Jennifer Live
"I'm sorry, Jennifer. I'm alright, I promise you. I know you're worried,ā he spoke, evoking as much calm as humanly possible in the face of her withering gaze (which seemed on the verge of melting the city itself behind them), "You have my word, I'm alright."
To his credit, the assassin never wavered, but then again, he likely had plenty of experience dealing with her volatile anger already by this point.
āThatās what you always say,ā she pouted, relenting childishly as her soft features formed a frown of displeasure, not that he couldāve seen it from his position anyway.
The journey back to Skyfall had been largely uneventful, if that, especially if one considered the absurdity of what had recently transpired. Perhaps anxious to put some distance between them and Laowlee (and their crimes), the duo adopted a hasty pace in anticipation of the workload ahead them. Just when the situation seemed bad enough, the world goes and makes things worse all over again, almost as if it were some part of a larger conspiracy. Sighing and leaning back, she rested her head in the crook of Talonās shoulder. Content to allow him to take control over the reins, Jennifer reflected on her own thoughts, reminiscing on how enjoyable it was just to be alone with him, away from their ācivilā responsibilities, even slipping into that dangerous territory of nostalgia. Oh how much she missed the freedom sometimes. Of course she completely neglected to consider the fates of their missing colleagueās likely still holed up in Loawlee. They were better off without them anyway as far as she was concerned.
Reminding herself this was hardly the time for sentiments, she forced her own focus as a vague shadow announced itself unexpectedly on the horizon. An enemy? A traveler? A local? The likely scenarios played out in the better, saner parts of her mind in an attempt to rationalize the situation. In all likelihood it was probably nothing, but that didnāt explain why Talon had purposefully adjusted their course direction, or the inexplicable aura of warmthā¦
"Do with it as you please."
Snapped out of her trance thanks to the distinct sound of Talonās voice, Jennifer beamed up at him like heād just presented the best gift possible, neatly wrapped and waiting to be pried open by her fingers. āHow kind of you to give your permission, do I get a treat afterwards?ā
Despite hers words, Jennifer hardly needed his prompting. Twisting her neck around, she squinted her own eyes at the growing mirage to ascertain its nature. Peculiarly, the figure underwent a series of metamorphosis, not unlike a nightmare out of Jenniferās own delusional mind. Its shape changed, shifting form and size before finally deciding to settle onto the humble image of a simple farmer, all in the blink of an eye. A trick of the mind? Or was it something more?
Unfortunately for whoever, or whatever it was, this was Jennifer Live. Considerations such as the morality of her actions never existed in the first place. Sheād do anything and everything for Talon, including killing on the drop of a hat so long as that meant she could erase even the tiniest of inconveniences for him. And thatās precisely what she set out to do as she vanished abruptly from her spot in front Talon and then materialized a few meters to his flank. As if recognizing the mistake of his words almost instantly, the assassin practically blurted out the next line to his sentence.
"Wait, Jennifer. Perhaps we should take him with us. I'm unnerved by this unsettling amount of magic. If you could do something about that heavy presence, though..."
She paused only to glance up at him, āWill you take anything else with your order, sir?ā she asked, raising her eyebrows before storming off without waiting for his reply. Denied of her āfunā she set out with the intentions of at least venting some of the pent up fury sheād built up over the course of their stay in Loawlee. She returned to dutifully a few minutes later, dragging the knocked-out-cold body of the mystery man behind her through the dirt. Her breathing was shallow, but whether that was because of her excessive use of magic or some after effects of the manās āauraā she couldnāt say. Stripped of his disguise, Jennifer had to admit he looked remarkably handsome, if not unnaturally so, and vaguely familiar.
āOne mage made to order, cooked extra rare. I'm not sure if he was affiliated with Laowlee, but at the very least he made the effort of hide his appearance if that means anything. Is it really in our best interests to spare someone like that?ā she asked dismissively. The matter didn't seem like it was up for debate as as they started up on their journey again, happening upon another strange individual.
"What a coincidence," she murmured as Talon halted their horse besides Fay. "Any others strays you'd like to pick up before we get back? I beginning to think we might need a bigger horse."