Clash of the Nomads

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

The Forest of Balor. Now this place certainly had a reputation. Home of magical creatures, notorious people, lurking dangers. Yet, Vaughn was traveling right through it without an ounce of care. He had traveled through these woods many times before. What was one more time? This time however, he was not alone. He had a group of a few men, about five, who were accompanying him. Vaughn hated people. They were idiots. The men with him were no exception. But if he were to successfully execute the plan he had brewing, then he needed them. Only as a means to create diversion. Their lives were actually quite meaningless to him. And they made for purely annoying company. But, they were the scraps he gathered and now they were on a journey. Unfortunately.

"I'm hungry," one of them complained. "I'm tired," whined another. Vaughn felt like pulling out the two swords strapped on his back and slitting their throats simultaneously. The only thing that diverted the conversation was what their eyes soon laid to rest up ahead. There was a group of three people. Travelers. And they were steering a carriage. They were all at the top of a hill, looking down at the unsuspecting travelers. Vaughn could see it in the men's eyes; they were staring at the one woman, expressions of crude desire, while the others held desire for coin and the hope that they had some food on them. As if awaiting orders, Vaughn extended his hand forward. "Just don't take too long." With those words, the men withdrew their weapons and charged down the hill, racing towards the innocents.

Vaughn took his time. He slowly walked down the hill, but not to join them in their raid. He was barley even watching as two of the men pulled the woman towards them, already harassing her, while two others were restraining the two male travelers with her. And the fifth man, was pulling back the cloth from the cart, looking for anything edible, or for some money they could steal and take with them. Vaughn on the other hand, moved towards a tree on the side. He picked up a rock, pulled out his dagger, and leaning against the tree, began to sharpen his weapon while he let the men have their fun. The sooner they started, the sooner they'd finish, and the sooner they could be on their way. It was only mid day but they could cover more road in the day light. And Vaughn did not want to keep wasting time like this.

[[ Tag Clarissa ]]

[Clarissa Lockwood]

When considered a leader, there is always one thing that you must do: never admit to being lost. After all, if you don’t know where you are going, then how do others expect you to lead them on to adventure, and perhaps even their deaths. They need somebody who is strong, noble, confident, and above else, a rather good sense of direction so that their time nor their men’s time is wasted. But most of all, they want their leader to be able to walk in a straight line, “Clarissa, why don’t you just admit that you’re drunk and that we’re lost,” came a concerned voice now. The girl in which the question had been directed at, simply rolled her eyes and stumbled over a root, “Who on earth put that tree root there? That’s a terrible place, people walk here,” she asked now, glancing at it for a moment before looking at her companion, “Nonsense Henry, I’m as sober as a nun, I’m talking perfectly fine,” the young woman replied now, her brown eyes narrowing for a moment before turning back in the direction that she had headed from, “And, we are not lost.”

It could very well be a lie, Clarissa Lockwood always lied. It was handy skill to have, especially when talking to somebody as serious and stiff as Henry. He was like her conscious, never got drunk, never seemed to party, unless there was a charming lady involved. Of course, unlike everybody else, her companion still allowed the lying to go over his head some times for he could be gullible like that, not to mention, Clarissa had that bit of crazy in her that almost seemed better to follow than a rational person. Of course, it was easy for Henry to believe that until he found himself with her in the middle of the great hall with a prized crown, then he cursing her name to hell and back, “Then why are we traveling through the woods of Balor of all places? I don’t see how this can be considered a short cut…and why are we here while the others are out partying?” All of this complaining, it was quite a lot to handle some times, “We are scouting Mr. Thornberry,” Clarissa informed him now, saying it in a mocking noble tone, “Besides, where’s your sense of adventure? I bet a rabbit would be more excited from you.”

Henry had muttered something, but it was rather inaudible to her at the moment. Not that it mattered; these things were to be expected out of her companion. Honestly though, the young woman had thought by now that Henry would have gotten a little better, but not yet. She would have to make sure that there were more drunken nights ahead of them, the rest of the others would certainly see to it that he would have a mighty fine time. Besides, cutting through the forests of Balor was a short cut, a dangerous one, but at the end of the road, there is always a rather decent reward. Glancing over her shoulder and back at her companion, he had the largest scowl planted across his face, and if it were not for a sound, he might have retorted something. The pair stopped dead in their tracks now, Clarissa cocking her head to the side slightly, her brown eyes wide and glancing around for a moment where as Henry just lifted his head a little more. Both could remind people of skittish rabbits where they remained still and tense at the sound of screams and yells. Something was about.

