Cinders

BRIAR

Her lungs burned. She felt like she'd been running through Faline's dark, lesser-used streets for hours, and she was still being followed?

It'd probably only been about twenty or so minutes, but it was easy to lose track of time when your throat and chest were on fire, and every inhale felt like icy talons clawing their way down her esophagus. She couldn't keep running forever; despite her pride, Briar was well aware of that. She needed to lose this assailant quick, or think of something else.

She was pretty familiar with Faline's lower class streets, knew most of the alleyways and which ones were dead ends. Thus, she wasn't surprised when she turned a corner into one of the alleys and found herself facing a tall stone wall. With her chest heaving, a grin snaked its way onto her lips, and she finally turned to face the person who had been following her this entire time. They were nothing if not persistent, and she was eager to meet them.

Briar was surprised, however, to find that it was a woman, tall and ethereal, with a snowlike effervescence that nearly made the Wildfire gasp. Her paleness was only accentuated by the light of the full moon behind her, lining her in a shimmering silver outline. Was she actually glowing, or was it just a trick of the light?

What did make her gasp, however, was the sight of the massive two-handed sword strapped to her back. Briar wasn't sure why, but she would've expected the woman to fight with daggers, like she did, given her clear stamina and doggedness in hunting her down. She would've guessed they were a rogue, and Briar was incredibly confident in her knifeplay, which was why she'd purposely turned into this dead end alley. That blade, however, would surely reach her before her throwing dagger could even leave her fingers. Shit.

She spread her hands out beside her, determined not to lose her cool yet. "Oh no," she said. "A dead end. Whatever will I do now that you've caught me?" There was still hope. If she couldn't fight her way out of this encounter, she could still probably get away. Her fingertips twitched, ready to whip up a gust of wind to help carry her away. Her gaze darted to the nearest rooftop, about a story off the ground. Could she make that jump? She looked back to the taller woman, then threw her hands up in defeat, waiting for her opponent's first move.

EVE

The assassin had certainly done a good job at passing under the radar, until she caught the attention of Evelyn Augustine. While the rest of the room was distracted by the commotion on the balcony, panicking over the downed mage and the huge winged brute that came rushing in, the assassin had simply waltzed through the front doors and back out onto the streets. Eve, having seen the whole disastrous thing up close, had been hot on the assassins heels. Following closely through the first few streets and down a particularly dingy alleyway until the other woman had broken into a run. The Lightbinder had instinctively given chase, and the outcome was a certainty after that: Eve would catch her.

She'd think about the 'why' of that later, for now the chase was on. Ignoring the numerous times her body told her to stop, Eve relentlessly perused the other woman through the lower streets of Faline. The assassin was swift, and cunning, and nearly lost her with a couple slick moves that might have worked on a larger opponent. Unfortunately for Briar, Eve enjoyed running and often did so in the mornings for 'fun'. For the moment, keeping up on her was a breeze.

However, it was nearly twenty minutes later and the pair of them had ran to the point that Eve figured one of them was going to give out soon, and she was just beginning to think it was her. What she did not expect was for the smaller woman to turn down a dead end path, and slowly turn to face her. Years of experience told Eve not to step into that damned alley and close the distance, but the many years of inexperience were louder as the Lightbinder stepped forward.

"Who," Golden eyes narrowed, "are you? What is your intent?" She didn't allow her thoughts to linger on the soft, pale hair that fell gently in front of bright, honey eyes.

Eve's arms were folded, but occasionally her finger twitched towards the large blade at her shoulder: the one she could see the assassin eying. It would take very little effort to unsheathe it: despite its size the blade was miraculously light and viciously sharp. By the time this woman pulled out her knives, Eve would already have the blade against her throat. Eve just hoped the other woman recognized that fact as well and kept her knives in their holders.

BRIAR

Briar held her breath as she waited for the woman to draw her sword, but instead she merely stood there with her arms crossed, like an unimpressed adult who had just stumbled upon a child getting into something they shouldn't. She wanted to recoil under that golden gaze, but forced herself to stand as tall as she could, her chin jutted just slightly in the stranger's direction. This woman was a lot taller than she was, but Briar refused to let that intimidate her.

