The Rani

Of Stars And Passing Seconds

She’s surprised. She doesn’t like to admit it, least of all to herself, but… hm, well. So this is the man Moriarty would have as his right hand.

The Rani could hardly find fault, of course. As she herself had seen, this human has the innate ability to calculate the precise moment of an individuals death. But, furthermore, he is not burdened with the inordinate amount of guilt that most find themselves struggling with once the sun comes up.

But the sun is not up now, and the Rani is in a smoke-filled private bar, index finger gently running around the rim of her drink as she observes the movements of her drinking partner.

She suddenly finds herself hard pressed to find faults within the somber, cat-like man before her. But… no, cat-like is wrong of course. He moves like a cat , but then there’s an element of prey about it, an element of blood, of death.

He moves like a tiger.

And suddenly she has to stifle the urge to laugh, of course, because that is nothing but a large cat, and she would love to have this instrument of death curl up on her lap

But this one is Jim’s.

It’s like a reflex, a jerk.

He belongs to the human.

He belongs to Jim.

But no one said anything about having friends.

Friends… The very concept is alien, weird. She had come across the concept before she had come across the individuals worthy of fulfilling the definition. But now…

With one swift motion, the Rani finds herself bringing a cigarette to her lips and tilting her head towards her dining partner in a silent gesture of familiarity.

A gesture of recognition.

One killer to another.

Sebastian was used to not getting his questions answered. Moriarty took a perverse pleasure in not telling him things that Jim didn’t want him to know. Rani didn’t want to say more about how she managed her calculations than he’d let it go.

His lips curled up at the edges when she nodded at him and returned the gesture. He enjoyed her company and her work was beyond reproach. Jim had a policy about no complications which was something Sebastian agreed with. Mixing business with pleasure often resulted in complications if both were open ended as far as time limits. Though even time limits could result in complications as the scar on his ribs proved. So, as far as Rani went it was look, but don’t touch.

"How did such a clever lady fin herself in London?" he asked. He kept the question neutral. In their line of work too many personal questions weren’t a good thing. She’d likely respond the way he would which is an answer that may or may not be true or an answer that made it clear that questions shouldn’t be asked.

#burningsunset #bredtokill

"How did such a clever lady find herself in London?"

Never mind finding herself in London, the Rani found herself momentarily thrown by the question. Her mind instantly began to dissect the sentence, looking for ulterior and hidden motives within. Did he mean that he assumed she had only recently come to London? That women of her particular intellect were not to be found in London?

Without answering, she removed a packet of cigarettes from the inside of the sharp jacket she was wearing, and pulled a lighter from the same recess. Within moments, a dark spreading plume of smoke was gently dissipating above them.

The Rani found herself under a strange compulsion to confess something. They came upon her, once every century. She supposed that was the amount of time a being could be counted upon to continue carrying out heinous crimes before some tiny aspect of their conscience kicked in.

Useful information.

Her mind flickered back to London, to London the way it was then, and to all her experiments that were labeled the work of some 'Jack the Ripper'. How common.

She paused, reaching up and removing a small fleck of tobacco from her tongue. "There was a girl. I stuck around for her. You know how these things can be. She's gone now, of course."

She tapped her cigarette, and then reached for her drink.

"And you?" she asked, before bringing it to her lips. "How did you find yourself at the right hand of our most benevolent leader?" And then she giggled slightly into her drink.

'Giggle' is a verb many writers use to detonate an air of silly femininity about their character. But think for a moment - how many verbs exist to create a sense of strong female strength about a character? None? So we must make the feminine ones do all the work we can. So, yes the Rani giggled. But it was not an action which indicated silliness of weakness. Rather it was the sound of one to whom life is a game, and the punchline is several crates of highly volatile dynamite.

Surprise // The Rani & Moriarty

Initially, she was disappointed,

There, she said it. There was no point in keeping the fact to herself. She delighted in the whimper and the flinch. The idea of slicing thin slivers out of a prone and barely lucid body held no attraction.