Of course, being the person that she was, Clarissa wished to check it out, “Come on, Henry,” she hissed under her breath as she stumbled forward now, talking long and awkward strides as her companion followed, lacking a certain spring in his step. As they drew closer now, the woods and darkness still covering them, the two came across the commotion of five ruffians attacking a woman and two men, “Bandits,” Clarissa exclaimed now under her breath, “How dare they, I’ve never liked their kind. They always give us thieves such a bad rep,” she muttered now, watching how two of them were harassing the woman, and the way it went, it probably would not be long before they decided to overpower her and take what they want. Two others were restraining her companions, while the last went towards the carriage now and peered it. There was something about this that all seemed rather odd to her, there was nobody barking orders at them, surely there had to be leader somewhere, after all, these men seemed nothing but common folk. It was a very strange situation indeed.

“We should go get the others,” Henry replied now and she simply waved him off with her hand, “Nonsense, it will take forever to find them at this time at night, and by then, those men will have done their terrible deeds,” she countered now, trying to grasp a plan into her mind. Although, when it came down to it, the young woman never did have plans, not right off the bat at least. It has been within her experience, nothing ever does go according to plan. Henry had said something about still going and finding the others, and she heard the rustles of leaves, signaling his departure, but she would have none of it. After a moment, she jumped up onto a dead log, making her landing as loud as possible as her hands rested on her hips as she commented with a large smile, “I dare say, why don’t you pick on somebody your own size? Wearing…pants,” Clarissa felt no need to announce who she was, for her face was plastered all over wanted signs now for her capture, being the princess of thieves had its issues some times.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was bored. The men were taking far too long to do what they pleased. He wanted to press forward. Not just stand here. But fortunately, it was as if someone had read his thoughts and decided to remedy the situation. For out of no where, he heard a woman's voice. Vaughn looked up from having intently been staring at his dagger to see a young woman. But not just any woman. He recognized her, though he never met her. Vaughn had traveled about various cities, kingdoms even. The Princess of Thieves herself. This brought a smirk to his lips, as did her words. How utterly delightful! That this young woman decided to grant them with her presence. Or more specifically, grant Vaughn with her presence. And he was going to take full advantage.

Was that a challenge? Vaughn put his dagger back in its holder and leaned against the tree a bit more, folding his arms across his chest. This was going to be interesting. The men froze, stopping whatever they were doing. Instead, they focused all their attention on the woman. They did not need an invitation. The way they were clearly leering at her raised their amusement as they laughed over her remark of 'picking on someone their own size'. Clearly, they believed her outmatched. But Vaughn knew better than to underestimate a person in that sense. So he did not join in on the 'fun. He would just stand and watch how the scene would unfold. Whether it be favorable to the men, or whether this would be their last fight...had yet to be determined.

"You want us to pick on you love?" One of them asked tauntingly. They released their hold on the other woman who's eyes were wide with fear, and hope. Hope. Such a dangerous thing to have. The men began to form an almost circle, planning to surround her and then, attack. "Well looks like you got what you wanted. Get her!" And with that, the men charged towards her, their weapons in the air. Vaughn stood there, silently, chuckling. Idiots. They were all idiots. It seemed the day was going to turn out to be a bit more interesting than he had expected.

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Dare she say, was this act almost nobler than a cause of stealing from the rich? It might as well be, although for now, she could not really tell if the woman and her two men were nobles or not. Either way, upon Clarissa’s arrival, she saw both fear and hope flash across her eyes now. Well, at least her mind could be put slightly at rest, for the young woman had no plans of dying today, nor having these sleazy looking men ravish her. No, Clarissa Lockwood planned to continue on her merry way after she was done, although, there was her rabbit sense bothering her, for she still felt as if she was being watched, and not by the five men who were slowly starting to surround her at the moment, “You want us to pick on you love?” came one’s voice now, taunting her as if she were a bear in a cage. A smirk escaped her, “Well, I did cal you out on it, didn’t I?” Thankfully though, they did let go of the one woman, even if that did mean that they were advancing on Clarissa herself. A frown rested on her lips, she knew that look in their eyes, well, actually, there were many looks, but there was one look in particular: they thought they had the upper hand.

