a crushing strike to even the youngest of Kindred?) without dropping her gun and leaving herself defenceless. He backed her around the clearing, and in a moment his claws lashed out, hooking under her gun and wrenching it out of her hand, sending it thudding away into the undergrowth.
She looked at the situation, saw the rage dimming in his eyes, and knew that even as the frenzy faded, the battle wasn't over yet.
So Alexandra did what was natural, what she excelled at.
She ran.
-----
Khailash shook the last of the red haze of frenzy from his eyes as the white woman turned and ran with a speed only known to horses and Kindred. He bared his teeth fiercely as he was overtaken by an instinct not consciously understood, but fully embraced, and gave chase.
She was fast, faster than he was, but he followed with the dogged, relentless pace of one who has all night to bring his prey down. As he pursued, he knew that he understood the lay of the land better than she, and that she could make no move to cover her tracks, so he could follow at his leisure as her vitae ran low.
Throughout the night he followed, the pair tearing through the jungle like a gods-driven storm, occasionally clashing with the fury of lightning striking the earth, and only the approaching dawn gave them pause. Khailash sunk into the earth, fully intrigued by this woman who moved like the wind, fully intent on hunting her down and pulling the flesh from her bones.
-----
Alex found shelter as best she could, curling up against a pile of rocks, shading her delicate face with thick, heavy leaves. Her lap was full of lengths cut from branches, which she carefully pared down with her skinning knife. Her arm was mending slowly, but she knew she was running out of time and precious blood.
In spite of this, she smiled. It wasn't often that she was chased so thoroughly. It was almost fitting that she should die as the hunted, rather than the hunter.
Of course, she didn't intend to die yet. No, she had plans, and as she huddled against the wall of her crude shelter, knife making soft hissing noises as she worked with the branches, she waited for the sun to rise.
-----
Khailash rose the next night, and the woman was waiting for him. From the bounty of the jungle around her, she had crafted a spear, and she smiled fiercely as he approached.
"Hello!" she chirped in his own tongue, almost as if glad to see him, "If you still want me, then take me if you can!"
He moved slowly, cautiously, his guard firmly in place as he circled. She matched his pace evenly, keeping the tip of the spear between them. He lunged, and she blocked. She jabbed forward, and he danced out of the way, skating along her guard to slash down her arm before she regained her footing. She jabbed again, and struck him firmly in the shoulder. She pulled back sharply, stopping his twisting from breaking the spear off in his shoulder.
She was still smiling. Not the taunting, cruel smile of someone who expected to win- if it were, he would have finished her in a moment- but the smile of someone who delighted in the fight. Was she one of the mad Ventrue, or the sensation-crazy Daeva?
Soon the fighting had slowed, becoming brief, sharp scuffles interspersed by long silences, where she studied him with bright, curious eyes. In spite of his anger, Khailash found himself enjoying hunting this lotus-white woman, and when she started off again he followed intently, swiping at her from the undergrowth, moving like the king of the jungle that he was.
-----
The hunger was panting at Alex's heels, but not as close as her pursuer, as dawn approached anew. When he vanished, she pushed herself into the corpse of a fallen tree, and knew that this could not go on much longer- as she was weakening, so was he.
Silently she checked her bearings, confirming what she already knew- she was far, too far from any kind of reliable shelter.
She growled in frustration, and rolled over. As much as she enjoyed the hunt, this would finish tomorrow night, one way or another.
-----
Khailash rose with the moon on the third night, and found the woman again, looking worn and put upon, reminding him of nothing so much as a tiger backed into a corner. Still she smiled, though, as he approached, and readied her spear against his attack.
There were no words this time, just fierce, savage clashes, more animal than human, that grew more and more desperate as the night wore on. He noticed that as he lashed out with his claws, that she would not- or could not- heal her wounds anymore. Had he any more strength left, then he would have pressed the advantage, but he too had been running through the forest relentlessly, chasing a dangerous prey. Still he fought, pushing against her constantly, hoping that her guard would break before his did.
They drew apart again, and in that moment she stopped, nostrils flaring. Her eyes flicked over his shoulder for a moment and held, the pause lengthening as she cocked her head, looking puzzled. His instinct told him that he should strike then, but he followed the line of her gaze.
Out of the undergrowth launched a dark shape, howling in triumph as it hit Khailash in the chest, sending him tumbling across the clearing. As he shook his head, he recognised one of the Brahmin that was set against his sire.
