lady of situations

sins, like skeletons, are so very hard to hide.

[venturess]

( F. YOMEN )

                 ❝ Fortunately for me, I’ve been accumulating those long before father’s                  demise, so my practice in that particular area is quite acute.                                                                                Try not to look so disappointed.  ❞ 

                Ferra relaxed slightly in the high-backed leather chair when she deduced                 Kalrien’s stubbornness would outweigh her comfort. extending her own                 legs to cross ankles on the guest chair that she had just offered.  

                ❝ I suppose you thought you’d come here, collect your dues, and be off,                 as though the revelation of your true identity wouldn’t be a bargaining chip                 for me.  That’s quite a naive outlook, coming from someone of your exper-                 tise, don’t you think?  ❞  Ferra’s taunting face smirked slightly, kicking the                 guest chair back with a flick of her foot, crossing her legs. 

                ❝ Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to sit?  ❞

         TRY NOT TO look so disappointed.

                           Kalrien’s expression had not shifted since she had gotten there.                            The act was growing stale and saccharine--she grew tired of the                            self-congratulatory posturing.      This was part of the reason her                            tactic of dealing with contracts had worked so well.    He lack of                            contact with the employer made her less likely to put a bullet in                            their head, herself. 

The conclusions Ferra was jumping to screamed that she thought she’d already won, but Kalrien wasn’t inclined to believe that. For all the girl’s vapidity, she couldn’t be that idiotic. Kalrien was a wildcard now that her strings had been cut, for all the threats Ferra could stack against her. But fine. If she wanted to see the mask come off, the mask could come off. Though Kalrien’s expression did not change, her tone was drier, a twinge of irony wincing through the smooth flow of her words

       “ You misread.   I didn’t come expecting anything,   but I did want you to know               that I don’t work for free, even with threats of blackmail on the table.   You’re              only as good to me as your money, and that stands as long as I’m not made              a better offer. 

                                     Try not to look so disappointed. ”

[venturess]

( V. TRYSTANE )

       ‘     —  hm ?? well, i can hardly blame them. i have                   done some pretty spectacular things,    y’know, I                   probably wouldn’t believe them either.

             “ YOU KNOW, THAT’S a good point. What                      spectacular things have you done? I’m having                       a tough time jogging my memory. ”

[venturess]

( ???? )

     It had been a long time since Malia had worked a gig this high profile. Most of her rich clients had grown up to the point where they welcomed the presence of a more obvious bodyguard. And they had very rarely not been young girls. But Cardell Siens was… a special case. Many years ago she had worked for him protecting his daughter Vada. She had been from his… second marriage? To be honest she couldn’t keep track.

     Though Vada and Cardell were no longer speaking, and Malia herself had not been in contact with either of the Siens for a long time, when he had requested her presence at this function it had been difficult to say no. Mostly because Cardell Siens was an overbearing ass who refused to take no for an answer, but also because he offered her  a lot of money.

     She could put up with a lot of crap for that much money. What she had not bargained on was the piles and piles of hate mail and death threats she had to sort through in order to properly organise protection for the rusting event. She wondered why a man this hated even bothered going outside to be honest.

     So when Detective Venture addressed her Malia just let out a nervous laugh and said, “Unfortunately yes.”

     "Oh, that sounded bad… I didn’t mean it like that.“ She hefted a small portion of the letters she had been reading and pulled a face. "It’s just that ‘complications’ might be an understatement.”

     It was great to know there would be police involvement though. Personal bodyguards were all well and good, but it looked like they’d be facing an army of people wanting to hurt him, and there just wasn’t an army of bodyguards in Elendel to fight them off.

BEING ASKED TO do some management for a function that was geared toward protecting one of her marks was something entirely new for Kalrien, to the point where she felt a little bad at having been employed to take out a frankly awful man. It would have been easier, really, to simply let one of his hundreds of enemies do the work for her, but unfortunately, standing back to let the unthinkable happen would both bring lawsuits down on the EPD and people like this girl. People with endless money to throw away on lawsuits were among Kalrien’s least favourites, and she had arrested the worst of the worst.