Oh, how that always annoyed her. Men thinking that they could better women at everything, that they were weak, and so on and so forth. Well, they were about to get a wakeup call for Clarissa was quite sure that they were indeed, evenly matched. Actually, she’d be willing to be her life on it that they were far more out matched than she was, and Henry and the other men were not even her. They had her surrounded now on her little long, her brown eyes glancing towards the ones on either side of her as well as in front, my my, this really was turning into a challenge now, “Well, looks like you got what you wanted. Get her!” came another man’s voice now as they raised their swords and all charged at her now. Clarissa did nothing more than roll her eyes, “Ugh, how I hate it when men point their things at me,” she commented lightly before leaping off her log and ducking under one their arms to get out of the center and quickly drew her bow now.

Of course, she seemed to stumble over a tree root, perhaps Henry was right about her having a little much to drink. Not that it mattered. She was quite certain that she had this handled now as she quickly drew an arrow now and placed it within her bow, pulling back hard now as her brown eyes gazed down the wooden shaft before letting it flying, hitting a man cleanly and straight through the shoulder blade. It was then something occurred to Clarissa, why on earth should she waste her arrows on these men? After all, she not entirely in a kill mood today, even if unwanted sexual advances were on their mind, no, she was just in a maiming mood…or doing some serious damage. As her thoughts wandered, another man took a lunge at her and she just quickly moved, and swung her bow, wood side first, straight into his neck to knock the breath out before swatting at him again to knock him out, “Two down, three to go,” she murmured. Quickly, she lunged forward now, practically dancing around the men, duck as they took punches at her to make them hit each other. After a moment of getting bored, she simply just tripped them up and quickly ran over towards the wagon now, “I’ll be borrowing this,” Clarissa said with a grin before running back over with a rope and tying them up quickly before they came to their sense.

Taking a step back, she crossed her arms and looked over her handy work for a moment before finally saying with a grin as she pulled her dagger out, “And did I panic? I think not.” Her words were quite gleeful, as if it rub it in to the unconscious men before turning quickly and throwing her dagger hard. Clarissa heard as the blade struck a tree hard, no doubt the blade sneaking into the wood of the tree, “Why don’t you come out from the shadows and face me like a man? Or are you too afraid to take me on?” she said with a challenged edge in her voice now. Honestly, Clarissa was quite positive that there was a person there, by where her knife struck. She could feel it within her bones, after all, these men had been nothing, for them to just be traveling on their own was about as farfetched as pigs with wings flying about, it just didn’t happen. Either way, she pulled an arrow out from her quiver now and placed it in her bow, but she kept it pointing down at the ground now as her amber eyes continued to stare into the woods, watching and waiting.

Occ: good thing I don't have to write fight scenes too often XD

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn watched the entire scene unfold. This was far too amusing. One little delightful creature besting five men. This made something very clear to Vaughn: that the men he had found to 'hire', were completely incompetent. He did not fail to notice that she did not kill a single one of them. They were simply impaired; the one with the arrow in his shoulder perhaps being the most severely so. It was not until she called for whoever was lurker about to reveal themselves. At this, Vaughn smirked and took it as his cue to exit. He stepped into the clearing, chuckling, and amused and extremely pleased smile on his face. He brought his hands together and clapped in a long drawn out way, as if he was applauding her in her efforts. Her seemingly successful efforts. "Well done," he congratulated. His eyes locked on hers with every step he took, as they searched over her body frame, in a way meant to make a woman feel uncomfortable. Unless she welcomed such attention. She appeared to be so small, so delicate and yet, he had witnessed her agility in defeating his useless men.

"Who would have thought that such an exquisite little creature as yourself, would be capable of so much." Vaughn did not congratulate people, but he was not ignoring the fact. Besides, she currently had an arrow prepared in her bow, just in case. While he did not fear death, there was no need to die needlessly. He swiftly pulled out his two swords strapped to his back. It was no threat to her, and soon enough she would see that. "But once you start a job, you should really finish it." With those words, he made his way over, first to the man with the arrow in his shoulder. They were all useless to him now and he did not need them to go around, blabbing out his plans. So he took both his swords and inserted them straight into the man's chest, one right in the heart, the other just on the side. It gave him instant death. Then he moved on to the next unconscious man, using one sort to slice it across his throat and he did the same with his other weapon, just for an added effect.

Every other unconscious goon of his, he killed, stabbing his sword into them, even decapitating one of them just to see if it would make her squirm. To see if he could gain more of a reaction from her with such a morbid killing, he lightly kicked the rolling head towards her, so that it would go towards her feet. Once he was done, he wiped the blades of his swords down on the grass to get the blood clean from it. While doing so, looked at her. "And that, is how you complete an attack." His face still held that gleam of amusement, clearly not phased over the fact that he had killed his own men. Then again, they were not his. He had just found them, and while he had known they were stupid, he now knew that they were completely useless too... which is why it had been necessary to kill them. He did not thank people, but at least she had opened his eyes to their incompetence. He completely ignored the small group of travelers who had been the source of all this. For they did not matter to Vaughn; he was presently far more interested in the woman standing before him.

