I'd Say You Were Outsmarted by a Girl (Richard)

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Ah, Camelot. Such a wonderful kingdom, full of the best in fashion and weaponry, as well as being home to everybody’s favorite royal family, the Pendragons. After all, who cannot love the father and son duo who rule this kingdom with a strong hand? Oh wait, magic users. Although, using magic was the least of her concerns, for she never had time to use it. Plus, the one spell that she did actually use was for fighting and piercing the strongest of armor, only used in life or death situations, or so that is what she told herself. No, the young woman was here for something else that had absolutely nothing to do with revenge nor magic upon the Pendragons or Camelot. Instead, she was here for scouting purposes. After all, what good was trying to steal royal gold and jewels to give to the poor if one did not know their surroundings? Not very good at all. The castle was up ahead now; she could see it through the massive crowds of people, something that she had not been expecting: Market Day.

There were people everywhere bustling about, trying to sell their things, trying to trade, probably anything that could be done or thought of was being done here at this very moment. Actually, moving could be quite hard if she was in a congested area filled with people. Either way, it was simply not working at the moment, and the castle seemed to be growing further away rather than closer. An exasperated sigh escaped her, after all, considering that she was beginning to build herself a legend now, okay, maybe slightly over exaggerated, she was building herself a reputation, Clarissa Lockwood, Princess of Thieves, the young woman would have liked to think that people would have moved out of the way for her, after all, more than half of what she stole ended up going right back to the people, not to mention, she had to put up with all of those terribly drawn ‘wanted/capture’ posters. They just couldn’t seem to get her face right, and Henry always made fun of her for it.

The people of the streets were always a bunch of interesting characters though, so it did not totally distraught Clarissa that they were hindering her from her plans at the moment. For now, she had sidled herself up right outside of a tavern and sat outside it, using her bow as support. It was funny to think, back when she had been a young girl in Willowshire, she had always begged her father to take her into the city to see all the wonders that it held as well as all the nobles in their beautiful dresses. Funny how innocent everything seemed to her back then, well, other than arranged marriages of course, that one she could have done without. Actually, she probably could have done without her mother on a lot of accounts, after all, her mother certainly did not approve of this whole Princess of Thieves business, but Clarissa took it to the point of which she believed that her mother was just simply uncreative, and liked to remain in the past of what women could and could not do. Her father on the other hand, quite encouraged this. How she wished she could see her father more often.

But that was the life of a nomad. A sigh escaped her, this day was going to turn out to be dreadfully boring if she didn’t get to make it to the castle because of the crowds, not to mention, Clarissa could not imagine seeing neither Uther nor Arthur out in the common ground of the city people, not on a day like this. Although, those were just her thoughts, “This would be so much more interesting if there was some pompous noble about,” she muttered to herself now, glancing down the road for a moment. Nobles made everything more fun, there had not been a noble yet who Clarissa agreed with for either their actions or snobbery. In fact, the young woman was beginning to believe that there were none that she would like, well, only the richest that Albion had to offer for her, for they were the most fun to steal from, since they were always so shocked when she got past their guards and their large castles, and everything else that they try and throw at her, all unsuccessful in stopping her. It was always so funny when people think that they can out smart her, thinking that a common village girl knew nothing.

But they were wrong, Clarissa fashioned herself quite clever, clever as a rabbit, prince of a thousand enemies, very much like herself. In many ways, she thought herself a hero of the common people, much more than all of these knights with their shiny armor and their large horses and swords. What did they do? Sit around and take orders from kings and queens, and other noble blood that paid for their lives. Not her, not Clarissa, she stole from them and in return, gave the money to those who needed it the most, the pheasants, the people out on the streets starving half of the time. But her thoughts were cut short, and interest perked up in her yet again. Brown eyes stared out for a moment, through the crowds of people, there was a man, although, she could not be quite sure yet if he were of noble blood or not, but, surely he had to be, “My my, look at that hat,” she murmured to herself, as her brown eyes continued to stare at the gentleman now, perhaps this day would turn into an interesting one after all.

Setting: Market Day, Camelot City, Season undecided
Time of Day: Early Afternoon
Tags: Richard de Calys
Music: The Return of the Eagle
Notes: So, I totally could not think of a title name, I was just going off by your comment of 'she stole from me?!' and yeah XD It's a bad intro, but hey, whose good at coming up with them anyways?