Where was the light in the eyes? Where was the opportunity to see the sparks flash across the nerve endings behind the cornea, the brief moment where pain became a real and tangible sight? Where was the twitch beneath the skin as the cold slim knife moved upon it, as the frazzling and dazzling sparks of a live wire decended against the bare flesh and exposed bone?

Nowhere, that was the answer. She turned and barely glared at her lover. “Is this it?” she asked, her lower lip pouting outwards in a manner that was uncomfortably juvenile, an echo of the various methods she used to push her targets off their game, reminding them of the echos that occurred deep within their psyche - Maybe, deep inside, they really did feel that way.

Her fingers traced along the wall behind her, finely tuned senses picking out the scratches and changes in texture. She felt the gritty texture of granite, and immediately her mind started rifling through possible locations.

Jim’s arm was on hers. That was an element that was surprisingly difficult to disregard. His arm was on hers and she could feel the dull heat of it slowly seep through the expensive material of her suit and against her skin.

But… as all this was going on, she found herself engaging in a more time consuming task. The stripping down an slicing up of the man before her - she wanted to reduce him to nothing but meat and psychological urges.

And to do that, she would need a little more help.

Practically purring, she turned back to Jim.

Jim kept his smile, even when he saw her disappointment.

He knew her favourite part of their standard games and here it was, taken from her. She could play her games with this one for a couple of hours before he so much as gave a moan in protest. He wasn’t after such goals this time. This man had crossed him, yes, but not the way most had. He didn’t want information from the man.

No no, he wanted something much more… visceral.

To do that, she’d need a bit of time where he wasn’t squirming about and causing a general fuss. After that time, however, she could have him as she liked best.

At her question, he gave a low, sarcastic sigh. He looked to her, his gentle smile still on his lips. Then, he tsked at her and shook his head. He watched her as she pouted and wanted to slide away from him, but he held her gently, keeping her close.

He moved around to stand behind her and to have her face the man again. His arm slide from hers to settle around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder.

"My dear Rani," he said teasingly. He gently, almost loving, rubbed the tip of his nose along her jawline as he dug something out of his pocket, "haven’t you ever heard not to judge a book by it’s cover," he held up the object in front of her, "or to judge a present by how it is wrapped?"

The scalpel glinted cold and sharp in his fingers. It was clean and unopened, still secured in its wrapping to protect the world from it. He whispered in her ear again, “You didn’t think I’d settle for giving you something so common between us, would you?”

#burningsunset #softirishwhispers

He sighed at her. A sigh filled with something akin to irritation and disappointment.

For a moment the Rani's heart roared, and her head was filled with flames. He tutted her, and as he did so, she pouted and slunked, mind all the while imagining clean steel biting into fresh flesh.

Ah but darling, she trusted him. So, crankily, she hung on to see what was to come.

His frame was pressed flush against her spine, and she had to restrain herself from arching into him, the fresh smell of clay and blood in her nose, telling her to succumb to earthly desires.

But then, this was not her earth. Not as they knew it.

Whispered words in her ears that sent a shiver of gooseflesh down her arms, at odds with his warm breath against her neck.

And then he was holding something before her, a present. A scalpel.

Nothing she hadn't seen before, and she instantly twisted within his arms so that she had the scalpel in hand and was suddenly standing before him, all wicked grins and spinning silver between fingers.

Because she had scalpels before. She had scalpels and electric wires, and axes and kitchen knives. She had dark rooms, and white rooms. She had all the means of breaking a human's flesh down bit by bit, and then the soul after.

But her heart had promised her a present.

And as her fingers glanced and caressed the scalpel beneath then, she noted that it was pure silver.

"Come on love," she purred. "Sell it to me."

evildestielshipper-deactivated2

Raniarty

((You know us so well.))

((Truly, you do. In my defence I just want to hear the pretty noise it makes as it blackens and cracks.))

Surprise // The Rani & Moriarty

Her hands are bound.

