A Challenge?

[natalie]

Natalie hadn’t known much in the last decade besides her work, so whenever she was looking for something to do, Natalie would stop by the assassins’ guild to see if she could pick up another job.

Wearing a tight black suit that fit shapely around her body, Natalie always drew a few eyes when she walked into the bar that fronted the guild. Her body was the perfect picture of a woman and her hips held a certain rhythmic sway about them that captured men’s eyes and women’s alike; some were eager and Natalie had been doing work through the guild for a long time, so everyone there had seen her many times before but she tended to decline any invitations to mingle. The mystery about her surely added to the allure; Natalie was unobtainable to anyone in that room and it made them stare all the more.

Natalie didn’t stop walking until she reached the bar counter where she leaned forward, taunting everyone who would be looking with a sweetly poised arch to her ass and thighs. She hadn’t even so much as glanced at anyone in the room as she passed; she knew their type; they were as cold as she was. Natalie had no need in her life for any more ethical stagnation; she wanted to be challenged. None of them could give Natalie what she was there for anyways. She wanted a task, so she waited at the bar with the drink the bartender had poured her without request, for someone who could give her a challenge.

[Alara]

The door to the guild’s bar opened once more a few minutes later another darkly clad woman stepped through the frame and paused a moment as eyes moved her way and quickly averted themselves, only the most daring and forwards or perhaps drunken of souls still dared run their hungry gaze over the perfectly shaped body that entered. Though even they averted their eyes quickly enough when they were met with an icy green-eyed glare that told stories of pain and suffering should they continue to even so much as consider the thoughts they might have had in their foul minds.

Anasha had been a member of this guild far too long to take anything other than respect from anyone of its members and as she moved forward, her manner of making her way through the crowd was nothing as the one that had preceded her at all. Certainly, she was clad in black, but her outfit was that of an assassin who’d just been out in the dark on an assignment that called for a great deal more than a sexy body and an even greater ego to boot. Her hair was a mess and even still might have had blood staining it, her clothing was torn in places where she’d obviously had countless numbers of sharp objects either flying at her or otherwise swung in her general direction from any number of human targets all at one time. Yes, she’d just arrived from a massive assassination where she’d wiped out an entire group of rising enthusiasts and its leader in a direct conflict and she was in no mood for the antics of the drunk or sober beings in this bar at all. The number of members she was supposed to have had dealt with was almost twice what she was told and that displeased her very much and she would have words with Anasha about the pay they had received for the job.

When she approached the bar, she leaned against it and actually sat hard down on one of the stools and then took the tankard of ale already being pushed into her hand from the bartender and took a long draw from it as she eyed the other girl standing there looking for the world as if she wanted all the attention that was being given her, though having Alara sitting now next to her, the eyes began drifting away as they wouldn’t have wanted to be mistaken. Yes Alara knew the girl and knew why it was she was here and she gave a heavy sigh, her job never finished and she was still quite angry with the guild in general, but, she turned and whistled to one of the pages that was zipping past who turned on his heal and came running to her side immediately.

“Fetch me the book.” She stated sharply to the small child who nodded sharply and was off again just as quickly as he had turned to come to her.

“Hello Natalie.” Alara greeted with a soft smile. “Bored are we?” She asked, knowing the answer before she even asked the question. Alara had nothing against the girl; she had once been just like her but had put away her tigress being long ago.

[natalie]

“Oh you know me Alara.” Natalie answered plainly while about to take a drink. “I’m always bored.” Unless there was a good play or any other well made performance going on in town, Natalie was all about work and training. It was the only way she had ever known to be. With all the training and competing she had done growing up, Natalie never knew how to have any fun. Bored was her lifestyle.

“Do have a remedy for me today?” Natalie asked, looking up at Alara, then took another sip. “Looks like you got some action, share the wealth.” Alara may not have enjoyed what went down that night for her, but had it been Natalie in her place, coming away form a mission looking like that, she would have been thoroughly enthused. Alara had obviously had a rough challenge that night, one that had clearly been difficult to contend with. Natalie wished every night that she could have a task like that.

[Alara]

Alara laughed shortly at Natalie’s’ first statement and raised her tankard in salute to the other girl and drank deeply from it. “Indeed you are, every time I see you, you seem to be looking for trouble of some sort or another.” She then laughed and shook her head. “You truly are a breath of fresh air to those who I spend far too much time with.” She then stated a smile still on what used to be a grumpy face.