[Richard de Calys]

OOC - Haha, I like the title. And as for the intro itself, I thought it was rather good, and rather intimidating - so much writing! Also, I think I mentioned this but I'm to again because I don't want you to think I'm just ignoring you, but I'm going to France today so won't be online for the next two weeks.

Camelot was always busy on market day, and that was exactly how Richard de Calys liked it. Busy was easy, busy meant you could come and go as you pleased and no one would remember your face. Busy meant bumping into people, stealing their purses and then disappearing with a "Sorry, I should've looked where I was going. Let me wipe that dirt off, sir, there were are, sir. Isn't that better?" Yes, busy was exactly how Richard liked things.

And it wasn't just the rich pickings either, he had spent the last few years building his reputation and learning all the names and tricks of the stallholders. Among them were some of his best customers, always willing to see what he had on offer. Yes, they would raise the price and make a higher profit on his findings but it was a quick way to dispose of otherwise useless items, and, if they thought they were taking him a fool it made them less suspicious when he stole said items back. Overall, it was a very advantageous scheme and one of his finest acheievements.

Today was no different. He had already sold three necklaces, stolen them and sold them again and changed his cloak three times. People should really be more careful with their valubles, anyone could take them. He chuckled at his own joke. Richard was a man who amused himself, and liked to think he amused the world too. It was a long held attitude of his that the universe did not operate in an "us against the world" manner, but rather a "me and the world against you". It was a much better system, how else could Richard explain his fortune? He had left Cantia with the clothes on his back and name - now look at him. The gods smiled when they saw Richard de Calys.

He stopped walking for a moment and ran a hand through his hair - something he did when he thought. Now, what to do now? His fingers tapped against his chin. He'd made enough money to finish for the day, but why should he quit while he was ahead? He looked around his surroundings - there must be something he could do. And then he saw the tavern - a ha! Drunkards were an easy target, perhaps a little too easy, and lacked the thrill of his usual victims, but practice always made perfect.

[Clarissa Lockwood]

There was something about the approaching man that bothered Clarissa, although, she could not figure out why. Perhaps it was the way he was dressed, like some pompous noble, or perhaps it was the smarmy look that she just wanted to smack off his face like he owned the world. Either way, she was quite certain that he did not seem to notice her yet even though the ‘gentleman’ was walking towards the tavern now, a plan almost playing across his eyes. Very odd indeed, but nonetheless, nobles were always up to their elbows in plans, and there has yet to be a noble that she would actually trust to do something decent, not even Camelot’s finest could win her over and certainly not this man either. Although, there was something positive about this, a man with a plan was often distracted with their mind blowing thoughts that they did little to pay attention to their surroundings, which in return, made them quite easy targets.

Brown eyes continued to stare at the man, narrowing slightly as he chuckled to himself. Somebody was in high good spirits right now; perhaps he had some money on him. A slight smile came to her lips at the thought of it, oh, what a joy it would be to steal from this man. He probably would not even notice it, although, it’s always so dull to just do everything quickly, she could play it out for thirty minutes, who knows. After all, she was the Princess of Thieves, Clarissa found herself quite certain that a little pick pocketing fun would just all be in good sport, and she could just pass the money off to some poor family without so much of a second thought. Besides, Henry was not around to keep her in check, and there was always good fun, not to mention, the joy when a man realizes that he’s been outsmarted by a girl. In Clarissa’s honest opinion, women were always far more clever than men, they just never wish to brag about it…unless, well, if they were her, then it might actually be a different story.

But how to go about this? Perhaps that was the main question now, and it was quite a difficult question. Whatever business he had, it seemed to be directing him towards the tavern. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment, pondering if there was someone or something that the young woman was missing from the scene behind her, but nothing truly looked out of the ordinary. Everybody seemed quite normal, hardly out of place at all, and everybody was having a good time, no fear of a royal to be upon their case any moment. But if that was truly the case, then why would such a man wish to sit amongst all of these people at a tavern? Well, Clarissa supposed that there was a first for everything, finely dressed nobles in taverns was certainly a new thing to her. Either way, people were too jolly and merry to even care about the approaching man, and when he grew closer, the young woman decided that she should probably make a move soon. After all, the only thing abnormal about her appearance might have been that she was wearing pants.