“ I understand. High profile events like these are stressful. Back when I was still on the beat, I was expected to be part of a number of these. ” She allowed the smallest of smiles to glint over her lips before going back to business. “ I’ve already checked in with a few of the others, but I just want to be clear on what you have been assigned to do so I’m not spreading people out where they’re not needed. ” 

The sight of the letters distracted her, however. “ Are these the death threats Siens has been getting? How many of them do you think are legitimate? ” A lot of the time, the people writing hate letters and threats were just blowing hot air and there was no real threat behind them. There were warning signs to look for in legitimate threats, but sometimes it was difficult to pick them out of the myriad lunacy from the minds of angry people. 

[venturess]

( F YOMEN )

             ❝ You didn’t strike me as someone who needed doting after completing a             task you were paid to do.  But I’ll indulge you if it’ll curb that bothersome             sarcasm you seem to think is adorable. ❞

                      Walking past the assassin, Ferra took a seat at her desk.  After the                       news she’d received after the funeral, toying with this new chess                       piece in front of her was about the only thing that was going to give                       her some kind of happiness today. 

              ❝ I had a funeral to attend, in case you’d forgotten, so if you wanted an               apology for my tardiness, well, too bad.                                                                   You work for me, now.  Get used to it. ❞ 

                    Reaching into the top drawer of the desk, Ferra pulled out a thick                     file and extended it Kalrien.   

          ❝ Your father’s file.  I have no use for it now, his debts been cleared as           promised.  You’ll also find new funds in your account by day’s end.  I           have no trouble keeping promises, I hope we can say the same for you.                                                             Sit.  There’s new business to discuss.  ❞

     KALRIEN CROSSED HER  arms over her chest,  regarding       the young woman before her with cold detachment.        The Yomen        heiress was walking a fine line--in Kalrien’s mind, she did not quite       grasp the concept of a hired hitman.   Her debt had been paid in full;       it had not been owed to Ferra Yomen,       but to men who were now        effectively dead.       Ferra stopped being her employer the moment       Ernan Yomen breathed his last. 

      But fine. She would entertain the whims of a child. They suited her       for the moment.   When things crashed in on her head,  it was now       Kalrien’s job to make sure the blame also went to Ferra. That was       her only hope of survival, at this point. 

                     You work for me now.                                                     Get used to it.

      She would rather burn.

      Without the pretences,  Kalrien moved like a killer, calamitous and       graceful. She extended her arm to take her father’s file--it would be       carefully  catalogued  and stored  away where  it could  be used  as        evidence.   She came without expectation,  without motive.   So far.       Promises were weak things,     and any promises she made ended       with the end of her contracts.  She was a marionette on strings that       gave her just enough freedom to use them as a garrote.

     She made no move to sit.   “ Yes,  I  imagine  that  by  inheriting  an      empire, you inherit its enemies as well. ”

[venturess]

( R. LADRIAN )

   ‘ T’at’s a bit weird, detective.   Not sure you’re chief is    gonna appreciate y’ goin’ around givin’ people advice    on how t’ better carry out murders. ’  A beat of silence    follows.                  ‘         I’ll keep t’at in mind, t’ough. ’

     “ I HAVE NO idea what you’re talking about.   I was           merely giving friendly advice on how not to carry out           a murder. ”   If he was asking how he should, poison            wasn’t always the best option, anyway.

         She took a seat at the bar. “ Must have been a weighty          insult to earn a reaction like that. ”

[venturess]

( V. TRYSTANE )

             ‘ A competent detective— probably the nicest thing              you’ve ever said about me, Kal.    Well, not the nicest,              but  those  are   compliments    I can’t exactly  say  in              decent company, you know? ’

     SHE SHOT VIC  in the face a wry look and nudged        his foot under the table. Behave. “ I’m not sure anyone        would believe you even if you did repeat those. ”

[venturess]

( heartlikeiron​ )

     KALRIEN VENTURE HATED being made to wait, but she wasn’t       in a position to dictate timing in this case. Not when it came to her employer.       She didn’t understand why it was necessary to ever see Ferra again, and       knew that if she valued her freedom, she would have left town and never       looked back.

     But, that was what her father would have done, and she was not her father.      So, she agreed to meet Ferra, sealing her own fate. That wasn’t to say she      would be leashed without a fight.

