Topic: Opportunity Knocks

Issy

Date: 2016-09-26 14:17 EST
There were a lot of people in Rhydin who questioned Isuelt, or more exactly, her methods. She had acquaintances and strangers alike who asked how she wasn't lonely or why she didn't actively seek out company or what she actually did up on those rooftops all night long anyway (there were a couple of folks whom she'd overheard betting on if she just slept up there and nothing more). Even two of her Sisters approached her and voiced their concern over what they considered "unhealthy behavior," her solitude and her "brooding ways." The truth was that it was easier to be alone. It was far less complicated. There was nothing to explain to someone who wouldn't understand, no reason to constantly make up excuses for why she wasn't where she said she would be.

Lying wasn't really her thing, she'd never had respect for those that used their tongues only for twisting the truth. But truth could be a tricky and slippery slope; especially when it is buried as deeply as Isuelt liked to bury her secrets. So, in essence, her solitude was not a comment on her dislike for other people, but rather an admission of guilt for her own short comings. Most of the other Scathachians, both here in Rydin and those back home on the Island, knew that the moody Isuelt was best left to her own devices. They found it easier that way. For Isuelt naturally was hard on those around her and especially stringent on those whom she determined had earned the title of "friend." However, she was never hard on anyone like she was hard on herself.

There was no moon tonight to speak of, no silvery beam to shine in her eyes to distract her from her thoughts. Even so, Isuelt blinked heavily and sighed as she rubbed her right eye and continued to stare down on the streets of Old Temple. Her reverie had been sullen as of late and she was starting to feel it weigh on her shoulders like a heavy cloak. The breeze coming in from the east shifted the braid at her back only slightly, leaving behind a soft salted fragrance that was far more pleasant this far inland. The Judge sighed once again and decided she would call it a night. Her thighs tightened against the leather of her pants as she stood tall, cutting a mean silhouette against the dim lamps along the roofline. She would have nothing to report to Lieutenant Cullen this night; the district was quiet, she thought to herself, almost forlornly as she took to the adjacent rooftop which housed the stairs. By the time she reached the street level, she had nearly put herself deeper into her sour mood by silently bemoaning the fact that she wouldn't have any adventures tonight.

It was right about then that she caught something out of the corner of her eye...

Blinking only once, Isuelt began to turn her head toward what she thought was a flash of light. She never got a chance to see the object, not really. But she felt it. It happened so quickly. Strong fingers encased in leather gripped at her throat, the iron-like arm extending from there had encircled her arms and torso in a near-excrutiating bear hug. There was that blade that she had seen briefly suddenly pressing on her throat, held taught and steady and she was pulled back against a tall, solid man whose other hand was already at her waist. Isuelt's shock was more than measured as his fingers beat hers to her weapons. A touch of pressure just below her bellybutton and Isuelt heard her swords, belt and all, clang to the ground. She was just about to ponder how in the world he was able to undo her belt so quickly when she heard a voice licking at her ear in a familiar low rumble.

"Getting a little slow on the draw, aren't you Iz?" His lips brushed just behind her lobe. "This place has made you soft..."

Issy

Date: 2016-10-31 16:43 EST
Isuelt's throat shivered as she swallowed her pride and shut her eyes. There was only the slightest of breezes that wafted through the dark alleyway. Even so, she didn't need sight or scent to know who was holding her from behind. That voice was unmistakable. His voice. He had a certain way of blowing in and out of her life like the wind; and tonight it seemed was no different.

The blade still sat cool against her throat, not moving though she swallowed a second time. It was as if she needed to truly register that this wasn't a dream (as it had been a hundred times before), she stood still awaiting his next move. The Scathachian didn't have to wait that much longer for the sharp yank on her hair, forcing her throat further prone. Isuelt inhaled a gulp of air as she felt a push against her body, effectively spinning her around. Her lips were crushed by another pair. He still held a fist full of her hair securely at the nape of her neck, but she didn't move a muscle to get away. Not when she had waited this long, not when she had realized this was no fantasy, not when he was once again this close to her. Her teeth all but gnashed at him as she pressed closer to him and returned his long-absent kiss. In the end, what turned out to be desperate, nearly violent, became sweet and somewhat tender. She couldn't think of a better metaphor for their on-again-off-again relationship.

As their lips reluctantly parted, leaving the soft breeze to dry them, Isuelt finally opened her eyes to look at the man who would even dare to man-handle her and not expect to come within an inch of his life.

"Hi Iz," his soft growl of a voice was more breath than sound as he licked his lips and let his smile lean into a smirk. His body mimicked his mouth and he leaned against the wall that wasn't more than a step behind him. What little light there was in the alley was finally able to highlight his face: strong jawline, high cheek bones, a stray tuft of dark blonde hair escaped the ponytail at his neck.

"Scorpion Wraitharan," Isuelt began in a dreamy manner, though quickly changed to a sharpened tone like the poker pro she was, "You are an absolute asshole ." Before he could react, her right fist collided with that perfect jawline, snapping his grinning expression right off of his face. Only now did she take a step back and regard him fully: hunched over slightly, the back of one hand rubbing his mouth as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His blonde head turned to the side to look upon the woman who so often warmed his bed"when he could keep her in one place, that is. He spat once more before straightening up. "You pulled your punch. How sweet. I missed you too, Iz."

Defiantly, the Judge raised her chin, never willing to confirm what was obviously true. Both points. "So, you think you can just come waltzing in here, whenever you feel like it, take what you want' Nothing has changed with you, has it?"

Rubbing his jaw lightly, he took a step toward her, though she kept the distance constant by taking a step back and folding her muscled arms over her chest. "Why should it' Business is good, Gonk's got everything under control back in Metro, so I decided I would come and see you. What' You thought I was just going to wait around and pine by the window, hoping you'd come back to me and to Metro' Fuck honey, I'm not a damn maiden in a tower. And you'd leave me for sure if I was, so come off of it. What's the problem?"

"Nothing, there is no problem." She stated flatly. But it sounded more like an answer she'd give an acquaintance when they asked at the Inn.

"How long have I known you, Iz" Huh' Really." Scorp licked his lips for a moment. "Sometimes I really think I know you better than you know yourself."

Isuelt's brows lowered as her dark eyes narrowed. It was always so easy with him. At least, that was what she told herself. Scorpion Wraitharan was, by no stretch of the imagination, a good guy. And yet, he was honest. Too honest. With him, there was never any BS. It was or it wasn't. That was it. Black or white. And the honesty with which this crime boss operated was just too much for Isuelt. Isuelt loved the gray. She loved making excuses. Excuses for him, for his way of life, for herself when she was with him. With her, it was messy and she couldn't readily explain to the casual passerby or to the regular citizen what an upholder of the law was doing with a ruthless kingpin. Their relationship was one that would boggle the minds of many a person and yet"here they were again. Both of them barely able to contain themselves.

"Probably?" she murmured, glancing away toward the street for a moment. She sighed after getting her thoughts in order, "What are you doing here?"

"Completing a story."

"What?"


"I could have just as easily asked you what you were doing in Metro." His thick arms slowly folded over his chest as he stood to his full height and lifted his chin in something of a "checkmate" expression.

"Metro." She cocked a hip, "I haven't stepped foot in Metro City in?"

"A month." He cut her off, finishing her sentence.

"You're seeing things." A smirk hung effortlessly from her lips.

"Am I?"

"Yes. Why the hell would I go back there?"

"Well, I have it on good authority that you and some other woman were skulking around about a month or so back."

"Bull."

"Don't like it when I call your bluffs, do ya?? His smile was widening and it was infuriating to her.