Besides her, there was an unguarded pint, “Perfect,” she murmured to herself and grabbed it and took a swig before getting up now and began to walk and drink now, clearly ‘not’ paying attention to where she was going. It did not take long before Clarissa stumbled right into the man now, her pint flying out of her hand towards the ground and she latched onto his cloak now to keep herself from tumbling over, “Oh, forgive me, my lord,” she exclaimed now, finally managing to set herself back up right now and shook her head slightly, as if to clear her mind, “I was not really paying attention to my surroundings, I usually expect people to move out of my way, but I can honestly say that I’m quite fine with this turn of events at the moment.”

Occ; Awh, well, I'm glad to hear that I did not fail on a title, and do not be intimidated =D I just like to write, no worries really. Bwahahha, well, I just realized now that when you're probably back from France, I'll be leaving on my own vacation.

[Richard de Calys]

Richard had not been paying the young woman the slightest bit of attention until she smacked right into him and sent her drink flying. Luckily none of the contents went over him. It was an expensive coat, or at least it was for whoever had paid for it. Richard himself had stolen it...or had it been given to him? He couldn't remember and it didn't matter, all that did matter was that it looked good on him and it had survived the young woman's "clumsiness".

He regarded her carefully. As someone who made their living accidentally bumping into people his suspicions were understandably aroused whenever someone did so to him. In his own experience people rarely bumped into one another without a good reason. So what was hers? Probably the same as his by the look of her. Well, she would certainly have a job trying to take anything of value from him, unless she was after a rather nice navy blue coat. But she'd have to earn that, and it would take a lot more than a mild collision.

While he continued to look her up and down he smiled cheerily, disguising his thoughts and shook his head, "Not to worry, are you quite alright?" He looked down and watched the liquid soak into the ground for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the woman and asking, "Would you care for another drink? It's the least I could do." He doubted she would accept, and he couldn't actually afford one, but it would give him time to see if she'd stolen anything from him, and if she had anything worth stealing in return.

[Clarissa Lockwood]

He certainly had an odd reaction to their collision , strange as it was. Usually people just let it slip, either reprimanding her for not watching where she was going and being drunk in the streets or they would just wave her off and be on their merry way, missing on some money. But this man was different, for a royal at least, or so she thought. It was as if he were studying her, but not in a lewd way, but in a cautious way. Well, that certainly would not do, it made things difficult and made Clarissa think that she should have adjusted her bodice a little more. Of course, perhaps she was jumping to conclusions at the moment, which was something that she was trying very hard to work on with her impatient brain. He still continued to look her up and down with his steely gaze before finally speaking,“Not to worry, are you quite alright?"

His voice seemed cheery enough, at least, not too dangerous to which that he would send the knights on her, which is something that she was not too fond of. Although, it seemed that there would be more work cut out for her on her end then Clarissa had expected. Not that it was an entirely bad thing. She huffed a sigh as she continued to cling onto the fancy dressed gentleman now, “Oh, I am quite alright minus the fact that my drink is quite empty now,” she replied now, looking at her tankard in a rather depressed manor, even though it had been stolen in the first place. Although, something had happened which she had not entirely expected, “Would you care for another drink? It’s the least I could do.” Her face lit up quite automatically now, a grin spreading across from ear to ear, “Another drink? I love drinking,” she exclaimed now, pivoting herself by his side now and throwing her arm over his neck and shoulders, bring him down slightly.

“Come! Let’s go!” Clarissa said, pulling him forward now with her awkward steps, “I dare say, I’ve never had anybody offer to buy me a drink before. I always have to put things on my tab,” the young woman explained now, in fact, she built up so many tabs now that it was impossible to think of what she owed to the various bars within Albion, “I’m Clarissa, by the way sir, and who just you might be?” Clarissa enquired now as she stumbled up the stairs and opened up the door. If Henry were here, he’d be rolling his eyes at her antics as well at the sight of her being a mild flirt. After all, Clarissa never thought about men nor boys, all what she truly thought about was drinking and the injustice in the lands, as well as various ways to aggravate the various nobles within the lands.

Occ; Sorry for the small post, I'm watching Unstoppable right now and it's proving to be distracting.

[Richard de Calys]

It was not often that Richard was out of his comfort zone, in fact he couldn't ever remember being out of his comfort zone. There was a strange woman clinging to him. He had no idea what to do. It was an entirely new situation and he was slightly scared. He tried to nod but it turned into a rather stiff and forced movement. "Well, I'm glad you are alright."

