Ethi knew a Jhonan when she saw one. The pale skin, the brightly coloured hair and a form that seemed disgustingly torn between human and prize bull. Together, it was utterly undeniable.
She’d heard tales of Jhonan, too. Their ferocity, their savagery, and the ways they left bodies twisted in their wake. Ethi had once delighted in those stories but now, as she stared up at one with an inferno of magic at their beck and call, they only filled her with dread.
She’s stronger than me.
She felt her magic twisting away from her grasp at that and seized it with anger. She didn’t care how deadly the mountain warriors were, they’d placed themselves as but one of many obstacles in her path, and there was only one way she could afford to deal with that.
“My name is Siobhan,” The woman responded. The casual way her eyes ran over each and every one of them made Ethi feel as if they were merely children pretending to be dangerous. “I’m here to see Gorbachev.”
Ethi didn’t recognise the name, it seemed Lachlan did however. “The fuck do you want with her?”
“Wait, Lach.” Isla hissed, the edge in her voice dulled somewhat. “Who sent you?”
“Our mutual employer.” The Jhonan responded. There was more going on at play here than Ethi was aware of, so she listened to see what information she could glean. What one didn’t know was liable to fuck one bloody, Crow Tempora had taught her that.“Put the fucking gun down.” Isla told Lachlan. The man looked as if he was considering shooting the stranger before obeying, but begrudgingly decided against it.
“You too, put your magic away,” She ordered, and Ethi obeyed.
As hesitant as she was to release her magic, Ethi knew that keeping it in her grasp was no different from pointing a gun at the woman’s face. It didn’t breed conversation and it certainly did not foster trust.
The faint pressure of Isla’s magic left the air and only then did the north woman’s follow suit. “We must speak in private,” the newcomer informed them.
“I don’t know if you noticed but we’re in a little bit of a hurry,” Isla replied.
“We must speak in private.” The woman did not frown, did not raise her voice, she only needed to stress a word for Ethi to be once again needled with fear.
It occurred to her that Siobhan had not even so much as glanced at the corpses beneath them.
Ethi hadn’t either, but she had made the decision to avoid being plagued with yet another image in her nightmares, with the woman it was like the death simply wasn’t of any import to her.
“I’ll be on my way,” Isla said, sounding quieter now.
“Good,” The Jhonan grunted and left.
It was Lachlan who spoke next. “You’re not actually considering going with that thing, yeah? I mean look at the size of her.”
Isla didn’t so much as glance at him as she made her way to the door. “Get the girls on Rocka’s ship, I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”Lachlan watched her leave with the clear exasperation of a man who’d had more than enough action for the day. He looked at Cut and Ethi. “Alright then, you heard her, lets fucking go.”
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Isla stood underneath a bridge with the stranger. From this close, there was no missing just how large the woman truly was. She had to tilt her head just to meet her eyes.
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Pit, what do they feed the sheets over in Arcane.
With the magic Isla felt pumping through her, if the woman wanted her dead, she would be.
It was not a comforting thing to know but it allowed logic to prevail.
I know she’s not an enemy because if I were hers my limbs wouldn’t currently still be attached to my body.
It didn’t answer all her questions however, and she had a pressing one in mind.
“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Isla asked.
“Your mission,” She said, eyes perpetually hard like magma turned to stone. She reached into her pocket and unwrapped a piece of paper. It held a pencil drawing of a man she didn’t know. That wasn’t surprising, Isla assumed she didn’t know most men, the Goddess had seen fit to create them in large enough multitudes that they always surprised her.
He was a bald thing, with a crooked nose and thin lips. Though Isla couldn’t tell his skin tone, she would guess him to be Unixian by his features alone, and likely of the same sheet-skinned stock as had been native to the continent before Paradiso.
The target was likely of low birth too judging by his unattractive features, and luckily he had a mole just below his left eye. It would make him easier to identify in a crowd.
So, lucky for me. Not so much for him.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?” Isla asked.
“No,” Siobhan replied, with the force of mace.
Isla refused to be crushed underneath it. “Guessed as much,” She sighed. “And what are we to get from him again?”
“A document,” Siobhan stated. “We shall retrieve it through whatever means necessary.” “Understood, how-” Isla paused, a sudden thought occurring to her, mind snagging on one of the woman’s words. “What do you mean we, you’re talking like you're coming along,” Isla’s tone must have been more combative than she’d intended, for the Jhonan now looked half a step closer to crushing her skull.
Isla was suddenly aware of the way the light danced off the axe by her hip, it was made of a curious metal, one that shifted between black and green hues. Isla could only think of how it might look stained with her blood.
“I will be coming along,” Siobhan stated, in much the same tone as might have otherwise been used to tell her the sum of one and one.
“I was under the impression I was supposed to do this myself.” Isla reigned in her voice and mastered her anger.
“And then you brought three outsiders.” She rebutted, as if Isla’s words were glass and hers a boulder.
“They don’t know the details-”
“And I shall ensure that remains the case.” She cut in.
In a just world Isla would have reshaped the Jhonan’s skull into something rather more akin to mulched fruit than a cranium. In reality, however, she would die before the first blow landed.
“Fuck, whatever, just don’t get in my way.” She hissed.
The Lady Yemisi didn’t trust Isla, it was her fault for bringing on others, it hadn’t occurred to her that she should have simply done it herself. Could she have? None of that mattered now. She would regain that trust by pulling off the mission without a hitch, it was a guarantee now, after all she had Lachlan, a spark and a Mystic on her side.In a just world it would all go according to plan.
In a just fucking world.