She had need this, truly Natalie was what Alara had stated, a breath of fresh air and besides, every time the older woman saw the girl, she had reminded her of herself in many ways when she was her age and perhaps that was why she was delighted to see the girl when she arrived at the guild.

A few moments later the small boy came running up to Alara carrying a black appointment book and handed it to her. Alara thanked him and handed him a copper coin from inside her pants and the boy ran off with a smile on his face. The assassin turned and placed the rather thick agenda on the bar in front of her and opened it up and began thumbing through the pages slowly, taking time to pay attention to what was on the pages, she wanted to find Natalie something suitable this time, something she felt the assassin could not only handle, but have a good time in doing so. She knew the younger girl was capable of just about the same type things Alara herself could do and so, she sought to find her just that.

“You know Natalie, you really should talk to Anasha about taking up the newly open Elders position in the guild, your assignments can get a lot more interesting should you do it, not to mention the pay is better.” Alara stated quite seriously. “Besides, I would like to see you up here with me instead of some other assassin not as worthy of the spot.” She finished quite honestly as she scanned the pages before her.

Alara took a few more sips from her ale before she spotted what she was looking for and then smiled. “Perfect.” She stated and turned the book towards Natalie so that as she could see it. The name next to the assignment was Alara, meaning it was one saved for her to do, but she wasn’t above giving an assignment away to this girl, after all she had just stated that the girl was ready for something more. This one hadn’t been quite as big as the one Alara had just came from, but it would take a lot of skill and hard fighting would be involved no matter how one tried to approach it.

[natalie]

Natalie smiled at Alara’s first comments. Alara was an amazing and legendary assassin within the guild; a compliment from her was a great one. “No trouble is no fun.” Natalie spoke with a grin after the last sip of her drink. The bartender promptly had another one ready.

Natalie eyed the agenda intently while Alara looked through it. She was hoping for something difficult; something a lot more fun than she usually got. Natalie had always been thrilled when intel had been wrong and she had been handed a job that had a higher profile than anyone had thought. Her eyes grew larger as one brow rose at Alara’s suggestion. “You mean to say that if I take the spot I’ll have harder jobs?” Natalie’s curiosity was quite hopeful. There was no question in her mind that she would qualify for the promotion; Natalie had held a perfect record with the guild for the entire ten years she had been with them; she knew she was good, and the flattery from the guild’s most highly respected elder only served to prove that fact.

Taking the slip handed her while taking the first sip of her new drink, Natalie read over the notes on the page. “Is this a bribe?” The task at hand was a decent one; an important and well-guarded figure from the corporate sector. Money was no more than a perk for Natalie, which was obvious to anyone who cared to notice her thirst for adventure and challenge. Natalie took another sip as she went over the job’s logistics in her head; the location, terrain, preferred weaponry, equipment, timeline, method, and probable guard detail swiftly fell into place. “It’s working.” Natalie turned her head and grinned wryly at Alara.

[Alara]

Alara smiled as she took her last drink from the tankard that had been thrust into her hand and then took up the second one that was awaiting her hand and drank from it as well and then laughed. “A bribe? No, I just think you need it is all.” She replied honestly, though if you would like to look at it a a bribe, we can pretend that was its intent and you can accept what I said and go talk to Anasha, soon.” She then finished what she was saying before she took another long draw from her ale and settled the tankard back on the counter and looked around once, through the bar and shook her head. “I honestly can’t think of anyone I would like to see take it up Natalie.” She then stated, her emerald orbs leveling on the other girl.

It was the truth, Alara was looking at having to try and hold back the opening for another of the younger group to move up should Natalie turn it down and the Elder Assassin knew that once it was taken, it would be a while again before another opened up and Natalie was perfect for the position, her spirit alone could bring so much to the guild.

She then gave another half laugh at something else the girl had stated earlier and decided to comment just now as well. “You do have a point as if there were no trouble, we would be out of jobs, simply put.” She shook her head and then sighed. “And yes, the job offers many a job like the one you are about ready to accept right now, the likes of these and much harder, some even taking a couple of us working together.” She replied again quite honestly. “Which brings me to the rather selfish reasoning behind me wanting you to take the position.” She winked at the girl and took another draw from her tankard. “I don’t think there is as of yet another assassin other than Anasha herself, that I would rather have watching my back.” She shrugged and told Natalie honestly.