He had been trying to free himself when she accepted his offer of a drink and practically jumped on him. This was increasingly uncomfortable, and while it would give him ample time to work out what she had taken from him a random woman had just jumped on him. There was no time to reply to her, or to try and wriggle free as he was already pulling him in the direction of alcohol. She was certainly a lively girl, perhaps a little too lively. And probably in possession of his money, which was going to make buying her a drink interesting.

His instincts were telling him to run away. He was never uncomfortable, so something managing to make him feel just that must be bad. But he couldn't just leave this woman until he managed to get whatever she had stolen from him back, and for that he would need to get her that drink. How could this possibly go wrong?

He managed an awkward smile at her introduction. At least he could stop calling her Random Woman mentally now, that was probably a good thing. And he could introduce himself. He was good at that sort of thing. She was still holding onto him, yet he still managed to bow - there were few situations were a bow was made impossible - and offer his name. "A...pleasure to meet you (he was still feeling rather awkward). My name is Richard de Calys, duke of Cantia."

[Clarissa Lockwood]

She could not help but to wonder if this was a new situation for the man. After all, he did not seem rather comfortable, perhaps new to a woman’s touch? Oh, how delightful, this might be a little more fun than she thought; nothing more than to make a noble squirm. Besides, she had a feeling that he was only indulging her because he thought that she had already taken something from him, which honestly, was hardly correct. Clarissa had taken nothing yet, precisely because of that reason. Bumping into people and losing stuff was far too common, so sometimes, you had to just bend the rules. As soon as she saw that his money pouch was there and he would turn to walk off would be her chance to strike. He nodded, or at east, Clarissa thought it was a nod, but it was certainly stiff and dare she say, looked forced? Oh, this was becoming more curious by the minute, “Well, I’m glad you are alright.”

“Oh, well aren’t you a gentleman,” she replied with a grin, not letting him escape from her grasp now since she knew that was what he was trying to do. After all, the man should have known better than to offer a lady a drink, especially when she appears to be of a lower class than him. She was still as lively as ever, but it did not bother at all, since, this was how she usually was. Always charismatic, and pleanty of times, people already thought her drunk. At least she was not walking in such an odd fashion yet which is what usually happens, nor was she slurring her words. No, Clarissa was indeed quite sober, and quite frankly, she may have to be in order to outsmart this man. Granted, he thought he was clever, and if there was one thing that she had learn was that people always thought that they were far more clever than her. To suit their amusement, she allowed them to believe such things because it made everything more hilarious in the end.

An awkward smile played across his lips at her introduction, but she didn’t question why, he still looked terribly uncomfortable. Perhaps he did recognize who she was. Well, if there was a ‘WANTED’ poster in the tavern, she was certainly going to have to take it down in a heartbeat. Although, Clarissa was getting to the point in her early set career that anybody and everybody knew who she was, and yet, they still didn’t treat her with respect. It was like taking to a knight but forgetting the ‘sir’ in front of it. Quite annoying really. The man managed a bow now even with her grip on him, and it took every being in her body to not roll her eyes at such an act, “A…pleasure to meet you. My name is Richard de Calys, duke of Cantia.” This all came out rather awkward for him, but Clarissa decided to be the better person and to not point it now, but a flashy grin could not help but to cross her lips now, “Oh, a duke? And what brings you to Camelot?”

Stepping up the stairs now, she pulled him along and kicked the door open and stepped inside the bar, her eyes scanning the wall. If there was a poster, there was none falling under her sight at the moment, “Bar tender! This man is buying me a drink!” she yelled across the room now and the bar tender simply rolled his eyes, “Right away Clarissa,” he replied now and started grabbing a pint. She glanced around the room now for a moment before glancing at her new found friend, “So, my lord, where on earth do you like to sit at these places?” she asked with a smile, wondering if such a place made him nervous or not.

[Richard de Calys]

She was still touching him. Why was she still touching him? It was just makig Richard even more uncomfortable. He had absolutely no idea what to do in his current situation, which was something he liked even less.

"Oh, well aren't you a gentleman."

Yes, yes he was, and right now he was a very uncomfortable gentleman, but, being a gentleman could not vocalise such feeling. Instead he tried a smile and became annoyed with himself. He was good in uncomfortable situations, he was good with the charade and pretending and the element of performance. He was not good with women. "It's something I pride myself on." Richard eventually replied, again, trying to wriggle free of her grip, and again, failed in doing so. Well this was embarrassing.

