﹡ ⭒✴ * . 𝖕𝖗𝖕𝖍𝖞𝖗𝖎𝖐·: . ✰⋰∘
THE IDEA OF A REQUEST IN THIS SITUATION, the audacity of the thing! maybe it’s why he listens. sure, the look he gives is half like a plea — an unspoken ‘really, now?’ — but he does give pause, stilled statuesque with an incredulous sort of expression as his gaze follows the thief’s path. vicente does not move until he’s quite sure he’s alone once more, the only sound the stirring of a man slowly waking from restful sleep.
in five minutes, the corpse, steaming and headless and stinking at its cauterized neck, will hit the ground with an unceremonious, almost wet thud.
finding him hadn’t been the hard part. the care the assassin lacked the first time does not apply to the second, and it takes just a bit of power to find someone quickly; the power to detect life tends to be a useful measure in that. killing the man certainly hadn’t either — it’s his luck that his sleeping mark decided to rouse, as he’d no doubt the distinctive burnt line where his sword would have struck the sheets would tell a clearer story than the bloodless head left on its surface. even getting the body out had been simple, a task he’s used to. no, the difficult part of the thing is justifying the meeting in the first place.
“ typically one flees the scene of their crime, ” vicente hisses through copper teeth, and at once the cause for delay is obvious, spelled in the rusty stains that still linger, half-wiped away on his chin. now, care is taken to keep to the shadows, to stay silent and discreet as the remnants of a person now half obscured at his feet. and he says, hushed and as if not entirely hypocritical: “ what in oblivion are you thinking, sticking around? ”
his stomach lurches at the sight of copperish remnants clinging to vicente’s chin , one - eyed gaze darting to the puncture wounds of the cadaver on the ground . valirenn has met a great deal of people , been forced to small - talk with the most vile that tamriel has to offer . but the way a whole life can be justified as nothing more than a meal , how one could so boldly stare down the will of the gods & defy it ... valirenn isn’t so sure about this stranger anymore . through only the grace of nocturnal , he finds the strength to push the words out of his tongue .
‘ it’s hard to find like - minded individuals , ‘ valirenn says , voice wavering despite his attempt to seem stern . ‘ i wished to introduce myself . to perhaps negotiate some sort of contract -- a burglary gone wrong doesn’t raise as many questions as a sole decapitate head , i’m sure . ‘ he’s trying to make eye contact with vicente , but he keeps going back to the body .
‘ but forgive me for taking up your time , ‘ he asks , gaze not leaving the drained man . ‘ it was foolish of me . you’re right , it’s best to flee . ‘ he takes the gray cowl from his bag , shifting around stolen treasures to do so , but hesitates before putting it on , before taking the last move to leave . how desperate , how childlike is his want to be stopped , to not have to become the gray fox to be anything at all . but he knows that’s not the job of this stranger . it’s not the job of anyone . he will wait , for the two corpses to be gone , for himself to be left a mirror with no reflection again , for the gray fox to prowl the streets once more .