He certainly was beautiful himself. Perhaps it was just the way the candlelight caressed his features — but, no, it was often said that he was quite handsome. Not more than she was, so far as she was concerned, and the recognition that he was visually stunning did nothing to attract her in any particular way.
But things must be done for success. After all of her hard work… this was just a trifle.
Her smile was soft, consideration and interest laid as thick as she could will it ( which, with years of practice, was rather much. ) “Lloyd, then.”
That was a good start. He already saw her as an equal. Good, then — maybe he’d be able to see how exceptional she was, unblinded by idiotic prejudice.
“Not at all. I prefer nighttime, myself. I find I can get more work done when it’s quieter, and my schedule suits the missions I’m elected for.”
Even though it felt as though she hadn’t been selected for a mission in forever…
“I’m sure I’m keeping you, however.” He smelled of the wood — he’d just gotten back from doing something — while she smelled of wax, parchment, and jasmine perfume. As though she’d been spending all her time reading before coming over here. ( Perhaps that was selected because she’d noted him buried in words in his off-time, and was doing all she could to even unconsciously draw him towards her. ) “I’ll make it short.”
She smiled, eyes closed, took a breath that perhaps looked as though she were gathering her courage…
“I was wondering if it were possible to commune over a cup of tea at your leisure.” ( Oh, yes, she’d studied. ) “I know how busy you are, and that it’s rather presumptuous of me… but I appreciate getting to know those I’m working with. It’s far more difficult to perform adequately if you don’t know your team.”
A lie, but only a half one. She preferred doing it herself — preferred not dealing with the problems that came with others. But, in truth, she did have to know the liability the rest of her team would be, as well. Were they too slow? Too loud? Did they linger too long, were their methods too messy? She had to take it into consideration. A finished hit was not just her — if she wanted the mission to be perfect, she’d have to make sure she accounted for her team’s mistakes so that she could correct them.
“We haven’t been slotted to fight side-by-side yet, but I believe it’d be better to be acquainted before that time comes. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Ah, good, she was willing to drop that title rather quickly. Chain of command was important, but primarily on the battlefield; off duty, like now, Lloyd tried to separate the two. Even if he wasn’t exceptional at being...casual with most others. It took him a while to warm up to people he was not closely familiar with, but he still tried to be amenable. After all, they were all a unit, no matter where they fell in the rank.
“Ah, well, that’s understandable. The later hours do tend to serve us well in our work,” Lloyd inclined his head in agreement. He enjoyed the darker hours, or the wee hours of the morning best; everything was still and calm, then. “It can get rather hectic around here, when everyone’s coming and going. But, it’s good to hear that it doesn’t infringe on you at all. You seem quite adept in your work, from what I’ve observed. We don’t have many of your kind among the Fang.” Both as a magic user and a woman, to be perfectly honest. “It’s part of my duty to make sure everyone here performs to their fullest, and if there’s an issue preventing that, I like to sort it out as quickly as possible for the benefit of everyone.”
After all, they were only as strong as the weakest link in their chain. Not that he viewed her as such -- far from it, really, she had a near spotless record -- but as one of the Four Fangs, he needed to make sure that those under his command were ready and capable for any mission that came to them.
He could smell the candlewax on her, the old archive smell of paper and leather bindings. It made him ache for a quieter time; different walls, and different stories. But, that place was long gone now, and there was no returning to it. She still did not seem totally at ease, despite her smile. She seemed to gather herself for what she was going to say, and Lloyd attempted to adjust his body language to assuage whatever was making her hesitate just that little bit still as they spoke.
Oh? Oh, she wanted to...spend more time with him, talk more? As professional as the talk she proposed likely was, he couldn’t help feeling...underprepared. He was fairly unused to speaking with women one on one, and while he didn’t expect anything unusual to come from what she was offering, it set a nervous tingle off in his gut all the same.
“I’d be rather grateful for the opportunity, Ursula,” Lloyd responded, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a hesitant smile. “A chance to calm down would be appreciated” Because she was correct, he’d been busy. There was never a lack of work to be handled in the Black Fang. There were contracts to deal with, missions to plan and strategize, targets to take out and supplies to be acquired. Their mountainous headquarters held the grand benefit of making them hard to find and difficult to attack, but it also made travel difficult.
“I agree, knowing your allies better can really only serve you and your team well in the future. And for all that we’ve seen each other around, we never really stopped to talk. How long have you been with us, Ursula?” he asked, motioning for her to join him as he continued down the hall.
They were both here now, and clearly had no intentions of retiring for the night just yet. If she wished to continue their conversation right now, he wouldn’t be opposed to it.
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