[That’s it, then, isn’t it? His suspicions have been totally confirmed. Travis’ hand strays to the beam katana at his side, and Jeane, sensing her human’s own trepidation, ducks behind him: after all, a cat’s no match for a human in the end.
His voice drops lower, in volume and tone.]
You, me, Haoyu. No wonder we all ran into each other here: we’re like sharks, attracted to blood.
[All the leisure’s gone out of his bearing—- every muscle coiled spring-tight, even as he sits in this verdant park on this lovely day; no longer a friendly cat owner, now the assassin that he truly is and always will be, Travis’ voice signals warning. If Satoko strikes, he’s ready to strike right back.]
Little young to be an killer, though, aren’t you? By far the youngest I’ve seen in years.
[ something's gone wrong. travis's hand moves, and even if she hasn't read the room so far she can certainly pick up on that - the motion to something he's kept hidden, the way jeane hides behind him. this wasn't safe. she knew it was a possibility going in; she has nothing to fear from dying. so why does this feel different? why does this feel dangerous?
"we're like sharks." "attracted to blood."
"little young to be a killer, though, aren't you?" ]
Goodness. That's quite an assumption, isn't it, Mr. Touchdown?
[ her tone is calm, though only through sheer force of will. he knows. what does he know? what she's done? what she is? is it an assumption, or an accusation, or a joke? it doesn't matter. this was a failure of judgment. she must fix it immediately.
she sighs, almost wearily. kicks her leg up onto the bench, methodically, smoothly, calmly. rolls up her right pants leg. ]
Was it the employment? Or was the knife simply too obvious? [ it's not the knife of a trained assassin. it's a regular kitchen knife, clean and well-sharpened, strapped to her calf with a bit of adhesive bandaging. she slowly unwraps it, sets the knife in her lap when she's done. ] Come now. Surely two killers can exchange tips, yes? Consider it a professional courtesy.
[He follows the glint of that blade as it moves from the girl's calf to her leg to her lap. A normal weapon sometimes belies an assassin's real killer instinct-- he'd learned that the hard way, nearly getting his skull caved in by some woman with a plain wooden baseball bat many years ago. There's the most minute shift in a muscle in Travis' arm. He's got his finger on Blood Berry's activation trigger.]
You hid that knife pretty well, I'll give you that. I didn't notice until Jeane did.
[Be careful, Travis... murmurs the cat herself, her tail finally pulling out of sight as she tucks it beneath her furry body.]
Your "age" and Haoyu tipped me off. The guy's a mercenary: his hands're as bloody as you or me. Really, it's on me for just looking at you like some kid... [He huffs, displeased. A few inactive months on this planet haven't done him any favors: he's getting sloppy.] Now that I'm actually paying attention, I can feel it. People like us change the atmosphere the moment we step into a room.
[Par the course, isn't it? It's like he can't walk five feet without picking up on somebody else's bloodlust these days, even all these lightyears away from Santa Destroy. Travis continues, cool and even.]
Frankly, I don't give a fuck. Ain't like we're fighting over a hit here or anything. So long as you don't hurt what's mine, you can do as you please.
Clearly not well enough. [ it's odd; like this, barely suppressing the panic, satoko's voice takes on an almost lecturing tone. ] I should have chosen somewhere less likely to disturb Miss Jeane, at the very least.
[ she listens intently to travis's explanation. that was it? an off-beat comment about her age, and the mere mention of the chinese man asking for jobs? goodness, what sort of supersleuth is this man? how utterly inconvenient. ]
I do appreciate your openness, Mr. Travis. But to be quite frank, I've no interest in giving you the opportunity to let my secrets out.
[ her hand tightens around the knife, but her muscles don't tense. what is it she's doing...? ]
...Miss Jeane, my apologies for the first impression. I do hope our next meeting goes more smoothly.
[ she doesn't move with lethal intent. she doesn't strike like an assassin, or lunge like a snake. she just raises the blade, slowly and with absolutely no wavering, up to her own throat.
and then, in a single clean thrust, she neatly severs her own jugular. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[That’s it, then, isn’t it? His suspicions have been totally confirmed. Travis’ hand strays to the beam katana at his side, and Jeane, sensing her human’s own trepidation, ducks behind him: after all, a cat’s no match for a human in the end.
His voice drops lower, in volume and tone.]
You, me, Haoyu. No wonder we all ran into each other here: we’re like sharks, attracted to blood.
[All the leisure’s gone out of his bearing—- every muscle coiled spring-tight, even as he sits in this verdant park on this lovely day; no longer a friendly cat owner, now the assassin that he truly is and always will be, Travis’ voice signals warning. If Satoko strikes, he’s ready to strike right back.]
Little young to be an killer, though, aren’t you? By far the youngest I’ve seen in years.
no subject
"we're like sharks."
"attracted to blood."
"little young to be a killer, though, aren't you?" ]
Goodness. That's quite an assumption, isn't it, Mr. Touchdown?
[ her tone is calm, though only through sheer force of will. he knows. what does he know? what she's done? what she is? is it an assumption, or an accusation, or a joke? it doesn't matter. this was a failure of judgment. she must fix it immediately.
she sighs, almost wearily. kicks her leg up onto the bench, methodically, smoothly, calmly. rolls up her right pants leg. ]
Was it the employment? Or was the knife simply too obvious? [ it's not the knife of a trained assassin. it's a regular kitchen knife, clean and well-sharpened, strapped to her calf with a bit of adhesive bandaging. she slowly unwraps it, sets the knife in her lap when she's done. ] Come now. Surely two killers can exchange tips, yes? Consider it a professional courtesy.
no subject
You hid that knife pretty well, I'll give you that. I didn't notice until Jeane did.
[Be careful, Travis... murmurs the cat herself, her tail finally pulling out of sight as she tucks it beneath her furry body.]
Your "age" and Haoyu tipped me off. The guy's a mercenary: his hands're as bloody as you or me. Really, it's on me for just looking at you like some kid... [He huffs, displeased. A few inactive months on this planet haven't done him any favors: he's getting sloppy.] Now that I'm actually paying attention, I can feel it. People like us change the atmosphere the moment we step into a room.
[Par the course, isn't it? It's like he can't walk five feet without picking up on somebody else's bloodlust these days, even all these lightyears away from Santa Destroy. Travis continues, cool and even.]
Frankly, I don't give a fuck. Ain't like we're fighting over a hit here or anything. So long as you don't hurt what's mine, you can do as you please.
1/2; cw: suicide
[ she listens intently to travis's explanation. that was it? an off-beat comment about her age, and the mere mention of the chinese man asking for jobs? goodness, what sort of supersleuth is this man? how utterly inconvenient. ]
I do appreciate your openness, Mr. Travis. But to be quite frank, I've no interest in giving you the opportunity to let my secrets out.
[ her hand tightens around the knife, but her muscles don't tense. what is it she's doing...? ]
...Miss Jeane, my apologies for the first impression. I do hope our next meeting goes more smoothly.
[ she doesn't move with lethal intent. she doesn't strike like an assassin, or lunge like a snake. she just raises the blade, slowly and with absolutely no wavering, up to her own throat.
and then, in a single clean thrust, she neatly severs her own jugular. ]