He looked over at the woman, who watched the pair with wide eyes, and knew that between her and this new enemy, he would die.
-----
Alexandra spotted the other Kindred watching in the bushes, and stopped, confused. She recognised his face very vaguely from the courts at Chennai. Had she known him before she slept?
The other held a finger up to his lips, smiling grimly, and charged at the dark hunter that besieged her, just as he turned around to follow her eyes. He went flying, and as he landed his eyes darted up to her, his expression bleak and betraying his building panic.
She snarled with anger, the Beast rising to the surface again, as the newcomer continued to shout epithets at her pursuer in Tamil as they scuffled. She only caught two words in three, but she recognised the intent. This new arrival was taking advantage of her hunt, and sought to destroy the man that had chased her.
How DARE he?! she thought as she circled around behind him, her blood fizzing with fury, How DARE he interrupt the sanctity of the hunt! HOW DARE HE INTERFERE IN OUR ARGUMENT, HONOURLESS DOG!
"Hey, koothi mayir!" she shouted, lowering her spear, using the worst of words she had learned during her time in Chennai. The newcomer turned instinctively, shocked at such profane language coming out of the mouth of a woman. She saw the other Kindred out of the corner of her eye, assessing her intent in a moment as he grabbed the invader by his arms, pinning them to his sides.
"Okkala ozhi, thevadiya mavan!" she spat, laughing at his surprise. She summoned all that remained of her power, and thrust her spear into the flesh of his chest. He struggled as she poured all of her strength into skewering him through, but the other Kindred held his arms fast. Her prey froze as her lucky shot finally sunk home, and the other Kindred hooked his clawed hands into the flesh of his neck, ripping the attacker's head from his shoulders, sending the corpse crumbling to ash.
Alex fell to her knees from the effort, shaking with need. She was running on empty, and now that she was sufficiently worn down, she knew that her pursuer would take advantage of that weakness and finish her.
Still, she considered, looking up at him as he watched her, there were worse ways to die. Covered in the ash and gore of his tribulations, ebon-black claws slick with blood, the other Kindred looked nothing so much like a dark Orion or Cernunos, the lord of the forest come to claim his due. It would be fitting to be ended at his hands.
He studied her for a long moment, then spoke.
"Are you hungry?"
Her Beast roared with anger, and she forced it down, but not for long. "Yes."
He smiled. "Then let us hunt."
-----
Khailash led her down to a village that was nearby, and together they fed until they were full, wounds closing as they drank an entire family dry.
As they withdrew into the jungle once more, he studied her carefully. Somewhere along the line her hair had come out of its pins, and it curled around her delicate, lotus-white face. She smiled more easily now that she had fed, face glowing with the exultation of battle, occasionally laughing at little things that delighted her. With her mouth red with blood, and the mark of the quarter moon upon her, he reminded her of the stories of Mata Durga that he had been taught as a child.
Eventually they stopped in another clearing, and she cocked her head at him again. He wondered what he would say to her, and finally settled on something lighthearted.
"Your accent is dreadful." He remarked.
She laughed, pulling her hair back.
"Yes, it is." She paused, and carefully extended her hand to him. "I am Lady Orion Alexandra Hamersley, of the Fellowship of Artemis."
He took it, testing its strength as he shook. "Sir Khailash Vasuman, of the Order of the Burning Wreath."
"Vasuman? You're of Lord Amar Tarak's line?" She asked, face becoming serious.
"Yes, he is my sire. You know him." It wasn't a question. Any Kindred in India knew Tarak Vasuman.
"Yes. He and I have had... favourable dealings before. He has been quite good to me and mine." Her face closed, and it was clear that she would not say anymore, so he tried a different tack.
"You are a hunter?"
She smiled, eyes lighting up again.
"Why, yes! There is no nobler passtime."
"You seem very unprepared to face a tiger, Lady Hamersley- they are very dangerous, more so than lions or cheetahs."
She looked at him curiously. "I am prepared enough. Hunting is a sport, so it must be sporting. As you have seen, if I came at a tiger at full speed, there is little it would be able to do to stop me."
Khailash blinked for a moment. "But it would rip you open."
She shrugged. "A little? I am very good with my spear, my gun, my knife. And if it kills me, then, well, I suppose that it's all my own fault for being so foolish, isn't it?" Her smile brightened. "And it would make the members of my Order ever so jealous. 'My goodness, did you hear Alexandra Hamersley was killed by a tiger in the jungles of India? I could only dream of an end like that, imagine requiring a tiger to bring you down.' The very thought amuses me."
