Single Guard Seeks Thief…

[conjuredskies]

...Wait, no, not that way.

Having been absent from his post for a couple of weeks or so, Felix is once again in Legion leathers and stationed outside the heavy rune-inscribed doors that mark ‘his’ portal. He’s sitting casually atop the desk draped with its red and black Imperial banner, turning something blue-white and glimmering over in his hand. A quill? A feather? Some sort of pin?

“How is it that when you want to find a particular sort of person, they’re nowhere to be found?” he asks, pushing his hood back. “Even when normally you’d be shaking them out of your pockets.”

Comments

[onemorebounty]

*She sees the flinch, and lets the smile and the coldness in her eyes slip back beneath the surface.*

Not yet. My reputation's hardly a secret, though. If he spends much time in the Nexus, he'll know what I'm capable of soon enough. Once he does, we can discuss whether he'd like that kind of help.

*She's not in a hurry on that point.*

[conjuredskies]

Felix relaxes his hands, although the caution remains in the way he studies her. His survival instincts don't always get him to run, but they're vocal about when to stay alert.

“Ah.” He thinks about it and ventures, “I don’t think he’ll be happy when he finds out.”

[onemorebounty]

No one's happy when they find out what I'm capable of. He'll have the benefit of not finding out personally.

[conjuredskies]

“That’s the best I could ask for,” Felix admits with a shrug. How his brother chooses to deal with the information after that is up to Stratos, and he’s… kind of okay with that, actually. “Information is much safer though. I mean. Not safe, but he might take it. Is this why you were teaching him about all these invisible kinds of light?”

[onemorebounty]

*She nods, letting some of her relief at his acceptance show.*

It is. Something he said in our conversation made it seem like it might be relevant. So, now he knows enough to be cautious, and to find ways to learn more--if he chooses to.

*She pauses, then returns to the earlier topic.*

You could tell him, you know. Warn him about me.

[conjuredskies]

"I could." He cants his head a little, asks innocently, "...Would that be helpful?"

He's almost teasing. If Samus wanted to be in any way subtle, she wouldn't have actually suggested it, he reasons. So maybe she was hoping to probe his loyalty all along? Or she wants to figure out more about how Stratos will receive the information.

[onemorebounty]

*Maybe she was hoping to probe his loyalty, or trying to gauge Stratos' reaction. She's cagey, and frequently has motives behind the ones her plain-spokenness presents.*

Maybe. Does he take bad news better when he hears it from you?

[conjuredskies]

“Bad news that doesn’t concern me? That’s… a little hard to say. But on the other hand, I suppose he’d be terribly upset if I didn’t warn him.”

...He's thinking about it.

[onemorebounty]

*She lets him think; she sees no gain in goading him to rush this judgment.*

[conjuredskies]

After due consideration, he gives a little shrug. “Well, perhaps I will tell him after all. Just to find out how well he takes it.”

So decisive. So stalwart an ally.

[onemorebounty]

*Better to know that now, than in a crisis.*

I'll wish you well.

[conjuredskies]

He bows to her, though out of curiosity he can't help asking, "You're sure you don't want to tell him yourself?"

[onemorebounty]

*A brief, wry smirk tugs at her lips.*

How do you see that conversation going? "Oh, by the way, I've killed enough people that the governments where I'm from rate me alongside planet-ending disasters. Got any enemies you'd like to point me toward?"

*She gives a slight shake of her head.*

Better to let him come to terms with it in his own time, not with me standing there waiting on a response and watching every expression he tries not to have.

[conjuredskies]

"That's not quite how it usually goes. But your way will go down far better with Stratos, I'll give you that." He considers. "And if it helps, he won't hold it against you for not telling him. Even if he questions it."