Snippet #2702867

The soft click of leather-soled heels trailed up the stairs of the West District Library as Commander Botrelle climbed to meet her target. Even now, her eyes were scanning over her surroundings: She took in the cityscape through the paneled glass walls, watching the rooftops within view for any sign of a sniper team. Her fingernails tapped along the hollow metal handrail, feeling for places where it could have been stuffed with an explosive. She scanned the ceiling, for anyone hiding in the rafters.

Indeed, Erubesco had trained and prepared her for a wide range of possibilities.

Emerging from the stairwell to find her target in the midst of a textbook post-traumatic stress episode may not have been one of them

She stood in the doorway for little more than a second, features blank as she took in the scene playing out before her. Ronin hit the floor, ducking. His nerves were tight, the sensory regions of his mind picking up on data that was not there. Stress hormones released, and his pulse spiked.

It continued even as he picked himself back up and sat down. He gripped an item that was not there— looking through something that nobody else could see.

The Commander had handled enough shell-shocked soldiers to know the symptoms in a heartbeat.

She took a step forward as the commotion and staring dissolved into the more standard quiet of the library. Her gift reached out toward the target, intangible and silent as it coiled around his nerves, tapping in more intimately to his system so that she could anticipate any sudden movements.

She took a few more steps forward, keeping her tread light. A slight crease formed between her brows, and she allowed a subtle frown to tug at the corners of her rouge lips. “Ah, pardon?” she asked, her voice filled with the same softness and concern as her features, “Ah, I’m sorry, but—“ A small, sympathetic laugh, a glance down to the ground. “I- I don’t mean to assume. Or impose. Or anything of the sort. But… Are you quite alright? I’m an empath, of sorts, and…”

She took a shuffled step back, making sure her back was toward the door and her body was between Ronin and his escape. She folded her hands in front of her in what looked like a nervous gesture, actually activating a honing signal to Norrevinter via her watch.

“…I thought that you might… Um, do you need help? I just thought you may be in distress, and… Ah. I- I’m sorry to intrude. I can… I can go.”

She gave a soft tug against his system, loosening the muscles in his shoulders, calming the stress receptors that had been so violently jarred by the episode. There was no physical motion on her part to give away the action, but it stood to try and make him feel at ease and buy time.

“I’m Viv, by the way. Well. Vivianne. But Viv. I guess. Or whatever. I just… Um.” She shifted her weight onto one hip so that her skirt rose less than an inch, accentuating the soft curve of her body, from thigh up to waist. “… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude or anything. I just… I can’t stand seeing people who are having a rough go of it.”

Definitely trying to buy time.