     When Ferra showed up, she wasted no breath. “ It’s done. I trust it was       theatrical enough for your tastes. ”

[venturess]

( R. LADRIAN )

            ‘ Fuckin’… piece ‘a shit… ’  he mutters angrily at the tap,             filling a pint.    ‘ Comin’ in here, insultin’ my food… no one             would even know… poison t’is fuckin’ pint an’ no one would             be th’ wis–… ’ he stops there, turning his head slightly to             see one of elendel’s finest.

                                           ‘ … How long’ve you been standin’ t’ere? ’ 

     “ LONG ENOUGH. HERE’S a piece of expert advice            from someone who’s seen it:

           Poison isn’t any good unless you have something that             leaves no trace. Your everyday, under-the-counter cleaning            supplies will take local police right back to you and you’re            looking at at least a life sentence with twenty-five for parole. ”

[venturess]

( V. TRYSTANE )

   ‘ I don’t know how to read anything on this menu.                                         …                  Are these even words, Kal?  I feel like it’s                  made up. You brought me to a restaurant                                                  with made up words. ’

     “ IF YOU WANT to be technical, all words are           ‘made up.’

                           It’s Eastern cuisine, Vic. Just read the                            description beneath the dish name. You’re                            a competent detective. I’m sure you can                             figure it out. ”

[vtrystane]

Elendel-99, back in action.

[venturess]

[ prxncess-powerful ]

     “ Excuse me, are you one of the bodyguards for the Siens         function? Detective Venture of the EPD. I was sent to go          over the details with you, as I understand it's a very high-         profile event and there may be... complications. ”

[venturess]

spannerboop:

Oh how wrong you were Kalrien. Ema could definitely botch it terribly. Usually it ended in a fire. She looked over the ingredients briefly, wondering what you even could make out of this. “Right…not-robots. Easy.” Somehow, she found being used to fight robots a lot better than being used to…not make something blow up. 

Hesitantly, she reached for the first bottle of…whatever this was. She stared at it, feigning reading what it was. Nothing really registered. She supposed her best option was to just throw things in. She didn’t really measure things, just sort of went with her gut instinct and hoped it wasn’t the instinct that to fires.  She hoped any possible robot threats were not designed to be slain via cook-off. 

     Judging by the scent that was wafting toward her from Ema's vicinity,      Kalrien could tell the garlic had definitely been overdone. However,      she remained quiet and merely instructed Ema on when to start putting      it on the bread. 

     At least she hadn't gotten Ema to do the pasta.

     "Next time, I'm going to teach you how to do the entire thing. Do you       cook often, Ema?" Probably not, seeing how much garlic had gone      into the mixture--or, smelling it, as the case may be. At least all of      the ingredients were entirely inert and there was no possibility for       an explosion. She supposed she should be relieved that Basil hadn't      seen fit to show up, as well.

[venturess]

imtristinanditscomplicated:

     Tristin couldn’t help it. He laughed. He laughed long and loud and found it difficult to stop. She knew nothing! Absolutely nothing about his kind. For a moment he thought that maybe he’d been worrying about nothing, if this was the kind of knowledge he could expect from humans today.

     But of course it would be foolish to judge the masses on one person. There would almost certainly be someone out there who knew. More likely a brass allomancer.

   Finally, Tristin stopped laughing, and took in a deep breath. “Forgive me,” he said as he calmed down. “But, Kalrien, what did you think I needed the bodies for? Decoration?”

     He briefly considered explaining the process to her, but decided against it. The less she knew the better.

     "I’ll spare you the details, they  can be a little gruesome. Suffice it to say, you give me the body of someone you wish me to take the shape of, and I will."

     “ Gruesome? ” She struggled to keep the amusement from her tone        and failed. “ And what exactly were you paying me to do, exactly?        If you are so willing to pay me for this service, I'll have to know a        little more about how you operate. ” 

       His laughter, he could handle. That was fine, understandable. She        was treading uncharted waters and nearly in over her head, but if        her bastard father had taught her anything, it was how to bullshit        her way through a situation when preparation just wasn't enough.        At least he'd been useful for something.

       Kalrien shouldered her purse and secured the money under her arm.        It was a miracle how much a purse could hold, and how little anyone        questioned it. Perhaps he couldn't be killed with means so element-        ary as blunt force trauma to the head, but what would happen if she        severed his head from the rest of his body? If could kill a bloodmaker;        why not a kandra? Maybe it would take some trial-and-error, but if        she could figure out how to kill a twinborn bloodmaker, she could        figure him out.