She laughed, and he laughed with her this time, starting to come to his ease. He didn't know for certain, not yet, but he was reasonably sure he could come to approve of and support this lotus-white woman who ran like the wind.
And now it's in your head, too :D
IC
The canopy was dark, and the night above was darker as Khailash stalked his prey. The tiger pushed it's way through the low undergrowth of the jungle, unaware of the monster trailing after it, fixed on it, confident that tonight would be the night that he would strike. He had already given chase over a week of nights, occasionally losing the trail as the tiger moved by day, but tonight he was ready, and would soon claim his prize.
The tiger paused in a clearing, lifting its head in the light of the moon. Khailash smiled to himself, stepping forward silently, raising his hand to strike-
A shot rang out in the small space, muffled by the sleeping jungle around it. Khailash's Beast roared in panic and anger as he attempted to bring it back under control.
When his vision stopped swimming, he looked about, and saw the tiger- HIS tiger!- lying on the ground, a bullet wound in its throat. He growled, stepping into the clearing, looking for the one who had snatched his prey from his hands.
"Oh, I am so sorry! Was that your tiger?" A soft, female voice asked, accent thick with unfamiliarity, and the body that stepped out to accompany it did nothing to counter that first impression. Her face was as white as a lotus petal, and she was clothed in red and brown. Her hands curled around a large rifle, and at her waist glittered the symbol of the crescent moon.
Khailash's growl peaked in his throat. That was MINE! Stupid entitled-
"BITCH!" He roared, losing himself to the anger of his Beast.
----
Alexandra had been looking for a tiger for days. The birds offered little help when they could be roused, and the black bucks that she had had passed had shied away, not actually wanting to speak to someone that smelled of gunpowder and blood.
Finally, after nights of searching, an elephant (of all things!) had pointed her to a patch of the jungle where it had seen a tiger prowling. Gladly she followed the advice, and came across scat markings, and bones picked clean by a great predator. She set to tracking the tiger, and again, after nights of searching, she found it standing in a clearing of the great jungle.
Alex pulled her elephant gun to her shoulder, and smiled faintly.
"Hello, sweetness." She murmured. Whether it had scented her or heard her words, the tiger looked up at her, eyes slightly puzzled at the thing on his territory.
She pulled the trigger, scoring a hit to the throat, and the tiger fell, blood pouring from his wound. Her smile widened, then dimmed as another Vampire stepped into the clearing, a growl of anger in his throat and the haze of a frenzy barely held in check in his eyes. She watched him for a moment, marvelling at the slick ebon claws of his hand, the sharp maw of teeth, and the dark veil of blue that shimmered on the surface of his skin, even as she shuddered at the doom they could bring upon her.
Alex stepped forward, keeping her body posture low and non threatening as possible, even as her Beast shied away from the fury of his.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" she said, grasping for the correct words in Tamil, trying to keep her tone light and respectful all the while, "Was that your tiger?"
She felt the frenzy before she saw it as he leapt forward, the roar of "BITCH!" putting to flight what birds had stayed after the gunshot. Oh, no! She thought as she answered his lunge by bringing her gun forward and firing, tearing a section out of his abdomen and then his shoulder as she fired again. He slashed down with his claws, dragging furrows through the soft flesh of her cheek as she turned her face away just in time. She swung up with the butt of her rifle, knocking his hands away as the vitae rushed through her, lending her strength.
There was no time for words as the other Kindred (Gangrel by manner, but Nosferatu by scent) continued his frenzied onslaught, the gunshot wounds knitting closed as the pair danced around the clearing. His claws flashed down again and again, scoring wounds along her arms that would have rendered any human helpless. By the same token she returned his regard, firing as she had the chance, and then as she ran out of bullets, defending and striking out with the heavy butt of her gun.
The rage burned through the other Vampire relentlessly as he kept pressing forward. She did her best, but could only score the most trivial of blows (for truly, what is a crushing strike to even the youngest of Kindred?) without dropping her gun and leaving herself defenceless. He backed her around the clearing, and in a moment his claws lashed out, hooking under her gun and wrenching it out of her hand, sending it thudding away into the undergrowth.
She looked at the situation, saw the rage dimming in his eyes, and knew that even as the frenzy faded, the battle wasn't over yet.
So Alexandra did what was natural, what she excelled at.
She ran.
