#oc: synneva

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The new outfit suits Syn and Opal in very different ways 

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girls in action!

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Oh god Syn with a gun... please my bisexual heart can’t handle this much pressure

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I’ve been looking for nice spots in game with books for the screenshot challenge later this month over on @tyrias-library and while this one won’t be included considering the difficulty getting to it, it’s one of my favorites! 

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oooo #75 for anyone you choose from those ask prompts!

I’ve never said much about how Syn and Canach meet, so this seemed perfect for it! Hope you enjoy!

Do you have a problem with me?

-

It was late in the night when the prickle on the back of Canach’s neck finally subsided. He’d felt it all day, the suspicion, and then realization, that someone was watching him closely. He supposed it wasn’t unexpected; the dim, smokey, overly loud interior of this particular Amnoon casino was the perfect den for misbehavior. It was a smart move for them to have bouncers, or bodyguards, or whatever it was that the norn watching him was to this place.

She walked over to him, and he got his first good look at her of the night. Tall, but again that was expected, red hair hanging loose around her shoulders, a body clad in leathers and light cotton that left little to the imagination. Daggers at her hips, and one hidden in her boots, the hilt just barely peaking out.

“Finally come to check on me?” Canach asked, his hands busy shuffling a deck of cards. The well-handled paper moved easily under his guidance, the cards making soft riffling sounds as they slid past each other. “You’ve been watching me like a hawk all day.”

The norn stopped by his table, her arms placed casually at her hips.

“It’s my job,” she said, and Canach was surprised to hear her voice sounded like honey — smooth, thick, and sweet in a way he knew could easily turn sickening.

“It’s your job to make customers squirm?”

“It’s my job to catch cheaters,” she replied without hesitation. She leaned against the table, shifting her weight. A smile transformed her face, the flickering light from the torches set into the walls dancing across her skin and turning her eyes a rich shade of speckled red. “Making you squirm is just an added bonus.”

Canach feigned indignation, his eyebrows lifting at the accusation.

“Cheaters? I’m insulted.”  

The norn held her expression, though her eyes zoned in on Canach’s. He had the feeling she was used to getting the information she wanted.

“Are you?” she asked, and tilted her head just slightly, her hair tumbling off her shoulders, stray locks resting over her chest. Canach pulled his gaze from it and turned back to the motion of the cards in his hands.

“A cheater? Or insulted?”

Canach only caught the last motion of the norn’s shrug. He sighed and set the deck of cards, now fully shuffled, on the table in front of him. He looked up, and up, to the norn’s face.

“Do you have a problem with me? Or can I go back to my fully legal way of taking these people’s money?”

“No problem,” she said with a second shrug. Then she leaned in, the heat from her body washing over him, her nearness sending sudden shocks through his system. Her lips came close to his ear, breath dry and hot as she whispered to him a tantalizing promise. “But I’ll be watching you.”

He couldn’t stop the shudder that came over him as she pulled away. His eyes drifted to her lips, red and slightly parted, now curling into a smirk. Maybe he should start cheating, just to be caught by her. The devilish look in her eyes hinted that it wouldn’t be the worst thing to ever happen to him.

Giving her a smirk of his own, Canach deliberately picked the cards back up and began dealing them out to those who remained at the table.

“Lucky me,” he said, not taking his eyes off the norn.

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Just having a lot of feelings and thoughts about Prekk lately. Like about how he’s gonna run into Synneva again sooner or later. So, here’s this shot bit of writing.

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It took a few weeks for Prekk to get used to running in the Amnoon heat. He learned to start early, just before sunrise. A few miles around the outskirts, a shortcut through the nearby fields, and back through the city streets just as the sun crested over them.

He was crossing through the main gate when he skidded to a halt, a familiar face catching his eye.

A norn, deep red hair catching the rising run, was leaning against an empty market stall, watching him. Her lips moved slowly in conversation with someone nearby, who she soon sent away with a fluid wave of her hand. She rolled her shoulders back, stood tall, her long legs peeking out from the generous slit in her skirt.

As Prekk watched her lips moved again, carrying her voice across the street.

“Are you going to stand there and stare at me or are you going to come over here?”

Realizing he couldn’t very well run away now that she saw him, Prekk shuffled over, trying to hide his hesitancy. He stopped a few feet from the norn and nodded in greeting.

“Hey, Syn,” he said. Then, after a moment of awkward silence in which he swore he could feel Syn’s judgement weighting down on him, “this is a little weird.”

“Why? Because you thought you’d never see me again?”

“Kind of.”

Exactly, Prekk thought. After Syn left Lion’s Arch a handful of years ago he’d thought that was it; she had made it clear she never intended to return. Things hadn’t ended badly on their part, but it still wasn’t an experience Prekk was eager to recall, and even less to repeat.

“Unlucky you, then,” Syn said. “So what the fuck are you doing in Amnoon? Get tired of being Miciah’s lackey?”

They spent a while chatting, Prekk telling her about how he finally left Miciah’s employ and set off on his own. She told him about her travels around Tyria, which finally led her here. About how she was working for a casino tracking down anyone who tried to cheat them out of money, and about how she’d met some very interesting people while she worked.

It was then Prekk noticed the sylvari still lounging nearby, idly watching Syn. He had his arms crossed, but didn’t seem perturbed to be waiting so long.

“Is that your new plaything?” Prekk asked, motioning towards the man.

“Mhm.” Syn grinned, showing teeth that could almost rival Prekk’s. “He’s not as good a listener as you were, though.”

A small shiver started at the base of Prekk’s spine, despite the morning heat. Even now Syn had a way of turning his insides into something resembling jelly. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, anymore. He pushed it aside with a rough shake of his head, as if clearing away the stack of memories Syn had dredged up.

“Good for him,” he laughed finally. “Someone needs to stand up to you.”

Syn laughed too, the sound still as low and intoxicating as he remembered. There were few people he’d ever met that could sound both dangerous and comforting at once; Syn had practiced the art until she was a master. She trailed off, the sound fading into the noise of the waking city. She was studying him, her eyes moving from his ears down to his feet. The scrutiny made Prekk want to squirm, but for once he stood his ground.

“You look good, Prekk.”

Prekk blinked in surprise, then broke into a wide smile. That was the last thing he expected to hear from Syn. Maybe he was more right than he thought about her needing someone to stand up to her.

“Oh, what’s this sudden compliment?” he asked, a hint of playfulness creeping into his voice. “And I didn’t even have to beg for it.”

Syn’s teeth flashed again as she leaned down, her lips brushing close to Prekk’s ear. Her breath was hot, reminiscent of the breeze coming in from the dunes. He recoiled from the heat radiating off her skin, as if it could burn him just by being close.

“You could, for old time’s sake.”

Prekk had time to draw a single breath before Syn was laughing again, and taking a step away.    

“The desert’s been good to me,” she said, and Prekk noticed her glance at the sylvari, still waiting. When she turned back her voice took on an odd, gentle tone he’d never heard before. “I think it’s going to be good for you too, Prekk.”

“Yeah,” he answered. His thoughts drifted to the small library near by, and the way his morning runs were becoming quicker and quicker, just so he could get back before breakfast.

“I think so, too.”

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I wasn’t born a thief, you know. And it’s not something I sat up one day and thought hey, that’s how I want to spend my life. It just happened, little by little. You’ve got to survive, right? That’s what I’m doing, the best I can. 

Syn: deadeye

Vasche: condi 

Prekk: daredevil

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Synneva - the norn who ran as far from winter as she could and settled into Amnoon like she’d always belonged there. Late night encounters with a prickly sylvari included.