       She returned her attention to him, cool and calculated. “ I'm not a         person who makes gambles, KinMaai. I like to know what I'm deal-        ing with. ”

[venturess]

imtristinanditscomplicated:

     Finally they were getting somewhere. A name, a face… there was not much she could refuse him without risking herself. KinMaai didn’t overly enjoy using people. He was, after all, purpose built to help. But unfortunately he didn’t have much choice. 

     ”A pleasure to meet you, Kalrien,” he said, slipping back into Tristin’s faux charm. 

     "The arrangement is simple, when I require a body, you will provide it for me. And in return, I will not tell your employers of your… extra curricular activities.

     ”In addition, I will provide you with my services. My ability to change shape could prove useful to someone such as yourself.”

     An offer that was meant to cage her further, but she could certainly see its merits. She had the evidence of his legitimacy right in front of her, and if he needed to assimilate another person's shape, it could prove a very valuable resource.

     Best not to let him think he had her trapped, though. She was already leashed from all angles--she didn't want to add another leash onto that.

     "Could you explain to me how your... shapeshifting works? If I am to agree to this arrangement, I want to know what is at my disposal." If not, she would find a way to kill him properly. He knew too much.

[venturess]

sinclxr:

Sin breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t like he could have done much had she refused. He was about to say some word of farewell, but then Kalrien spoke and his eyes widened. His hand inadvertently went right to his beard and then quickly cupped the back of his neck, elbow down, while the other hand went to his hip. Both hands dropped in the next moment, and then Sin finally found his voice, which had become shocked in its absence.

“Really? Um. Er, thank you.” He blinked a few times and then muttered, “I must be more sleep deprived than I thought.” In a more normal tone, he said, “If you have no further need of me, I’ll just… be going.” Sinclar motioned to the door and then stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

     "I'm sure I'll let you know if I think of anything. For now, perhaps I simply need to focus on getting some rest. You should, too, you know."

     That sounded stupid. She backpedaled. "What I mean by that is that you need to start getting more rest, too, Sinclar. Using that couch of yours as a bed can't be helping." And now she just sounded human. That wasn't good. Was it? No. She needed sleep. And probably to stop talking altogether.

[venturess]

spannerboop:

It took her a moment to register Kalrien was actually joking around with her. And she definitely didn’t miss the smile. She felt oddly proud to be able to make such a stoic woman smile. Maybe she’d be able to get her to laugh at some point, too. A little self-satisfied smirk formed as she continued her breadly duties, making surprisingly relatively even cuts through the whole thing. 

"It is what friends are primarily used for. Fighting living room invading robots, I mean.” Even if Ema tended to use them more as a source for food. Providing food. Not actual for real food. 

     "If that's the case, apparently I have been using my friends the wrong way." Yes, good use of words, Kalrien. Admit you consider people your friends but insinuate that you use them. A+, truly a master of language. "Are you done with the bread? If you are, what I want you to do is use the remaining ingredients I left on the counter to make the mixture we'll put on it. I didn't measure it out so your best guess will do."

     It was unlikely Emalyn could botch it terribly, and besides--Kalrien didn't really mind mistakes when it came to cooking. It was about learning and experimenting. It gave her freedom she didn't have in her everyday life. "It's not fighting robots, exactly, but I think it's a good start."

[venturess]

tessalinden:

   “ You haven’t? ” Tessa questioned, head peaking out from    behind one   of the racks to meet  Kalrien’s eyes. She  had    yet to   find any   dresses   worthy to be placed upon    her    friend, but that dress was out   there somewhere, and they    would find  it. “ He  does know  there’s going to be  a gala,    though,  I hope?   Then again,    I can’t say the idea of him    showing up to a fancy event in jeans and that dumb leather    jacket    doesn’t amuse     me. ” She grinned, moving back    to browse through.

     “ Oh, I'm sure he knows about it. There have been announcements         at work. If he doesn't know, it's through willful ignorance. Extremely         willful. ” Now that she mentioned it, though, it wouldn't be a bad          idea to check that he knew how to dress and where the venue was.         Then again, she wasn't his mother. 

     'Girlfriend' could often be considered similar, though. “ What do you       think of this one? " She held a long mermaid-style dress up. It was       black. " I wish they had it in red. I'm going to a gala, not a funeral. ”