-----
Khailash shook the last of the red haze of frenzy from his eyes as the white woman turned and ran with a speed only known to horses and Kindred. He bared his teeth fiercely as he was overtaken by an instinct not consciously understood, but fully embraced, and gave chase.
She was fast, faster than he was, but he followed with the dogged, relentless pace of one who has all night to bring his prey down. As he pursued, he knew that he understood the lay of the land better than she, and that she could make no move to cover her tracks, so he could follow at his leisure as her vitae ran low.
Throughout the night he followed, the pair tearing through the jungle like a gods-driven storm, occasionally clashing with the fury of lightning striking the earth, and only the approaching dawn gave them pause. Khailash sunk into the earth, fully intrigued by this woman who moved like the wind, fully intent on hunting her down and pulling the flesh from her bones.
-----
Alex found shelter as best she could, curling up against a pile of rocks, shading her delicate face with thick, heavy leaves. Her lap was full of lengths cut from branches, which she carefully pared down with her skinning knife. Her arm was mending slowly, but she knew she was running out of time and precious blood.
In spite of this, she smiled. It wasn't often that she was chased so thoroughly. It was almost fitting that she should die as the hunted, rather than the hunter.
Of course, she didn't intend to die yet. No, she had plans, and as she huddled against the wall of her crude shelter, knife making soft hissing noises as she worked with the branches, she waited for the sun to rise.
-----
Khailash rose the next night, and the woman was waiting for him. From the bounty of the jungle around her, she had crafted a spear, and she smiled fiercely as he approached.
"Hello!" she chirped in his own tongue, almost as if glad to see him, "If you still want me, then take me if you can!"
He moved slowly, cautiously, his guard firmly in place as he circled. She matched his pace evenly, keeping the tip of the spear between them. He lunged, and she blocked. She jabbed forward, and he danced out of the way, skating along her guard to slash down her arm before she regained her footing. She jabbed again, and struck him firmly in the shoulder. She pulled back sharply, stopping his twisting from breaking the spear off in his shoulder.
She was still smiling. Not the taunting, cruel smile of someone who expected to win- if it were, he would have finished her in a moment- but the smile of someone who delighted in the fight. Was she one of the mad Ventrue, or the sensation-crazy Daeva?
Soon the fighting had slowed, becoming brief, sharp scuffles interspersed by long silences, where she studied him with bright, curious eyes. In spite of his anger, Khailash found himself enjoying hunting this lotus-white woman, and when she started off again he followed intently, swiping at her from the undergrowth, moving like the king of the jungle that he was.
-----
The hunger was panting at Alex's heels, but not as close as her pursuer, as dawn approached anew. When he vanished, she pushed herself into the corpse of a fallen tree, and knew that this could not go on much longer- as she was weakening, so was he.
Silently she checked her bearings, confirming what she already knew- she was far, too far from any kind of reliable shelter.
She growled in frustration, and rolled over. As much as she enjoyed the hunt, this would finish tomorrow night, one way or another.
-----
Khailash rose with the moon on the third night, and found the woman again, looking worn and put upon, reminding him of nothing so much as a tiger backed into a corner. Still she smiled, though, as he approached, and readied her spear against his attack.
There were no words this time, just fierce, savage clashes, more animal than human, that grew more and more desperate as the night wore on. He noticed that as he lashed out with his claws, that she would not- or could not- heal her wounds anymore. Had he any more strength left, then he would have pressed the advantage, but he too had been running through the forest relentlessly, chasing a dangerous prey. Still he fought, pushing against her constantly, hoping that her guard would break before his did.
They drew apart again, and in that moment she stopped, nostrils flaring. Her eyes flicked over his shoulder for a moment and held, the pause lengthening as she cocked her head, looking puzzled. His instinct told him that he should strike then, but he followed the line of her gaze.
Out of the undergrowth launched a dark shape, howling in triumph as it hit Khailash in the chest, sending him tumbling across the clearing. As he shook his head, he recognised one of the Brahmin that was set against his sire.
He looked over at the woman, who watched the pair with wide eyes, and knew that between her and this new enemy, he would die.
-----
Alexandra spotted the other Kindred watching in the bushes, and stopped, confused. She recognised his face very vaguely from the courts at Chennai. Had she known him before she slept?
The other held a finger up to his lips, smiling grimly, and charged at the dark hunter that besieged her, just as he turned around to follow her eyes. He went flying, and as he landed his eyes darted up to her, his expression bleak and betraying his building panic.