“Oh, a duke? And what brings you to Camelot?”

Hmm. An interesting question, and one had no intention of answering truthfully. His best bet was probably to say something about visiting the prince, but then in his current state that was quite an obvious fabrication. His clothes, while surprisingly not dirty, were hardly appropriate attire for visiting other royalty. He had to think quickly, too much of a delay would only emphasise the lie.

Normally whenever he introduced himself it was because someone had purposefully sought him out, in which case he did not have people asking him annoying questions like what was a duke doing in Camelot city and speaking to commoners. He'd never bothered to think of a proper reason, now he was suffering because of it. "Curiosity, really." He said as casually as he could. "I like to travel. I find one never sees the real world of the city when one is surrounded by courtiers and the like."


On entering the tavern he was not surprised to find that she was well-known by the owner, or at least known enough to be on first name terms. She was certainly a forceful woman and managed to take Richard by surprise a number of times. He was being pulled around again, something he had a feeling he was just going to have to get used to in her company.

Now it was Richard's turn to pull Clarissa, only it was less pulling and more dragging as she was still holding onto him. It had become a habit of his to always occupy the corners, the overlooked areas where he was free to work and meet his customers. The shadows were where he felt most comfortable, and although he wasn't working at the moment, he could definitely do with some normality. "Is this satisfactory?" He asked, already sat down, "Or would you prefer to be closer to the action?"

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Even though he hardly showed it, Clarissa was fairly certain that the man was inwardly freaking out right now, although, she could not understand why. After all, it was not as if she were unattractive, or at least, that is what she thought. No, he was probably just suspicious of her. He was a smart one if that was the case, normally people did not give her another thought, especially if they had not seen the posters. Perhaps he was just uncertain with women in general, and for a noble looking fellow, that was quite odd. Usually it was the knights and some of the townspeople that could not handle women hanging over them, but most certainly not a noble and judging by his clothing, not of his standards either, “It’s something I pride myself on,” he replied as he tried to free himself once again and out of sheer automatic reaction, Clarissa felt her grip on him tighten slightly, as if a cat would do to a rabbit that was trying to escape it’s claws.

They were making good haste to the bar though, it seemed to be going by rather quickly. Granted, it’s not as if the bar was very far from where they were standing. Just only two seconds ago was Clarissa sitting outside it enjoying life and people watching for easy targets. This man was proving to not be an easy target, although, that hardly bothered the young woman at all, after all, she always loved a challenge. At her question, there seemed to be a loll in the conversation which alerted her senses quite quickly. It was a fairly simple question, and for him to take his time on it, well, of course that meant that there was something up with him. For two seconds, she almost thought that he would start to beat around the bush with her, but wouldn’t Clarissa be a lucky girl a nd still get an answer, “Curiosity really,” he replied now, “I like to travel. I find one never sees the real world of the city when one is surrounded by courtiers and the like.”

My my, that was certainly a curious thing to say. Browne eyes rested on the duke for a second, as if trying to figure out. It was an answer that almost seemed rather rehearsed and no doubt was lying to her about his true intentions of being in Camelot City. But just like that, they were in the tavern now, and it appeared that there was a change of dominance between the two of them. When asked about sitting situations, it was now his turn to pull her. It was not something that she enjoyed, Clarissa often liked being the one in control of such a situation, but perhaps this Richard fellow was more of a character than he was letting on. After all, the move of the seating arrangements certainly happened rather quickly. Even with his long strides, the young woman still kept herself caught up quite easily as he stopped in one of the corner tables now, away from the crowd and lurking in the shadows, very much like trolls might like to do, “Is this satisfactory?” he asked her now, “Or would you prefer to be closer to the action.”

Well, quite honestly, it looked as if there was not much of a choice for her had already sat down. If somebody wants to play dominance mind games with her, than two can easily play that way as well, “Why, of course it is,” she replied now and pulled the chair out and turned it facing towards her. Sliding into the chair, Clarissa used the back to rest her forearms on and her legs were straddling the chair quite easily. It was an improper way to sit, perhaps even in a tavern, but it brought her great comfort. Besides, she was never seen in a skirt, so it’s not as if she was being quite unlady like, “Although, I dare have to say, the corner for somebody has high as yourself? I would have never thought such a thing,” the young woman commented now as she glanced over her shoulder and bac at the rest of the patrons who appeared to take no need to who they were in the presence of. Curious indeed. Glancing back towards Richard now, she asked with a smile, “So, is there anything I could order for you? Drink, entertainment, anything really. The people who run this establishment certainly owe me.”

