A Hat Half Full

Postby Jirai » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:14 pm

Rhaena is very good at sounding reasonable. She is even better at not sounding impatient, even though things would go so much swifter if only she reached out... but she didn't. Not yet. "My brother tried to keep me safe, too. Sometimes, even when you try, you can't keep someone safe." She looked at him closely for several long moments before speaking again. "Tell me, Tennant - you are from Thessilane, are you not?"
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Postby Tolleson » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:30 pm

"Yes, well apparently she's got Mister Burnie as an employer, no doubt she's safe from all the evils save him." No, he didn't think Burnie's temper was nearly as short with Genny, at least not enough to physically harm her. But these were only assumptions and good reasons to dislike the man seemed to be popping up everywhere.

"Regrettably, were I from somewhere less a bother I'd be met with less animosity," he seemed to think on his words a moment before adding, "probably." After all, he was still a criminal no matter where he was from or its current political climate.
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Postby Jirai » Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:41 pm

"If your sister heard your story, what would she think?" She could ignore his little outbursts quite easily, remaining most polite. She leaned forward slightly in her chair - a pity the guards were being slow about fetching the offered one for Tennant. "In my experience, people tend to react poorly to those seen as thieves." Particularly when they thieve away Important Personages. "However, when one anticipates... unpleasantness with, say, a person, they might seek to learn more of that person."
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Postby Tolleson » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:54 am

"How am I to know?" His answer was simple and provided with the absolute sense that he did not know at all. For all he knew and all he had seen of her since, she would be mad at him from now into eternity with little room for misunderstanding or explanation. There was no sarcasm or bitterness in his words, he very simply didn't know.

Rhaena shifted and neared and despite not having a chair he mimicked the movement as best he could, following her lead. Squatted across from her in the cell he would still be near as tall as she sat in the chair, just as tall if not an inch or two more than Genny. There were words on the tip of his tongue about the expected unpleasantness of Mister Burnie, but he refrained. Giving the lady a wry half smile, "do you anticipate unpleasantness with me?"
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Postby Jirai » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:54 am

"Well, you are her brother. You might make a guess. Would she believe you?" It was an idle question, moreso than most she had asked. If she really wanted to know, she could simply ask Genny. But his next question made the woman smile beneath her veil and she cocked her head slightly to one side. "Should I?" Only a moment's pause before she continued. "Tell me, do you know anything about channellers?"
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Postby Tolleson » Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:38 pm

Ought he have a guess, probably; had he one, "I really haven't. But she is not unreasonable," then again his case and its explanation weren't entirely reasonable in the first place.

"I can guess that if she heard it from you she might believe it." His voice was almost flirtatious, giving a bit of a grin in spite of speaking honestly. Rhaena was here, kind, and far more amicable then Burnie, but truthfully she probably just needed to hear it from someone, not Tennant himself.

As he had done before he mimicked her movements now, cocking his head likewise. A single hand clasp the bars to balance as most of his weight rested precariously on the balls of his feet. Low down and squatting there in the cell his knees protruded through the gaps between bars and the fabric of his britches stretched tight over the muscles in his legs.

"You need not anticipate any unpleasantness with me Lady Olwak." He could have said he surely hoped not, but Rhaena was hardly the thread Burnie was. Or had been hardly as much until she brought up her next topic. Tennat could rose slowly, until he was well above Rhaena's height, looking down on her with both hands once again clasp on the cool metal. Like before he held them now to balance, even in this more stable stance, weight evenly distributed it seemed to take both hands to steady him.

"Channellers," he repeated, he shook his head 'no' but his eyes said far more and betrayed the unspoken lie. "...what business would I have with such things?"
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Postby Jirai » Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:16 am

On the contrary, Rhaena was -much- more of a threat than Glenn Burnie. She was also prettier and nicer, but nice is different than good. "Most reasonable people would have no business with them. However," and here Rhaena rose gracefully to her feet, smoothing out her skirts before continuing. "Sometimes one has no choice. And, as I said before, when one anticipates unpleasantness, one tries to learn as much as they can." She hadn't been talking about you when she said that, see? "Now, Tennant. You seem convinced of your story. You must admit, though, that your tale of shapeshifters is a bit difficult to believe. Very convenient, you see. Of course, there are ways to verify your story that we might use. Magic, and such. I would prefer to have your permission, first." Not that she wouldn't just do it without his permission, of course, but best to be polite about these things when one could. "Assuming that you prove to have been telling the truth, I think you would find Mister Burnie quite interested in any information you have about channelers. So, what say you?"
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Postby Tolleson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:21 am

Perhaps it was his careful observation of Rhaena's gracefully rising figure or that her comments were about Burel's army, in either case Tennant sported a broad grin for her now. At her clarification he sighed in relief, smiling from behind the bars. "I suppose I can't fault you for your initiative to learn." Oh yes, she was definitely dangerous. But see how reasonable he was.