Her hands are bound, and the mere sensation of it gives rise to a series of memories, each one so deliciously vivid that she’s quite certain that she’s not meant to be having such memories at the moment.

"I have a surprise for you," a beloved voice in her ear whispers, and the mere fact that she would attribute the adjective beloved to this voice is special in and of itself because she has never found anything in this whole wide universe to call beloved.

Before now.

They walk down steps.

The skin of her fingertips traces scratches in the wall. her heart discerns that this is somewhere that people don’t want to go. Her nose smells iron, tin… blood.

And that scent fills her with anticipation, because how many surprises can he have organised that could have this many tactile delight - the gentle tinge of mould on the edge of the sharp blood.

They walk lower, and lower, and the Rani feels her heart-rate increase, because, well, what’s allowed to happen way underground? Things that wouldn’t be previously allowed in polite society, that’s what.

Which includes all of her favourite activities.

Moriarty carefully walked Rani down the twisted tunnels and steps, careful to guide her so she wouldn’t fall go astray. He knew this way and he knew it well. He’d walked the tunnels enough to know them and he knew what went on behind every turn, behind every door.

The door at the end was what they wanted, what she wanted.

It was an assignment, yes, but one that she was most apt to fulfill and to enjoy. He did so love when his employees loved their jobs, especially when they were well, well above the common raffle he was forced to work around and through.

They finally made it to the door. Moriarty wasn’t an impatient man. He couldn’t afford to be, not in his line of work. This, however, was making him smile in unrepressed delight. Not that she could see it, however.

Not with the blindfold at all.

He had her stand back as he opened the door. It was a heavy, metal-lined door that offered protection for both sides of it. It also offered the brightest light in the underground area. He took her bound hands again and lead her forward, careful to make sure she stepped over the lip of the doorway. He closed the door behind them and had her stand in the middle of the room next to a T-shaped table.

"Surprise," he whispered. He took her blindfold off and let the light flood her senses. He kept a hand on her wrists, keeping her back from her present.

When she could see, she’d see what looked like a rather common sight. She would see a man who had crossed Moriarty laying on the table. She would see him bound at the wrists and ankles, as well as across the chest and over his mouth. He was heavily sedated for the moment and he showed no sign of movement upon their entrance.

"I’ve a very special task for you," he purred to her.

#burningsunset #softirishwhispers #surprise

Initially, she was disappointed,

There, she said it. There was no point in keeping the fact to herself. She delighted in the whimper and the flinch. The idea of slicing thin slivers out of a prone and barely lucid body held no attraction.

Where was the light in the eyes? Where was the opportunity to see the sparks flash across the nerve endings behind the cornea, the brief moment where pain became a real and tangible sight? Where was the twitch beneath the skin as the cold slim knife moved upon it, as the frazzling and dazzling sparks of a live wire decended against the bare flesh and exposed bone?

Nowhere, that was the answer. She turned and barely glared at her lover. "Is this it?" she asked, her lower lip pouting outwards in a manner that was uncomfortably juvenile, an echo of the various methods she used to push her targets off their game, reminding them of the echos that occurred deep within their psyche - Maybe, deep inside, they really did feel that way.

Her fingers traced along the wall behind her, finely tuned senses picking out the scratches and changes in texture. She felt the gritty texture of granite, and immediately her mind started rifling through possible locations.

Jim's arm was on hers. That was an element that was surprisingly difficult to disregard. His arm was on hers and she could feel the dull heat of it slowly seep through the expensive material of her suit and against her skin.

But... as all this was going on, she found herself engaging in a more time consuming task. The stripping down an slicing up of the man before her - she wanted to reduce him to nothing but meat and psychological urges.

And to do that, she would need a little more help.

Practically purring, she turned back to Jim.

Her hands are bound.

Her hands are bound, and the mere sensation of it gives rise to a series of memories, each one so deliciously vivid that she's quite certain that she's not meant to be having such memories at the moment.