[[It was a very well done fight scene I must say! Sorry for taking so long to reply, hopefully it won't happen again]]

[Clarissa Lockwood]

Her eyes were still narrow, staring off at the one place waiting for movement. Clarissa was quite positive that there was somebody there, if not, well, she had probably just scared the death out of an animal. But still, these men, they were not clever at all making it rather hard to believe that they all just were about here wandering absent mindly. No, if somebody was in the woods that meant that there was a plan afoot because they certainly did not look like the woodland folk. She would know. There was a rustling of leaves now before a man stepped out into the clearing now, a chuckle leaving his lips as he clapped his hands together in a loud, drawn out applause. If anything, he was mocking her, “Well done,” the man commented now. Brown eyes simply watched him closely; every step he took closer made her grip on the bow and the iron string even stronger now. It made her think of the first time she had saw a snake, curled up along her path and staring at her. While the man didn’t look like one, the only think that came to her mind was ‘snake’.
The man’s gaze was annoying her. She was quite certain as to his glance over was nothing more than to make her nervous, and she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing one way from another if it bothered her. Although, Clarissa did wish she could smack it right off his face. Men were power hungry, and in her mind at the moment, whoever this man was, he was no different than nobility, “Who would have thought that such an exquisite little creature as yourself, would be capable of so much.” It was not a congratulations by far, but he was recognizing her abilities, which is more than the rest of Albion’s royalty seemed to do, “Everybody is capable of doing great things,” she replied causally, eyes narrowing as he outdrew his two broad swords now, the blades gliding out of their sheath’s effortlessly. At his action, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, but before she could pull her bow up, he spoke again, “But once you start a job, you should really finish it.” Clarissa’s brow furrowed and her nose scrunched up slightly, annoyed that he was lecturing her in such a way. Men were annoying, enough was said.

She was about to open up her mouth to say something when the man did something very unexpected, for her at least. He started walking over towards the first man who tried to attack her and without so much as a second thought, lodged his blades into the man. Her eyes could not help but to widen slightly in alarm. What on earth was he doing?! Those were his men! She would never do such a thing to any of hers, although, Clarissa usually didn’t kill people unless the situation was dire or that person deserved to die. One by one, he visited each man like he was the angel of death and they didn’t even know that they were about to be killed. It was hardly a fair fight…well, this wasn’t even considered a fight. The last one was grotesque, but she would not give him the pleasure of knowing she thought such a thing as he slowly decapitated the last man, probably taking at least two or three good hacks. As the head dropped to the ground now with a thud that seemed to disturb the whole silence, another chuckle escaped the curly haired man as he kicked the head towards her. With one swift move, Clarissa pulled her bow up slightly and shot the arrow at the ground and it served as a stopping mechanism for the head before it got to her feet.

Clarissa still stood her ground though, her brown eyes resting on this stranger and she knew that she was no safer than the rest of them. With luck the passersby’s would know that they should leave after that display of violence. As his eyes met hers, the man spoke again, “And that, is how you complete an attack,” he informed her now. Her lips twisted in a scowl, “They were unconscious, I’d hardly call that a fair kill,” she replied, “And I don’t need a lecture from you,” Clarissa continued on, a hint of attitude showing up in her voice, “Those men probably had families,” Or perhaps, she should just remain quiet now. This man was obviously dangerous, and for all she knew, he could be able to overpower her. Although, the young woman was quite confident in her abilities to get out of tight situations, his kills just made everything a little more tricky, “Who on earth are you anyways? Somebody like you wandering around the woods with a pack of men is certainly not up to any good.”

Notes: Why thank you very much! And it's okay! I mean, it's August, busiest month anyways. I was away for a week and a half anyways.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn chuckled when she said that everyone is capable of doing great things. Great things? Vaughn was inclined to disagree. What could be constituted as great these days anyway. Certainly not fighting off a group of bandits. "Great, is a relative term." He did not believe she was great; none of this was great. Hell, he did not even know what defined greatness. Certainly not anything he has seen in this world. He was however further amused when she did not seem to flinch at the gruesome site that she beheld, by his hand. Or sword to be more specific. In fact, she stared at the rolling head, just enough to cause her arrow to cease its movement to her feet. She was certainly no typical woman. But then, he already knew that from the way she had fought them off. And now apparently her threshold for gore.

