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* Dawn is in the workshop with Calis. He hands the boy a book. "When you get back from your outing with your cousin, I want you to read the marked sections. When I get back tonight, I want you to tell me three ways you could use them in combination." He peers up the stairs. "Bienca!? Are you ready to go?" <Calis> ::opens the book and flips to the first marked section, then the second, and frowns faintly:: But these don't- ::he glances quickly at Dawn and bites the inside of his cheek:: Okay. * Bienca walks down the stairs, plaiting a section of hair. She strings a few beads on the end and ties it off. "Mostly. You might want to think about getting a gate or something for the kitchen. That skinny little mouse of yours let Gar intimidate her into 'sharing' her breakfast again." <Dawn> ::sighs, and calls up the stairs again:: Violet! Eat some fucking food today! ::to Calis:: No wandering around on your own. It's too dangerous. If Andrial can't bring you back here, go back to school with her and ask her to alert Jewel. She'll know how to get in touch with me. ::offers his arm to Bienca, mock-gallant:: Shall we? <Bienca> ::lays her hand lightly on Dawn's arm:: Of course. Anything to get out of here for a while. I feel like I'm under house arrest. * Violet comes to sit at the top of the stairs, hugging her knees as she watches everyone else preparing to leave. "Yes, Dawn." * Lily is a few hundred yards down the street from Dawn's door again, window shopping at a dingy "herbalists" and the cobbler next door. * Dawn leads Bienca out into the street. "I know it's crowded. It wasn't quite my idea." <Dawn> I just don't know what else to do with her. <Bienca> ::stretches expansively, relishing all the open space around her:: I'll survive... unless I trip over someone else's shoe and smother to death in all the laundry all over the floor. <Dawn> ::sourly:: It's not *that* bad... The boy said he'd pick his things up. <Bienca> ::laughs at his expression and leans over to kiss his cheek:: As long as it doesn't go on too long. Or maybe you could build some more shelves or something. <Dawn> ::sighs:: I'm beginning to consider building a whole new *house*. Even when this is done and Violet goes home, we'll still have the boy underfoot - and the baby, soon enough... It'd be nice to have a workroom. <Lily> ::as Dawn and Bienca leave the house, Lily abandons his appraisal of a new pair of boots, and follows the pair down the street from a distance. Bienca being head, shoulders, and possibly other parts taller than most of the crowd makes this a relatively easy thing to do:: <Bienca> ::perks up:: Oh, that could be fun... I could acquire more rugs. You know, I saw a really nice matzican one, the other day. * Dawn gives Bienca a slightly pained look. "How many rugs does one woman need?" <Bienca> ::widens her eyes:: All of them, obviously. <Dawn> ::snorts:: Glad I'm not paying for it. ::he hesitates:: Watch yourself, lovely. If they're coming from the inside - not all of them will be as dumb as Peaches and his bunch. <Bienca> ::in a low voice:: Well, I've already overheard several very colorful accounts of Peaches' demise. If Angel'd really stabbed someone that many times, his arm would have fallen off. <Dawn> ::grins:: I wonder which version it'll settle at. <Bienca> ::curiously:: What did Angel do with *his* new pet mouse? <Dawn> He's setting her up in one of the brothels, actually. <Bienca> ::nods:: All right... Snowman was exaggerating again, then. <Dawn> ::raises his eyebrows:: What'd he tell you? <Bienca> ::snickers:: That Angel was keeping her as his personal geisha... apparently they were having a very nice cozy bath together... <Dawn> ::laughs:: You think Jewel would stand for that? <Bienca> ::snorts:: It's doubtful... but you never know. ::absently, barely breaking stride, she swipes an orange from a nearby fruit-cart. Half a block later, she starts peeling it:: Want a slice? <Dawn> Sure. ::he takes the offered slices and pops it into his mouth:: I don't think she would. She's almost as jealous as *he* is. ::he grins at Bienca:: Now, it seems *I'm* working on a nice little harem... <Bienca> ::shrugs:: Always good to have extra spouses around. To help with the housework, if nothing else. <Dawn> Hrmph. Calis is *not* a spouse. He doesn't even qualify as a candidate. ::grins:: He does far too little housework. <Bienca> ::laughs:: Well, I was thinking about his cousin, actually... ::eyes Dawn to see his reaction:: * Dawn coughs. Choking, no doubt, on a bit of orange pith. "She doesn't live with us." <Lily> ::as he passes a fruit cart, without looking, Lily flips a dirty silver piece onto a pile of oranges, but doesn't take one:: * Bienca laughs again, delighted. "I do love you, you know