Shadow at the temple – Chapter 13

The tempest had passed and the shadow over Dezasha descended. A smatter of days past the struggle against Ozdemir-turned-Herdbrand, Eyren and Malkiz have both to varying degrees recuperated, and in this period they’ve been resting inside the quarters which the latter arranged in her role as lady Zarqui. Eyren’s recovery span was far shorter than Malkiz’s, predominantly due to her Fateworn abilities, which turned out to be a mind-twister for Malkiz, who has remained fairly sore. In the latest sessions, the two have been eating together and spoken from time to time, but in large part, Malkiz has been busy as Zarqui and negotiating questions presented by North River, which implies that they haven’t had much time for themselves.

Nonetheless, tonight, the two of them have at last gained a solitary moment in the stillness of the late evening. They’re sitting around the table whilst the balcony door remains ajar and the half-heated winds blow in to stir their skins and hairs. Malkiz has ordered in bowls with zuekon ickei – a dish containing rice, shredded beef, bamboo shoot and dipped in zayo sauce. Along with this, they’re washing it down with another bottle of arakeshu, which has both of them somewhat more mellow and satisfied, as they’re relishing in the meshed taste and richness.

Over the previous hour, they’ve mainly chatted about the city and parts of their respective trips to Dezasha, but Eyren’s mind strays to present affairs in short time.
“How are things going with the North River negotiations, by the by?”, she wonders in Goetejul, the tongue they’ve been employing for the most part in private.

“Oh, it’s fine. They’re proceeding as expected, I should think.”

“Not causing ya any issues, then?”

“Were you trusting that they would?”

“Well, what with you being a bit injured out of nowhere, I just figure they might suss out you’re not exactly who you’ve relayed to them.”

“Ah, heh. No, this has not become a dilemma thus far. I am rather adept at obscuring my scratches, and given that this one inflicted mainly my torso and shoulder, it was no bother.”

“Fair enough. Were our findings of any service to North River?”

Malkiz’s ears flit in a pleased manner when she smiles.
“Beyond question. Even if he didn’t showcase or mention it aloud, I could note it on his expression that Chairman Tziyon was tremendously satisfied with this conclusion. He even provided a bonus compensation for ‘ending Ozdemir’s obstruction’.”

Eyren arches her right brow.
“Heh. That has the ring of receiving a bounty prize or whatever.”

“Mm, I would theorize North River does take it like that, yes.”

“Eh, he was a nutty sonuvabitch, so not gonna mourn him. You earned that haul.”

“And I shall share it with you, naturally. For me personally, the emphasis was on initiating a rapport between Zarqui and Tziyon, which does appear to have commenced with this deal consummated.”

“Guess it was for Ne Jesut’s purposes?”

“Strictly, yes. It isn’t an entirely functional association just yet, but we can build on this.”

They munch for a stretch on the remainder of their food and sip some more from the liquor, prior to Eyren reopening the conversation.
“Did you uncover what North River makes of the involvement with that guy from Tsabchuur, then?”

Malkiz’s ears jerk in consideration when she tries to infer who Eyren is directly referring to, until it comes to her.
“Oh, you’re talking of Khaider?”

“Yeah, that was the guy we saw cited in the letter, right?”

“Yes, that is so. And well, Chairman Tziyon conveyed to me that North River postulated Vaarnetii had intercepting activities in and around Dezasha for months, but procured nothing substantial in this direction. With this news, they’ll be qualified to make demands of the Temple and presumably wear down Khaider’s general leverage on the Tenkeepers.”

“That’s a relief. That guy sounds like real trouble.”

The agent bobs her head and folds her arms, by laying the flesh one over the prosthetic.
“To a degree, yes, but they cannot relax altogether. The complexity there is not Khaider’s efforts, but the need to lessen unrest among the populace. Their reactions were instigated by Ozdemir, but also remarkably genuine.”

“Ahh, you’re probably right. Wonder if matters are gonna get complicated here cuz of this, then…”

“As of this moment, I wouldn’t believe it should, but I will monitor them pending my stay’s duration.” Now that she’s completed her meal, Malkiz grabs another sip of her drink which is not yet entirely consumed, prior to surveying Eyren once more. “Dear knight, I do have a slight query regarding you.”

“Oh? What ’bout?”

“This is your second joint operation with one from my organization, yes? I should hope that mzteer Osvij and I have made a decent impression on you.”

Eyren chuckles lightly.
“Worried that I’m not gonna like you?”

“Heh, well, I wouldn’t say that is an enormous concern for me, but your opinion is one I have started to value.”

“Mm. Well, both of you have certainly cultivated a pretty favorable picture of your organization, in my eyes. Got some…complications at first between me and Osvij, but he was an honorable man. And you’ve been even more open-minded than him.”