Not only that, but was there some attitude in that voice of hers? Interesting. Considering that he had just proven himself to be a merciless man and here so was, offering lip. Vaughn laughed at her words. A 'fair kill'... they had 'families'... so apparently she was a typical woman after all. Investing emotion in this situation that showed nothing but cruelty. "It was not personal," he told her, smiling with amusement. Not even the slightest bit phased to hear that they may have children, or wives, or siblings. Who cared. They were idiots that had no longer served their purpose to Vaughn. "It should not be for you either," he added. "Unless you knew them?" He questioned, though he highly doubted it. He was just mocking her.

With his the tip of his sword, he pointed to the head that was a few feet from her. "Perhaps that one right there was your brother." Yes; mocking indeed. He then pointed to another lifeless body. "And that one your uncle." He the pointed to another. "And that one your husband." He had to suppress his laughter at the preposterous idea of it all. But she spoke of them and their 'family' as if she really cared too. Then again, it all went back to the over emotional state that women were known to have. Her next questioned was one in which a name would naturally follow in response. But Vaughn withheld this piece of information...for now. "The same could be said about a woman, out in the woods all by herself. Surely, she is up to no good either." His voice sounding taunting. "Or perhaps you are the forest's angel; always near when danger befalls innocent travelers." Again, mocking and condescending. "You certainly look the part of angel," he added with a more crude gleam in his eyes, his gaze going over her attire unique to a woman. Now, he was just being perverted.

[/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Clarissa Lockwood]

A chuckle escaped the man now, “Great, is a relative term,” he replied now. Maybe to him, but not to her, there were a lot of things that could be considered great and he probably just didn’t even realize it. Of course, he could just be foolish enough to think that she is simply talking about what had just happened with the bandits, which would be sad and pathetic really. Clarissa managed to hold back a sigh though, truth be told, she was getting very annoyed with the likes of Albion and how people seemed to refuse to acknowledge who she was even with her rising ‘stardom’ as some like to call it. Granted, these were thoughts that were often best kept to herself, or at least, when in the company of strangers. The men didn’t matter, nor did Henry, because they were part of it all, her band of thieves, her crew, or even merry men. Whatever they are, they were her family now and part of the legacy, but to this odd curly haired man, Clarissa would not rant about such things, besides, she had a feeling that there were greater things that she needed to worry about.

Perhaps he sensed it though, that she was not of the average woman. Not a lot of people would say that, she practically drove her mother insane because of it. Clarissa never intends to take a man, she thinks that such a relationship would hold her down and plus, they might as well be considered a danger and quite frankly, she didn’t want a lover to make sure was safe all the time. Besides, relationships were just so, trivial and quite frankly, Clarissa could never imagine herself cooking for a man. There were men within her band that did that sort of things. Not to mention, she wore pants, something that was unheard of. Her thoughts were cut short though by the man’s laughter now at her own words. Nothing ever good came out from that, even with the nicest of people, “It was not personal,” he said with a smile amusement dancing across his face, “It should not be for you either, unless you know them?” Her eyes narrowed at the question and already, the young woman could feel her grip tighten on the bow in annoyance, he was mocking her, she could sense nor was he being very subtle about it, and by Frith, did it annoy her.

His blade extended now, but hardly in a threatening way as he pointed to each of the dead bodies now, asking if they were various members of her family, father, cousin, even husband. It was all in dark humor for him, even Clarissa could tell that he was surprising his laughter at it all. Why nobody had yet to kill his man was beyond her, but if he was still alive and certainly judging by the way that he had decapitated that man, he was a skilled warrior. All of the best ones were never right in the head, other than Arthur and his knights arguably. It made her ponder that if she shot one of her arrows point blank at him with hardly any distant between them, if he could take it down. Perhaps it would be a theory that Clarissa would test if he continued on mocking her this way, he was really trying her patience and that was saying something for a thief. Not to mention, he was currently dancing around her question, “The same could be said about a woman, out in the woods all by herself. Surely, she is up to no good either.” Ha, like she was alone, well, perhaps technically right now, she was, but Henry and the rest were out there, somewhere, problem was she didn’t know where at the moment.