[Richard de Calys]

Richard was certainly feeling more at ease now that they were sat down. It would be difficult for her to grab onto him again with a table between them. He had never been comfortable around women, and now it seemed like all those he met were headstrong and overly friendly and he just ended up feeling awkward, slightly unhinged and definitely not like Richard de Calys.

He was slightly surprised by the way she sat in the chair. He'd never seen a woman sit like that, but then women didn't usually wear trousers and try to steal from him either. He sank back further into his own chair, slinging on arm over the back and tried to make himself for comfortable, physically at least.

There was an awkward smile across his lips at her words. Normally he would dismiss such a comment, but he was already feeling unlike himself at present, and having the topic of conversation forced onto himself was not making him feel any better. He liked to keep to the shadows because he could go about his business unseen, regardless of his social standing, but he could hardly say that to Clarissa. That would only create more questions. "I like the privacy." He replied after a short pause. It was not a lie, just not the whole truth and hopefully would be enough of an answer, though he doubted that somewhat.

"Erm," he was considering her question quite carefully, which was unusual for him. Usually he did not drink at all, it clouded the mind and he needed his kept sharp, but then an ale would probably do him good, and even if this woman was a pickpocket he had little of interest to her. That was settled then. "I shall have an ale, what about you?"

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Well, the man certainly seemed to be more at ease now than he had been a few seconds ago. Granted, Clarissa did not have her arms thrown about him nor was she tugging him about for she had lost control of the situation right now. This man, this duke, was certainly humoring her though and he probably was not even aware of it. So strange to have a man of nobility uncertain around women, and she was quite certain that he was only staying with her at the moment because he thought she pick pocketed him. Very clever indeed, that is, if she had done such a thing yet. But no, she certainly liked to win people over and gain their trust before doing anything, at least when it’s out in the street like this. Robbing caravans and carriages were one thing, streets things were harder for there was no real escape and just like Richard de Calys proved, people were more prone to being smart and suspicious of bump ins.

A mild surprise shown in his eyes when she sat down, a look that Clarissa was very used to now. Men often did not take her seriously, even though she continued to defy the ideas of what a woman should be. Besides, the princess of thieves cannot be around in skirts and fancy dresses, that certainly makes escaping a lot more harder. If her mother were here right now, she would probably get a wooden spoon to the back of the head or something. At her comments came an awkward smile from Richard, perhaps she was making him more nervous with her ideas and words. Such a curious man, it was getting hard to deal with. Usually this proved to be a lot easier than this, the way he acted, one would think that he had never been with a woman before. Unless, that was the case. The thought almost caused Clarissa to make a face, what kind of man has never been with a woman before? Even Henry has been with women. Although, perhaps she was simply jumping to conclusions here. After all, she herself never tied herself down with men, relationships get in the way of her life style.

“I like privacy,” he stated now. She arched her brow just slightly, “You are quite a strange man,” she replied easily enough, her brown eyes glancing around the tavern for a moment. Perhaps it was not entirely an odd answer though, people were already eyeing him. Funny enough, it was not the usual way somebody would eye a royal, not in honor or hate but in looking to make a deal. It made Clarissa think for a moment; perhaps she was the one starting to fall into a trap. Never though, Clarissa Lockwood was not one to be outsmarted by a person of nobility, if that was the case, she would have not have the status she did know. A smile tugged at her lips, “Erm,” he muttered now, clearly considering her question with much deliberation within his head, “I shall have an ale, what about you?” A grin came to her lips now, “I was beginning to worry about you, not having any fun at all,” after all, boring people were never fun to past the time with. She brought two fingers to her lips and whistled, glancing back towards the bar tender, “Two tankards, Darren!” He just grunted slightly and nodded his head, “I hope you are not a lightweight,” Clarissa commented.

[Richard de Calys]

[Apologies for the lateness of this reply]

Yes, he was probably strange, but then he was living a strange life. Through his line of work he found himself mixing with all types of people, no doubt their...untraditional ways had had some sort of effect on the young duke. But a little strangeness was not a bad thing, and probably even helped him win over a few of his more unsavoury customers.