that." <Dawn> ::glances at her sidelong, half-smiling:: I was fairly certain, yes. ::he lifts her hand and kisses it:: <Bienca> ::changing tones to slightly serious:: You ought to have a talk with Calis, though. As he hasn't got any other... parental sort of figure. He's a little confused about what happened with you and his cousin. <Dawn> ::blinks at her:: Is he? <Bienca> ::shrugs one shoulder:: He might need... a heads up about comparative morality, at least. <Dawn> ::scratches at his face and sighs:: Meaning what, exactly? Gods know I'm not what you call an example of upstanding morals. <Bienca> ::snorts:: Are any of us? ::finishes off her orange:: I mean... unless you *are* planning on marrying her. ::winks:: Which is all right too, but your new apprentice is a little green. <Dawn> ::snorts:: You're jumping the gun a bit, aren't you, for a woman I fucked all of once? <Bienca> ::laughs again:: *I*'m not, Oyeha. *He* is. <Dawn> ::looks up at her, almost suspiciously:: He thinks I'm going to marry her? <Bienca> ::shrugs:: I suspect his knowledge of that sort of thing goes along the lines of 'when a mommy and daddy love each other very, very much.' <Dawn> ::groans:: I can't tell him fairytales like that, Bie. I grew up sitting on whores' knees. <Bienca> ::slightly exasperated:: I know. But you might want to tell him that bending the rules doesn't just apply to the finer points of property ownership. <Bienca> ::shrugs:: I'll do it, if you want. I just didn't want to interfere with your apprentice/master relationship. <Dawn> ::muttering:: As if there were any real rules- ::give her a wide-eyed look:: Would you? ::he kisses her hand again, extravagantly:: I'll worship you. <Bienca> ::grins:: I'll hold you to that... <Dawn> ::grins:: I expect nothing less. * Lily stops to purchase a small fresh loaf of bread from a cart, and continues on his way, tearing pieces off the loaf and eating them. * Bienca watches a pair of children run past them with a hoop, smiling, then scowls. "There he is again. I'm *not* getting paranoid after all." <Dawn> Who? <Bienca> ::putting her smile back on:: Behind us, just to the left and back about fifty yards, eating his breakfast. Blonde, mid-height. * Dawn waits until some more kids pass them, and turns to curse them for stepping on his foot. He turns back with a faintly disturbed look. "Fuck. I've seen him before. I wonder which of us he's tailing..." <Bienca> ::licks the rest of her orange juice off her fingers:: When did you see him last? <Dawn> Yesterday, I think. ::growls:: I'm such a fucking idiot, I thought he'd just moved into one of those empty flats up the road a bit. <Bienca> ::sighs:: Two streets up, there's a back way, if you want to ambush him. <Dawn> ::looks at the traffic ahead:: Probably the best spot, yes. * Bienca continues to walk, then apparently gets distracted looking over a window display of scarves. The door to the shop is just around the corner and she drags Dawn after her, exclaiming over a green and gold bangled piece. * Dawn follows with the air of a man who knows he's about to have to buy a "present." <Lily> ::much like he did when Dawn ducked down an alley on Pleasure Island, now when Dawn deviates from his usual route to Pleasure Island, Lily stops several buildings back, and waits for his mark to reappear:: <Bienca> ::proceeds to haggle with the shop-keeper, her fingers flickering with anger as she disputes putting his children through long-term private education in exchange for a piece of silk:: {He's waiting on us.} * Dawn sighs and drums his fingers, bored with the haggling. {Yes. He's very fucking good.} <Bienca> ::sniffs disdainfully at the man's assertion of the quality of silk, pointing out a tiny flaw near the edging:: {We saw him. So, he's either not that good, or not worried about us noticing him} <Dawn> {He's been following me for at least three days, without my noticing.} * Bienca finally settles on three silver for the scarf and turns to Dawn expectantly to pay the tab. {Any ideas?} * Dawn grumbles and fishes in his pouch. {I need Dusk for this kind of... No. I think I can do it. You'll have to carry on most of the conversation yourself, though. Come on.