She snarled with anger, the Beast rising to the surface again, as the newcomer continued to shout epithets at her pursuer in Tamil as they scuffled. She only caught two words in three, but she recognised the intent. This new arrival was taking advantage of her hunt, and sought to destroy the man that had chased her.
How DARE he?! she thought as she circled around behind him, her blood fizzing with fury, How DARE he interrupt the sanctity of the hunt! HOW DARE HE INTERFERE IN OUR ARGUMENT, HONOURLESS DOG!
"Hey, koothi mayir!" she shouted, lowering her spear, using the worst of words she had learned during her time in Chennai. The newcomer turned instinctively, shocked at such profane language coming out of the mouth of a woman. She saw the other Kindred out of the corner of her eye, assessing her intent in a moment as he grabbed the invader by his arms, pinning them to his sides.
"Okkala ozhi, thevadiya mavan!" she spat, laughing at his surprise. She summoned all that remained of her power, and thrust her spear into the flesh of his chest. He struggled as she poured all of her strength into skewering him through, but the other Kindred held his arms fast. Her prey froze as her lucky shot finally sunk home, and the other Kindred hooked his clawed hands into the flesh of his neck, ripping the attacker's head from his shoulders, sending the corpse crumbling to ash.
Alex fell to her knees from the effort, shaking with need. She was running on empty, and now that she was sufficiently worn down, she knew that her pursuer would take advantage of that weakness and finish her.
Still, she considered, looking up at him as he watched her, there were worse ways to die. Covered in the ash and gore of his tribulations, ebon-black claws slick with blood, the other Kindred looked nothing so much like a dark Orion or Cernunos, the lord of the forest come to claim his due. It would be fitting to be ended at his hands.
He studied her for a long moment, then spoke.
"Are you hungry?"
Her Beast roared with anger, and she forced it down, but not for long. "Yes."
He smiled. "Then let us hunt."
-----
Khailash led her down to a village that was nearby, and together they fed until they were full, wounds closing as they drank an entire family dry.
As they withdrew into the jungle once more, he studied her carefully. Somewhere along the line her hair had come out of its pins, and it curled around her delicate, lotus-white face. She smiled more easily now that she had fed, face glowing with the exultation of battle, occasionally laughing at little things that delighted her. With her mouth red with blood, and the mark of the quarter moon upon her, he reminded her of the stories of Mata Durga that he had been taught as a child.
Eventually they stopped in another clearing, and she cocked her head at him again. He wondered what he would say to her, and finally settled on something lighthearted.
"Your accent is dreadful." He remarked.
She laughed, pulling her hair back.
"Yes, it is." She paused, and carefully extended her hand to him. "I am Lady Orion Alexandra Hamersley, of the Fellowship of Artemis."
He took it, testing its strength as he shook. "Sir Khailash Vasuman, of the Order of the Burning Wreath."
"Vasuman? You're of Lord Amar Tarak's line?" She asked, face becoming serious.
"Yes, he is my sire. You know him." It wasn't a question. Any Kindred in India knew Tarak Vasuman.
"Yes. He and I have had... favourable dealings before. He has been quite good to me and mine." Her face closed, and it was clear that she would not say anymore, so he tried a different tack.
"You are a hunter?"
She smiled, eyes lighting up again.
"Why, yes! There is no nobler passtime."
"You seem very unprepared to face a tiger, Lady Hamersley- they are very dangerous, more so than lions or cheetahs."
She looked at him curiously. "I am prepared enough. Hunting is a sport, so it must be sporting. As you have seen, if I came at a tiger at full speed, there is little it would be able to do to stop me."
Khailash blinked for a moment. "But it would rip you open."
She shrugged. "A little? I am very good with my spear, my gun, my knife. And if it kills me, then, well, I suppose that it's all my own fault for being so foolish, isn't it?" Her smile brightened. "And it would make the members of my Order ever so jealous. 'My goodness, did you hear Alexandra Hamersley was killed by a tiger in the jungles of India? I could only dream of an end like that, imagine requiring a tiger to bring you down.' The very thought amuses me."
She laughed, and he laughed with her this time, starting to come to his ease. He didn't know for certain, not yet, but he was reasonably sure he could come to approve of and support this lotus-white woman who ran like the wind.
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 01:29 am (UTC)I like your description of Duck's PC - so savage, but also so regal. He's awesome (classical, not colloquial) just to read about.
P.
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Date: 2009-05-22 03:39 am (UTC)