From what he had seen Clarissa could certainly be thought of as strange as well. She was certainl unladylike, none of the women he had met recently were ladylike, it seemed. He was beginning to question what 'ladylike' actually was. "You are not so normal yourself." He replied, with an almost smile across his lips. Normality was usually boring anyway, and he was sure Clarissa was the sort of woman who liked to think of herself as anything but normal. She was wearing trousers and straddling a chair after all.

He was slightly offended by her comment about him not having any fun. Everyone told him that. He did have fun, he had lots of fun, just not when he was working, which was something nobody else seemed to understand. When he was working he kept a sharp and clear mind, fun wasn't on the agenda. "I'm a duke, how much of a lightweight can I be?"

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Clarissa just stared across the table at him, the way he looked at her make her ponder if he was studying her at the moment. Since they said down, the Duke of Cantia seemed far more at ease with himself than he did outside on the streets with her, granted, it could very well be because she was not hanging off of him like the drunk that she could be. There was still something about her that tugged at her conscious though about him, but Clarissa could not decide what it was. He did not seem like the average man, not in personality at least, but there was not a lot to go off of. But the young woman was never wrong about people, or at least, that is what she always told herself. Perhaps he was thinking the same way about her, either that or he might have just saw her as a very silly girl who liked to wear pants, after all, being a duke meant that one was not used to seeing women behave, well, unlady like, as her mother often told her, but then again, the world was always full of surprises nowadays.

“You are not so normal yourself,” he replied, and dare she say that she might have seen a smile cross his lips? Clarissa could not decide, but if it was one, it meant that she was in no dire danger at the moment, which was always good. A smile sat on her lips as well now, she took a lot of pride in his compliment, “I beat all the boys in my village at races as well as climb the tallest trees,” the young woman boasted now, “And once I did a back flip off my house and landed right in a hay pile. My mother reacted to the whole thing very badly, but my father thought it quite brave.” Oh, her parents. She had not thought of them for a while, seeing as living on the road as an outlaw has pushed them out of her mind often so that people could not use them to harm her. Funny how she never thought that she would remotely miss her mother, but Clarissa found herself doing just that, as well as Sir Robert Lockwood, her father. Of course, Clarissa would never get emotional over such things, there were bigger things to set sad over.

Amber eyes studied his face now at her comment, and for a moment, he almost looked insulted and yet no words came to him at first. He must be used to the ‘not having fun’ comment. Of course, royals and nobles always had fun, it was what they spent their money on: Useless things while their people rot in the streets waiting on crops that might never grow. The nobles did not see the harsh reality of the lives of the lower people, and that always got to Clarissa. Who says that these people were meant to be king and queen? Richard though, distracted her from her thoughts now, “I’m a duke, how much of a lightweight can I be?” A snort of laughter escaped her, “Considering your awkwardness, I would think very much so. Besides, there have been a lot of nobles who have said those same words to me and yet I can easily drink them under the table.”

[Richard de Calys]

Richard laughed at her boasts, her enthusiasm reminded him of his brother. God, he hadn't seen Ector for over two years now. He was always enthusiastic. It didn't matter at all on the subject, he could talk about anything eagerly, always desperate for Richard's attention. It was strange, since leaving Cantia he hadn't given his family that much thought. Well, except his father, but those thoughts were not filled with fond memories, it was mainly the anger he felt. If it was not for his father he would not be bordering on penniless. But now, sat in some random tavern with a woman he'd only just met, he was reminded of his brother and of his life before this one.

Cantia was a world away now, and something he shouldn't be dwelling on, especially not in the company of someone such as Clarissa. He was sure she was up to something, and thoughts of Ector or his home were not going to help him ascertain what her intentions were.

"I'll take your word for it," he replied, his laughter subsiding now. She was certainly a spirited young woman, that was fore sure. Although whether that was a good thing or not he could not decide. While spirit could only be an advantage to those in their line of work - he was certain she was a thief too - it usually only benefited the owner of such a trait. To Richard it was likely to only be a hinderance.

Her reference to his awkwardness was in no way to surprising. Richard was well aware that he was not the best around women, especially those who insisted on behaving in very unladylike ways. Even so, he did not like to think of himself as awkward at all. It was not an attractive quality, and one that did not benefit him in anyway, so he chose to ignore it and instead focus on the latter part of her speech. He was in now way in any doubt that she could drink several nobles under the table - she had that sort of look about her. Richard, however, prided himself on his ability to remain sober. Alcohol dulled the wits, after all. "Well, none of those nobleman were Richard de Calys, now where they?"