} He leads her out of the shop and back into the alley. <Bienca> ::gushes appropriately and ties the green scarf over her braids:: How do I look? Do you like it? Say you do... * Dawn pushes his hands to his eyes, hard, ignoring Bienca for a moment. He then hesitantly whispers a spell, and a copy of himself shimmers into existence in the shadows beside them. Dawn looks it over, sighing over minor imperfections, then shrugs. "From half a block away, it should do. Go. I'll follow behind." He gestures for Bienca to go with the illusion-Dawn back into the street. * Bienca nods, then continues along her way to work, chattering normally, this time about the rare fruits she was interested in trying from a shop near the other end of town. <Lily> ::after Dawn and Bienca re-emerge from the shop, Lily waits a few moments and resumes his shadowing:: * Dawn waits until Lily passes, and then follows him. He frowns, concentrating on both maintaining the illusion and watching Lily. After another block or so, he closes on Lily. A dagger appears in his hand, and he presses it gently against Lily's back. "A lovely morning isn't it?" he growls. A block or so ahead, the illusory Dawn flickers and disappears. <Lily> ::at the touch of the knife, Lily skips forward a few steps, and turns to face Dawn. He doesn't draw a weapon, and he looks at Dawn with eyes that are completely blank, like they were careful paintings made on glass:: Not as much as it was before. <Dawn> ::smiles very faintly, and indicates the nearest alley:: Shall we step aside and chat? * Bienca pauses when the illusion vanishes, then turns the nearest corner to circle back around, after making sure no one is paying the vanished mage any mind. * Lily sidles sideways into the alley, keeping Dawn in his peripheral vision. <Dawn> ::follows Lily into the alley:: Well, now. A nice place for a friendly chat. Why don't you start with your name, and then proceed on to explain why you've been tailing me all over town? <Bienca> ::with a slight grunt for pulling the extra bulk, Bienca chins up onto the balcony of the building, then makes her way over to above the alley, where she lays down on the roof to look down and listen, one dagger dropped from her sleeve into her hand:: * Lily points at the white flower adorning the band of his hat. "Lily." <Dawn> ::drily:: Charmed, I'm sure. <Lily> You're not a mark. Neither is her. * Dawn gives Lily a look filled with a certain amount of doubt. "Why are you following me, then?" * Bienca frowns and peers down at the tops of the heads of the men in the alley. <Lily> Looking for my mark. Care to put the knife away? <Dawn> Not just yet, no. Who's your mark? What makes you think following me will do it? <Lily> ::pulls his knife, but keeps his distance from Dawn:: Then I'll keep myself comfortable, too. <Dawn> ::takes half a step back, and holds his dagger a little less negligently:: Let's hear it. * Bienca eyes the angle she's looking down from, then puts her dagger away and draws a slender tube from a hidden flap in her trousers. She threads a feathered dart into the tube, then continues to watch. <Lily> ::smiles coldly:: I don't think I have a mark. My mark's already dead. But... first half the payment is five dots. It's worth my while to look. * Bienca whistles faintly under her breath. <Dawn> Does this dead mark have a name? * Lily pulls his elbow close to his body, and points the tip of his long knife at Dawn. "They all do. This one's a ringbearer, supposedly." <Dawn> Ah, that one. ::nods:: Who wants him dead? <Lily> At five dots for half payment, the pretty Kara-Turian was welcome to say 'her patron'. <Dawn> Ah, a go-between. Where do I find her? <Lily> She found me. Said she'd do so again. <Dawn> ::sighs and shakes his head:: What's she going to say when you tell her you're several years too late? * Lily shrugs. "'Here's the rest.' would be preferable." <Dawn> ::snorts, sheathes his dagger, and leans against the wall:: All right. Go away, now. And stop following me. * Lily sheathes his own long knife, and leaves the alley, giving Dawn a berth as he leaves. He turns on the street in the direction away from Pleasure Island, and walks away without looking back. * Dawn leans against the wall and crosses his arms, watching Lily go and waiting for Bienca to join him. * Bienca watches him go, then puts away her blowgun. She drops into the alley from the roof with a slight exhalation. "Mace? Someone's looking for *Mace*? I wonder why." <Dawn> ::glances at Bienca:: Because he was the last one to wear the ring. Because the fuckhead pushing this guildwar was the son of... who came before Il Roche? Sable? <Bienca> ::her eyes widen:: Sable's son? Oh, damn... damn. Sable was bad. Gods and demons, you can't even... well, you weren't here. Ask Sylvie sometime about it. ::she shudders:: <Dawn> ::nods:: I've heard a little. But that was the impression I got from Peaches, before I left him to Angel's tender mercies. * Bienca frowns. "Let's get going. The sooner we're at Sylvie's, the better I'll feel." * Dawn nods and pulls Bienca's arm through his again before steering her back out of the alley into the street. "You *will* be careful, won't you?" <Bienca> You know me. I was born careful. ::she tightens her fingers on his arm, then when he isn't looking, her free hand moves back to rub at the small of her back nervously:: |
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