"Just a lowly peasant," she insisted. "Street trash, really." A giddy laugh bubbled past her lips, and she lifted one hand to her chest. "The name's Briar, though I get the sense that you don't really care." The woman had asked who she was, though, and Briar would be compliant in providing an answer. It was the polite thing to do.

Both of her hands dropped back to her sides. "As for my intent, at the moment it's to get away from you." She shrugged. A wily grin pulled at her lips. "Now I get to ask a question! What is your intent with me? It's not very nice to chase a young, defenseless woman through the streets in the middle of the night." Her brows furrowed a bit as she seemed to reconsider her own words, and she looked almost guilty. "Actually, that's a lie; I'm not defenseless, but you already knew that, didn't you?"

EVE

This one sure was a talker, and Eve was struggling a little to keep up. The Lightbringer hooked onto a few key things that were said, namely that the woman's name was Briar. That was.. unexpected. Eve wasn't sure what she had expected but it wasn't something so simple and sweet sounding. Eve angled her head and adjusted her weight, slowly. Studying the wild little mess in front of her.

It felt a bit like this Briar was playing a game Eve wasn't aware of, something in the tone of her voice gave the Lightbinder the feeling that she was being mocked. The more she tried to pick it apart, the more confused she became. Briar was trying to.. set her up? In case someone nearby was there to overhear them? She cast a long look around their dead-end and was grateful when the streets behind them appeared to be deserted.

Her attention snapped back to Briar. "Speak plainly," The words were flat, but dipped a bit at the end - a hint towards exasperation. "Why did you stab that girl?" Eve took another step closer, watching Briar's face for any sign of aggression or sudden mood change. She wanted to get closer... To what? Disarm her? Eve didn't have an answer for that.

BRIAR

Briar frowned as she realized this woman hadn't actually answered her question; that hardly seemed fair. She was about to protest, but then the pale woman took another step in her direction, and wow she was tall. Were she not enraptured by this elegant maiden before her, she might have cowered a bit. Instead, she felt this strange magnetism that almost made her want to lean forward. Almost.

She seemed to genuinely think about the stranger's question for a moment, as if she had to remember who "that girl" was. "Oh, yeah. Her," she said, rolling her shoulders as if loosening tension in her muscles. "That Order lapdog. Seemed like the easiest way to make a scene, you know? Wasn't anything personal." Said girl had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was all. She shrugged, and then all hints of playfulness or whimsy dropped from her expression -- and her tone. "What's it to you? That why you chased me all the way out here? Because you're one of those mongrels too?" There was concentrated venom in her words that had surprised even Briar herself, but she held the woman's amber gaze with a steady calmness.

EVE

The unspoken wrong place wrong time echoed through Eve's head, followed closely by easiest way to make a scene. Her brows drew together as she studied Briar's face, easing a bit closer once again. This was all, what, an attack on the Order? The Lightbinder almost wanted to laugh: she admired Briar's grit, but knew it would take a lot more than that to get the Order's attention. The most she'd just done is sic more 'Order dogs' on herself, vigilante assholes with nothing better to do with their days. Eve went to tell Briar as much when the mood suddenly shifted, halting the Lightbinder's commentary as she raced to catch up with the situation.

Briar had turned vitriolic, and Eve took the brunt of it. Misinformation was a bitch, and so far Briar had proved herself an expert at jumping to conclusions. Her feelings were valid, however, and Briar was not alone in her distaste for the Order and those within its ranks. Eve didn't toe any more boundaries herself, but she also wouldn't allow herself to be pushed back. "If I were an 'Order dog', as you call them," she pointed out to the other woman, voice steady with only slightest inflection. "I don't think we'd be talking like this, do you?" Eve wasn't going to elaborate any further at first, but eventually she continued. "I chased you because you ran, and I wanted answers." Like it was the simplest thing in the world.