"I have a surprise for you," a beloved voice in her ear whispers, and the mere fact that she would attribute the adjective beloved to this voice is special in and of itself because she has never found anything in this whole wide universe to call beloved.

Before now.

They walk down steps.

The skin of her fingertips traces scratches in the wall. her heart discerns that this is somewhere that people don't want to go. Her nose smells iron, tin... blood.

And that scent fills her with anticipation, because how many surprises can he have organised that could have this many tactile delight - the gentle tinge of mould on the edge of the sharp blood.

They walk lower, and lower, and the Rani feels her heart-rate increase, because, well, what's allowed to happen way underground? Things that wouldn't be previously allowed in polite society, that's what.

Which includes all of her favourite activities.

#burningsunset #softirishwhispers

Of Stars And Passing Seconds

The Rani sli the tip of her slim finger around the rim of her glass. “The description of my play is never an insult, but merely an accurate observation,” she said, and lifted that tip to the end of her tongue, tasting the moisture there. “And you tend to remove people from the picture, quickly and efficiently, in a series of impossible shots.”

And then she smiled, and it was like seeing the sun rise over a dead land. “I do enjoy a puzzle, Colonel.”

He asked his question, and she sighed. “You see now, it would be so much easier if you were stupid,” she lamented. “If you were stupid then you never would have questioned my intellectual ability, because you wouldn’t have been aware of the limitations of the human brain, because your own would have been so very sub-par.” She leaned in. “How did I calculate it?” she repeated, fingertips pressed against the dark, polished mahogany of the table. “I’m clever, my dear. I am very, very clever”

Sebastian shook his head and took a gulp of Guinness, “None of my shots are impossible, they’re just difficult. There are several things to compensate for when I aim. I only need a few pieces of equipment now because I’ve been doing it for years.”

Sebastian leaned forward. ”If I were stupid, I’d be dead. What I saw was pretty clear. An area that size it’s possible you could have approximated the proper mixture in your head in a general time sense. With a flat, however, there are special conditions: much of the available area is taken up by objects, there are issues of drafts from improperly sealed doors and windows, and when the target opened the door it would be necessary to compensate for how much gas escaped. It takes an extreme amount of cleverness to calculate all those things in your head and become bored at the same time.”

Sebastian lit a cigarette and looked at Rani for a moment. Then he nodded. The waiter came in and put the drink she’d ordered for him down in front of him. ”Will there be anything else?”

Sebastian knew the dessert here were fantastic, he wasn’t in the mood for a heavy meal. ”A raspberry brulee, the dessert chef knows how to make one,” he said when the waiter began to open his mouth. ”If he doesn’t remember, tell him I have a black card and that will jog his memory.” He raised and eyebrow at Rani, ”For you?”

#ugh gross i know im the worst #bredtokill #burningsunset

She's surprised. She doesn't like to admit it, least of all to herself, but... hm, well. So this is the man Moriarty would have as his right hand.

The Rani could hardly find fault, of course. As she herself had seen, this human has the innate ability to calculate the precise moment of an individuals death. But, furthermore, he is not burdened with the inordinate amount of guilt that most find themselves struggling with once the sun comes up.

But the sun is not up now, and the Rani is in a smoke-filled private bar, index finger gently running around the rim of her drink as she observes the movements of her drinking partner.

She suddenly finds herself hard pressed to find faults within the somber, cat-like man before her. But... no, cat-like is wrong of course. He moves like a cat , but then there's an element of prey about it, an element of blood, of death.

He moves like a tiger.

And suddenly she has to stifle the urge to laugh, of course, because that is nothing but a large cat, and she would love to have this instrument of death curl up on her lap

But this one is Jim's.

It's like a reflex, a jerk.

He belongs to the human.

He belongs to Jim.

But no one said anything about having friends.

Friends... The very concept is alien, weird. She had come across the concept before she had come across the individuals worthy of fulfilling the definition. But now...

With one swift motion, the Rani finds herself bringing a cigarette to her lips and tilting her head towards her dining partner in a silent gesture of familiarity.