Malkiz slants her head sideways.
“Sufficient to deem yourself an associate, perchance?”

“Tsk”, goes Eyren. “You’re really insistent on this topic, huh?” This entices Malkiz to wink at her. “You people on some kinda recruitment drive?”

Malkiz giggles softly.
“Not really, no, but I will not shy away from that I respect your talents and keen mind. It would be an incredibly lucrative venture for us both, if I were to speculate.”

“Eh, odds are you’re on-target, but gotta be frank with you that I’m not big on fitting into organizations of any kind.”

“And I am not intimating that we have to invite you to us, but preferably turn you into one of our contacts. Surely a freelancer such as yourself would find our network invaluable?”

Scratching her cheek, Eyren stares down at the table and shrugs.
“True enough. These sorta ties aren’t anything I’d ditch in general, if they’re granted freely…and provided they don’t nudge me right into a pitfall.”

Malkiz smirks at this and makes her tail caress one of Eyren’s arms.
“And what manner of menace would you be suspecting from us, hmm?”, she asks and winks.

Eyren draws out a short laugh at this.
“Okay, wanna count ’em? So far, I’ve been numbered in a mission to prop up a lady with getting out of a city that was chock-full of bounty hunters who were after the massive price on her head, and contributed to another job to terminate a growing conspiracy in a city which had a Herdbrand inside of it. Kinda feels like I’ve ran into a multilayered set of trials no matter how you look at it.”

Giggling once more, Malkiz puts a hand over Eyren’s thigh and strokes it suggestively, simultaneously that she pitches closer to the warrior.
“Would it be wrong of me to note that you don’t seem to have protested your inclusion in these occurrences?”

Eyren smiles in an assenting fashion.
“Well…to a degree, sure, but I’m mainly wondering how much crap I’ll end up in when your scrapes get trickier.”

“What did you relay your profession was, again? Herdbrand hunter?”

“…uh, anti-Shadow Herd specialist, but yes.”

“You combat them for a living, do you not? The most perilous known force in the entire world? If you are uneasy about risks, may I propose you alter this path of yours?”

“Hah! Okay, you got me there, but it’s only hazardous if you don’t got a clue of how the Herd operates, or lack the skills.”

“I believe you. And truly, I would never point you towards anything which does not relate to the Herdbrand, should you opt to stand as one of our associates. In fact, I would imagine you our foremost asset in this lineup.”

“Mm…in that capacity, I’d see no reason to disagree, sure. ‘specially if the request is from you.”

Heeding this particular outline of her emotions, Malkiz’s ears flutter enthusiastically, and she slides nearer to her companion, now ranging her own leg to caress Eyren’s enticingly.
“I have made this level of impression on you, have I?”, she asks in a milder and marginally sensual tone. “I am honored.”

Eyren doesn’t balk at this physicality, nor what the spy shows to intend with it, and instead lets one of her hands embrace Malkiz from behind.
“Can’t deny that your company has been…incredibly satisfying, throughout my stay here. And I’m more than happy to hang around those kinda people.”

“I see. In that case…”, Malkiz commences, previous to stroking a leg up over Eyren’s, her regular hand presently making its way up across the knight’s chest. “I wonder if there are additional ways I might reward your performance in the course of our entire collaboration?”

With an assisting nudge from Eyren, Malkiz ascends into the knight’s lap in full, and the two of them end up in such proximity that the spy is able to rub her nose against Eyren’s, whilst her tail behind her plays around hungrily.
“Reckon ya gotta give me a few samples of what that prize is.”

Snickering smugly, Malkiz rests her functioning arm above Eyren’s shoulder, tips at her and lets their lips embrace one another in a tender albeit warm kiss. This union of theirs press on to where their tongues entwine and Malkiz wouldn’t be able to ignore the rugged hands of the warrior pressing against her waist and thighs.
“Always happy to satisfy a willing associate of ours”, she whispers teasingly in between.

“Hah. Is this another routine you pull off for Ne Jesut, then?”

“Oh no, you misunderstand. This is an enterprise only bestowed to very special people.”

“Huh. Well, guess refusing would just be plain stupid then”, she goes and their fondling and nuzzling runs deeper, the time for words dispersing into the air.

In moments, Malkiz is hefted up with ridiculous ease into the knight’s arms and she escorts the two of them in the direction of the bedroom rented by ‘lady Zarqui’. The open balcony and the leftovers of their dinner are long forgotten, and the smooth night of Dezasha is the only sound which they react to, practically being passed off as if it encourages their continued affections. The sole element which differs from this is the raven Karsift, who has been seated along a shelf for the last couple of hours, and just as the humans leave the room, he swoops on down, soon munching happily on what remains of the dinner.