At some point during the conversation, Eve's fingers had lifted to brush an unruly lock of hair from Briar's face. The movement appeared thoughtless, almost instinctive: as if it were normal to want to see anothers face clearly, and maybe it was. Eve didn't seem to realize her fingers had settled on the side of Briar's neck, resting harmlessly at the junction of her throat as she continued to speak. "Are you that desperate for attention?"

BRIAR

Briar floundered for a moment at the woman's comment that they wouldn't be having this conversation if she'd been an Order mongrel. It was a good point, but she also didn't appreciate being called out. For a moment, she wanted to be angry, wanted to accuse this woman of being self-righteous; she wasn't owed any answers -- she should've just minded her business -- and yet here Briar was anyway, giving her what she wanted. Fuck.

She blinked as the stranger reached toward her face, brushing aside the stray wisps of unruly hair that hung there. Her eyes widened, her entire being tossed into turmoil by the gesture. Her body wanted to recoil instinctively at the stranger's touch, but her mind... didn't hate it. How long had it been since she'd actually craved the warmth of another?

The words that followed finally seemed to tear Briar from whatever spell had frozen her. Her lip curled and she backed away, putting distance between them once more, and freeing herself from the stranger's touch. "You don't know anything about me," she said, sounding harsher than she'd meant to. "It was never about the attention." Her amber eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the pale woman again, trying her hardest to ignore the immaculate glow the ambient moonlight cast around her. It was very distracting. "Who are you, anyway. You got your answers; why are they so important to you?"

EVE

The reaction she'd earned was not entirely unexpected, but Eve's thin lips turned down once again when Briar stepped out of her range. Away from her. That felt keenly like a loss, for reasons the Lightbinder couldn't explain or didn't want to. She didn't particularly like losing, but she could at least recognize when boundaries were being set. Numbly, her mind filed that realization away for later. No touch.

And then the questions came again, firmer this time. On an average day, Eve would have turned on her heel and walked off - leaving Briar with nothing, taking the perceived rejection for what it was, and being content enough with the information gathered. But, she'd always been that way. Single minded.

On this day, however, she was rooted to the spot by the fire in this woman's eyes. The desire to open up was there, buried maybe but present nonetheless. It offered it's throat like a peace offering. "I am Eve. Evelyn," It took quite a bit of jaw working to get the phrase out, and the continuation followed the same trend. "Augustine. What is important to me is mine to hold." Another long pause. "I do not know you," she admitted. Perhaps I'd like to hung unspoken between them.

BRIAR

The stiffness to Briar's posture seemed to ease quickly as the woman introduced herself. She felt her shoulders relax slightly, though she wasn't completely satisfied. She didn't see why Eve couldn't answer the question; it didn't seem all that personal, but Briar just reminded herself to be grateful she hadn't been run through. It would've been easy for Evelyn to draw her sword and attempt to run her through with it, and she'd had a point: if she'd truly been tied to the Order, she probably would've cut Briar down where she stood without a second thought (or tried to, anyway).

"I don't know you, either," Briar said casually, shrugging, but her eyes didn't leave Evelyn's. Perhaps there was a hint of a challenge in her tone. Eventually, she let her gaze travel back to the hilt of the sword strapped to the woman's back. She lifted one hand to gesture over her own shoulder, as if she had a sword strapped to her back, too. "Sooo... you're not going to stab me, then?" she asked, sounding somewhat hopeful, but she couldn't chase away the grin that tugged at her lips.

EVE

Sooo... you're not going to stab me, then? Eve, who had been struggling valiantly to continue holding the Wildfire's gaze as if it were some ridiculous competition she had to win, blinked at the absurdity of that question. It took a second for her to realize, or at least her conclusion was, that Briar was being playful. The reaction was wiped from her expression the minute she registered it had happened, but it was too late: her mask had briefly cracked, and for something quite stupid. The urge to roll her eyes was back.

"Would you like me to stab you?" Eve asked evenly, studying Briar's face with newfound intensity. "I hear some people are into that." Her fingers twitched ever so slightly, but otherwise she made no move for her weapon.

BRIAR

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