A gesture of recognition.

One killer to another.

"The same, I think. I trust your taste."

But not much else about you, her eyes said, glittering and filled with laughter. As it should be, really. Anything else would be so dull.

yencid

#tw #trigger warning #tw:gore #gore #blood #flesh

Of Stars And Passing Seconds

The Rani sli the tip of her slim finger around the rim of her glass. “The description of my play is never an insult, but merely an accurate observation,” she said, and lifted that tip to the end of her tongue, tasting the moisture there. “And you tend to remove people from the picture, quickly and efficiently, in a series of impossible shots.”

And then she smiled, and it was like seeing the sun rise over a dead land. “I do enjoy a puzzle, Colonel.”

He asked his question, and she sighed. “You see now, it would be so much easier if you were stupid,” she lamented. “If you were stupid then you never would have questioned my intellectual ability, because you wouldn’t have been aware of the limitations of the human brain, because your own would have been so very sub-par.” She leaned in. “How did I calculate it?” she repeated, fingertips pressed against the dark, polished mahogany of the table. “I’m clever, my dear. I am very, very clever”

Sebastian shook his head and took a gulp of Guinness, “None of my shots are impossible, they’re just difficult. There are several things to compensate for when I aim. I only need a few pieces of equipment now because I’ve been doing it for years."

Sebastian leaned forward. "If I were stupid, I’d be dead. What I saw was pretty clear. An area that size it’s possible you could have approximated the proper mixture in your head in a general time sense. With a flat, however, there are special conditions: much of the available area is taken up by objects, there are issues of drafts from improperly sealed doors and windows, and when the target opened the door it would be necessary to compensate for how much gas escaped. It takes an extreme amount of cleverness to calculate all those things in your head and become bored at the same time."

Sebastian lit a cigarette and looked at Rani for a moment. Then he nodded. The waiter came in and put the drink she’d ordered for him down in front of him. "Will there be anything else?"

Sebastian knew the dessert here were fantastic, he wasn’t in the mood for a heavy meal. "A raspberry brulee, the dessert chef knows how to make one," he said when the waiter began to open his mouth. "If he doesn’t remember, tell him I have a black card and that will jog his memory." He raised and eyebrow at Rani, "For you?"

#burningsunset #bredtokill

She listened to him.

Head tilted to one side, never one to pass up a unique opportunity, the Rani listened. And this was a unique opportunity. She enjoyed the fact that Moran seemed to respect her enough to give her an answer, and enjoyed this brief moment of slipping behind the shark's eyes of the sniper, seeing what he saw, what he sees all the time.

In her mind, people broke down into veins and nerves and capillaries, when she looked at them. All those places so susceptible to a knife, to a gun, to a well placed drop of poison. She imagined that in Jim's mind people broke down into numbers, variables, sets of figures based on usefulness and how essentially expendable they were.

Moran's mind, however.

The Rani wasn't entirely sure how people looked to Moran, and knowing how other people look to a person is the first step in knowing how that person's mind ticks and clicks. Did they look like targets? Like sections to be picked off? Or perhaps they looked like those maps of cows she had so often seen in butcher's - the animal's body covered in dotted lines, neatly sectioning off the useful components.

He was, after all, a hunter.

And then the waiter came, and he caught her entirely off guard by ordering dessert. The Rani laughed out loud, delightedly. One could get so caught up in the brain, that one forgot the lesser elements of the body. Did the dark and dangerous sniper have a sweet tooth? How fascinating.

"Well, seeing as there's no menu on hand, I might as well have the same," she smiled, taking a long sip of her drink. "I trust your good taste, Colonel," she added, almost offhandedly.

Almost.

ajfflsqhtpdy

ariml

gif meme | Alice + hair

0cean-depths

Of Stars And Passing Seconds

Sebastian took a drink of his beer. He gave Rani a rare smile. It unnerved most people. His smile with his cold, dead eyes made most people fear they’d be killed very soon. Rani was not most people.