At the mention of magic his smile faltered, if just barely. A compliant yet curt nod prefaced his words, "Magic." There was some measure of disdain for it, to be anticipated from those who had fallen victim to magic used against them in any way prior. The reservation was shaken off, perhaps because it was Rhaena and not Burnie who offered."Yes, of course... I, would this magic show everything?" He chewed his lip a moment trying to find a way to beg a favor despite being in no position to make any request.

"Nevermind. Yes, on with it," his smile here was far more tentative.
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Postby Jirai » Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:26 pm

And so it comes back to Treadwell's initial suggestion, though done in a much more tactful and polite way. "I assure you, I have no wish to know -everything.-" Not entirely true, but a convenient reassurance. "This will simply be enough to verify your identity and your story." But he agrees, and beneath the veil she is smiling. "With your permission, then. It will be simplest if you just repeat the salient points of your story again." As she spoke, her eyes lost their focus and the veiled woman reached out very delicately to the man's mind to verify his words.
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Postby Tolleson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:05 pm

The story, from the beginning, from where ever this story began. Not when he had met the sailors on the road, not when he'd left Genny to her job as a pie-maker, nor when he'd begun his work at sea, an honest man's job for the brief time it lasted. No, it was after that, after even the time he'd begun work as thief himself. He had been good, good enough to not be caught and it had been wonderful. But it had been some time, the memories of several years flashing by with lightning speed as he tried to recall the precise moment and it struck equally as swift; crackling thunder dissipating the fog of memories traveled through to arrive at this precise moment. He recalled the black hair of the woman, almost blue in the moonlight. The feelings of affection left the memory glowing, a halo of silver light radiating off her skin.

"Hat was her nickname even then," his voice bespoke his fondness, but he was already getting off track, and he righted himself more seriously, "the book." Tennant watched her eyes unfocused, perhaps even felt the gentle, mental touch.

"We had talked for months of this remarkable book, my father was dying and we needed the money for him and for -us-" He eventually looked away, letting Rhaena stare beyond him as he stared with some measure of shame at the ground. "I went home to take it, well in hand and on my way Genny saw me." His shame turned, if ever so slightly, to anger at himself and at his sister.

"My own sister turned me in, my -partner- rescued me," his disdain was that of a lover scorned, but still he managed to move on with it. "Convinced to take me as a captive for my failure, she was determined to get the book on her own," which about lead them to how he ended up in town in the first place. His story wrapped up here, outwardly composed he was flooded with the pain of a lost lover, the betrayal of family, and the anger regarding his situation. "I did not steal anything from the -good- people of Myrken. I did not kidnap your Councilor Treadwell. Nor did I ever once see the coin I have been accused of stealing," there was a deep breath and as he returned his eyes to Rhaena, the release of a burden in sharing at least that much of the story. At at least as much was true, or he believed it to be to his very core.

Now -Mister- Burnie, who had used whom?
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Postby Jirai » Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:48 pm

It felt good to use her Skill. Too good - that was always the risk of such powers, and an edge she had flirted with before locking her talent away. Now that it was no longer locked, though... "Very informative." Her eyes remained unfocused though and she did not withdraw her contact with his mind. "I do see something of a problem here, however. If this Hat is a shapechanger, as you say, how are we to go about finding her? Now, I've seen a shapechanger once before, but that one was a dragon. I don't suppose you know just how she does this? Or any way to identify her?"
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Postby Tolleson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:02 pm

How did one identify a shape changer? How to know them when they could change sex, birthmarks, hair color, even the tenor of their voice?

Ah, but to this he smiled. Could she see the happiness in his mind, feel the relief at being able to answer, "Yes."

His grin was once again wide as he looked to Rhaena through the bars, standing still as he recalled the black ink, the gentle curves of an illustration, the delicate marking. "There is a tattoo, magic or brand, she cannot change." There is somewhat of a sigh at this, as Tennant the marking would have been easier to spot. But as a woman, the tattoo lie half inside the base of her scalp and it was easily covered. It all mattered who she was.

"A flower of some kind, fruit blossom?" He didn't seem to care too much what -exactly- it was, only that he knew it to exist. And clearly, he did not sport one, for how very little that meant. There was still a fair amount of ambiguity to all of this testimony, but perhaps now that Rhaena had heard him he'd gain an ally.
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Postby Jirai » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:10 am

"Ah." That was well, that was very well. She could see the image so clearly. "That is most helpful, Tennant." After a moment, the woman's bronze eyes regained their focus as she abandoned the mental link. "If you will excuse me, I shall see about finding you some.. more comfortable accomodations."
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