“People always say I’m quite daf,” she replied easily enough even though he was clearly taunting her. Best not let it under her skin, even though it was very tempting to do so. Her brown eyes kept a close watch on him, not trusting him in the slightest now that there were no witnesses to witness their clash should one come. And of course, he did not stop there with his words, “Or perhaps you are the forest’s angel; always near when danger befalls innocent travelers,” his tone was still mocking, but even more, it was condescending now. It almost made her want to laugh, considering when nobles and their treasures passed through the forests, she and her men were the ones stealing their things. Still, she held back her laugh, mostly because of the tone he was taking with her as well as the gleam in his eyes as he scanned over her now. A look that she was quite used to now considering that she wore her shirt low and her bodice tight. Not to mention, all men were perverts. Clarissa took a step forward now and bent over slightly to pluck her arrow from the ground and hold it in her hand now, a smirk resting on her face, “I have the chastity of one too. Now,” she said, placing the arrow back in her bow and pulling it back, causing the bow to bend, “Tell me, is there a price on your head? Or do they not do that for the demons of the woods?”

[Vaughn Adeney]

Vaughn watched her carefully as she reached for her arrow. When she asked if there was a price on his head, calling him a demon in the process, Vaughn chuckled. "An angel and a demon. Sounds like quite the contradictory pair." His comment went back to his taunting remark about her being an angel to help people. He did not believe her as such, but nor was he above continuing to tease and provoke others. She did seem to react well to it, which was always his goal. "But what is it they say, opposites attract?" He asked smirking. He began to walk around the bodies, inspecting them in a very casual way, her question in his mind and deciding to actually answer it. "Depends on who you ask," he told her.

Shockingly, it was the truth. He was a fugitive for some crimes that he would well be executed for. Sometimes he was hunted until they gave up; other times they had no choice but to give up and let him be. Vaughn did not feel like he was running from anything though. If there were authorities after him then he would welcome them to come. It always made things a little more interesting after all. "What would you do if I said there was a large price on my head. Would you turn me in, try to force me to be compliant?" He asked, his tone mocking once again. He was curious as to what her motive had been for asking the question. "If you think you can, then by all means, dominate me." This time, his words were said with more a tone of perversion than anything else, as a sinister gleam remained in his eyes

[Clarissa Lockwood]

A chuckle escaped the man now, still he was not giving her anything to go off of, other than he was like all men and was perverted in every sense. Of course, a man who thought little of his actions towards others had to mean something, and made Clarissa believe that there was more than what meets the eye at the moment. There was a story behind this one, whether he was willing to tell her or not, that had yet to be seen, but she would not count on it. This would be something to go hunting about for information, for a man of his characteristics must have a name, and probably a well known name at that, “An angel and a demon. Sounds like quite the contradictory pair,” he replied smoothly now but Clarissa was willing to bet a tankard that this was not the end of it, “But what is it they say, opposites attract?” She nearly made a face, but somehow managed to not bristle. After all, she did not wish to give him the comfort to know that he was getting to her and causing her temper to flare a little.

But she had to be calm; after all, a rabbit who doesn’t think is nothing more than a dead rabbit. Amber eyes rested on the man as he walked around the bodies now, keeping it at a leisurely pace as he inspected the bodies as one would inspect flowers and butterflies. “Depends on who you ask,” he replied. Curious of him to say such a thing, and it really did pike Clarissa’s interest just a bit, of course, curiosity was often a dangerous thing to act upon, “Depends on who I ask? I didn’t take you one for friends,” she replied now. Although, he did not look like a man on the run, no, he did not look like he feared anything at all. Egos made that happen from time to time though, and the young woman was not foolish, if she were to go prodding him at all, best make sure that there was an escape planned out, at least one to get her far away to take him out or until Henry came back with the men.

“What would you do if I said there was a large price on my head? Would you turn me in, try to force me to be compliant?” He asked now, that mocking tone back in his voice. Clarissa found herself growing more annoyed by the minute with this man, he tested her patience and mocked her at the same time. He was no different that all of those royal families and lines of nobility who did not take her seriously as the Princess of Thieves. Her weight shifted, her hand resting on the arrow in her draw string, “Why no, I couldn’t possibly turn you in without having to turn myself in, and I very much like life outside the bars,” she replied now, her eyes narrowing as he spoke of dominance. If he was inviting her to do so, it would be so rude to pass up such an opportunity. Although, these were dangerous waters, and it was always safe to test them, so he was good with the blades on a human flesh, but what about against the arrow? Clarissa brought her bow up quickly now and launched an arrow in one swift and fluid motion that sent it point blank towards his face, curious to see what would happen.