“I suspect if you ask Jim, he’d give you one,” Sebastian said. ”He gave me the card shortly after I began my employment with him. Though likely you won’t have the trouble with the staff that I do. They despise my casual clothes and Jim hated being annoyed by calls that I’d broken another employee’s arm.” he took another drink of beer. ”Though I maintain that they brought it on themselves by putting their hands on me.”

“I never really worry about old age,” Sebastian said to prove his point he cocked his head. ”Perhaps you would enjoy choosing my next drink. And maybe you would indulge me in answering a question.”

The Rani saw that smile, and the shark-like gaze that accompanied it. She really did enjoy Sebastian’s company. She was trapped on this planet, and she took her pleasure in finding the exemplary among the species, the ones that were a cut above the mindless masses. And here was one of them, conveniently offering to have a drink with her.

“I like to dress tidily,” she replied. Truth be told, she had always loved the fashion of the 1940’s, and had held on to it. The neat high waisted skirts and blouses felt at home on her body. At first she had been in fashion, then she had been out of touch, then old fashioned, odd, then retro, and now that enough years had passed, she had finally come the full circle, and she was in fashion again.

Neat.

“I’ll have to press him for one,” she continued, sipping from her drink. “I wouldn’t mind having a regular waterhole. But no, I must say, I’m not really one for breaking arms at the spur of the moment.” She paused. “I find it’s much more fun to let them stew before skinning.”

The glass was placed back on the table, ice clinking gently against the glass.

“Certainly, I would be delighted to order your next drink,” the Rani said, placing one index finger against her lower lip. “Now, let me see. A Guinness man, so obviously there are strong ties to the homeland. Something bitter, then. Whiskey is the obvious choice after that. But what’s a new experience without a little adventure? And in my personal opinion, everyone needs to lighten up a little, so let’s add some sugar to that delicious mixture.”

The index finger left her lip, and with it she beckoned over one of the serving staff. “My friend here would an Old Fashioned, do you think you could manage that? You could? Marvelous.”

Her slim fingers wrapped around her drink once more. “I am nothing if not a huge fan of indulgences,” she said with a grin that was only slightly smile, her careful facade of respecting skin and flesh slipping slightly in like-minded company. “How about I’ll show you mine and you show me yours?” The Rani laughed, and there was fire in that noise. “Ask, oh pilgrim, and you may be answered.”

Sebastian gave a short laugh. ”I have noticed that you tend to play around a bit with people. That’s an observation, not a criticism, as you have been more than capable of handling any job Jim has given you.”

He raised an eyebrow at her choice of drinks. He usually preferred his whiskey without anything in it except whiskey. He took another swallow of Guinness. ”How did you manage to calculate the proper gas to air ratio without a single piece of equipment?” He leaned forward on his forearms to hear her answer. Rani was one of the most interesting people. Playful, deadly, teasing. She could complete her jobs with the most interesting methods he’d ever seen. He liked her attention to detail and the fact that she never left loose ends.

#burningsunset #bredtokill

The Rani sli the tip of her slim finger around the rim of her glass. "The description of my play is never an insult, but merely an accurate observation," she said, and lifted that tip to the end of her tongue, tasting the moisture there. "And you tend to remove people from the picture, quickly and efficiently, in a series of impossible shots."

And then she smiled, and it was like seeing the sun rise over a dead land. "I do enjoy a puzzle, Colonel."

He asked his question, and she sighed. "You see now, it would be so much easier if you were stupid," she lamented. "If you were stupid then you never would have questioned my intellectual ability, because you wouldn't have been aware of the limitations of the human brain, because your own would have been so very sub-par."She leaned in. "How did I calculate it?" she repeated, fingertips pressed against the dark, polished mahogany of the table. "I'm clever, my dear. I am very, very clever"

#asofterworld remix #Raniarty #softirishwhispers #burningsunset #Jim Moriarty #Moriarty #The Rani #superwholock RP

smile-iwillkillyou

((So this is what you do with your pet projects after all of the needed research is done.))