Potential Mistakes | Tag - Open

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

Aphrodite felt a frown tug at the ends of her mouth. So he was having money problems, which made things even clearer for her. Clearly this guy didn’t have a job within the town. She snorted at the other part of his answer. “Since you like it so much, do you make a regular habit of sleeping outdoors?” She almost laughed at this, but managed to keep a straight face. The last thing she wanted was this guy to blow up in her face again for laughing at the fact that he was homeless. Though that did bring back what she was going to say earlier to try and make the guy stay. Since she had this guy tracked after the second time they met, Aphrodite had been able to see where he’d been living as well as if he’d had a job. She’d asked at the hotel that he’d been staying at to try and find out anything else about him. She’d found something out that would gain a particular advantage over the male in front of her. Turned out that he was behind on his payment for the room he was staying in. It had clearly backfired now and he’d been asked to leave. Aphrodite was unsure as to whether to mention it now or later on in the conversation as he was leaving. A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought of what his reaction would be like. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have fun finding a new place to sleep other than a bed.” She rolled her eyes at least and let the small smile fade off her lips.

For a second after she’d asked the question, Aphrodite could’ve sworn that she saw a flicker of fear pass over the males face. It only appeared for a second and it was most likely Aphrodite being too observant, but it looked like it was there. However, she didn’t dwell on the fact and listened to the lame excuse that the male was spouting. Her expressionless face slowly turned into one of doubt. Aphrodite rolled her eyes more heavily this time and looked around the empty hallway. “Okay, once you’ve stopped believing your own bull, you can tell me who exactly this moon person is.” There was a hint of truth about it, she could tell that much, but the fact that he was looking down at the floor meant that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. “It’s someone you care about, I can tell that. Sister maybe?” Aphrodite was pushing it a bit now, even she knew that. There was a little nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her quit whilst she was ahead, but she was ignoring it for now. This was the last question she would need answering on the subject. It had to be a female, there was no way that a male would be named something like ‘Moon’. “And I take it you’re of Hawaiian decent.”

Aphrodite figured as much. It was a rather simple answer to a simple question. Though this would be a good time for her to bring up the hotel business. “You’ve eaten and drank something, you’ve stayed here longer than you’ve probably deemed necessary and you’re answering my questions. Whether you’ve consciously accepted my help or not you have in some cases.” If he really wanted to leave, he could’ve done when he’d regained consciousness, despite the pounding headache. Though he did have a point about the ulterior motives, she did have them, but they were only questions and nothing else. What he had failed to realize was that she’d got another card up her sleeve. One that would probably have the guy end up shouting at her for what she’d done. “Though you will owe me one favour after you walk out of this house and back into Honey Tree Town.” Aphrodite mused. It was a low blow, but one that would most likely catch his attention. She unfolded her arms and started looking over her nails. They really did need to be filed a little as well as painted and it was starting to bug her a little. Now that all her base questions had been answered, she let herself look back up at the male and wait for him to speak.

Aphrodite let her eyes stay trained on the male, despite him having his back to her as she let the question sink in. That was it? Really, that was the question that was bugging him? Well that was simpler than she thought. This time she let out a laugh that had some warmth in it. “Do you know how hard it is for me to find someone who I can annoy as good as you in this small town?” Aphrodite let out another laugh. “Most people can’t come up with quips as well as you can, which makes it even better. It can be so easy to underneath your skin, yet so aggravatingly difficult at the same time.” She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. It was true, most people in this small town either got too easily annoyed with what she said or were people she didn’t try to bother with. It wasn’t nearly as fun as trying to annoy the blonde male. There were times when he annoyed her, but most people annoyed her one way or another. Though there was also another reason. One that she’d noticed the first time they’d met and went hunting together. It was rare that she was able to find another human besides her father that was as good with a bow and arrow as she was.

“Though that’s just one of the reasons. The last one is the fact that you’re a hunter. I’ve come across one or two other hunters that are as good as me or my father in my life but they were back in Greece. You’re the third one I’ve found. That’s why I’m so interested in you. Not just because you’re a hunter, but because you’re skilled with a bow and arrow.” Aphrodite nodded with satisfaction of her answer. Hopefully it would please him. Though she could go into more detail that was the gist of it. She did understand why there were so few hunters within the world. Most people were against that sort of thing, especially if it were for sport and nothing else. But the way the two of them did it was different. Though their reasons might differ in the long term, they both did it so that they could get a good meal out of it. Sure Aphrodite could get the best kind of meat that money could buy, but being able to eat something you caught and prepared with your own two hands tasted much better. She was totally sure of all the reasons the guy had, besides being homeless and little money, but she had come to the conclusion that if nothing else, he was doing it to survive. “As you’ve probably seen already, I do have a tough time with expressing my feelings through words…” That was an understatement if anything. Aphrodite was terrible at trying to convey her feelings and emotions through words.

“But, I’m not suggesting we try to be friends or anything like that, I think that’s impossible, but if anything, maybe hunting partners or something?” She shrugged as her gaze moved down to the floor and she crossed her arms. Heaven almighty, she was bad this. It made her feel awkward and rather vulnerable. “If you don’t, it’s perfectly understandable. I’m not the easiest person to get along with.”

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[ilyas aylin]

“Go on. Laugh all you want,” he said with a light shrug. Yes, he was homeless, and had been so for a large part of his life. He wasn’t ashamed of it, though. It was just his way of living. Although he would’ve much preferred to live in the forest he’d recently discovered here – with this girl’s help – the attack of the wolves there gave away it wasn’t really a safe place to stay at. The last thing he wanted was to be eaten alive by a group of canines. Shooting one or two was doable, but a whole pack? The blonde rather didn’t risk it. Apparently, he still thought life was somewhat valuable, or he just didn’t want to die a too painful death. People who laughed at homeless were those who had it easy in life and would never know what it was like to have to struggle to make ends meet. The redhead was one of those people, but Ilyas wondered if the child was even aware of how lucky she was. If she and her family would lose all of their material belongings and money overnight, the fear would take hold. But chances were small of that ever happening. “Honestly, I’d rather be homeless than be as stuck-up and spoiled as you are.” And finding a new place to stay really wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Any alleyway would do; as long as it was dark enough and had some coverage, so no one would notice him. Before you knew it, you could be waking up in a totally different place, because someone made you their new charity case.

The girl wasn’t stupid; Ilyas had expected no less from her. But if she thought she could lure the man into a confession, she was dealing with the wrong person. He snorted softly and with a faint smile on his lips, shook his head. “Not your business.” But the man couldn’t deny that the name Mahina triggered some distant memories that he’d much rather had left in the back of his head. Almost subconsciously, one of his hands was moved towards his chest and rested on the leather of his jacket there. One of the pockets of the jacket contained his most priced possession and from what he could feel, it was still there. Nobody had discovered it. Even if the pocket on the inside of his jacket was broken and he could never reach it, the thought of carrying it close to his heart was a comforting one. Swiftly, the man lowered his hand again. The girl went on to assume some things, and he let her.

And then she stated that, willingly or not, he’d accepted her help. Apparently, she thought it was rather amusing. It caused some confusion in the blonde man’s mind, but he swiftly let go of that and allowed his lips to curl upwards. “Wow, good job. Really, bravo.” And his sarcasm was enforced by him clapping his hands a couple of time. “You forced your ‘kindness’ on me and I didn’t instantly run away from it. Well, you got me there, Ruby. Tell me, how are you going to celebrate this victory?” Was this another way of getting under his skin? She had to try harder. A lot harder. The more time Ilyas spend around this girl, the easier it became to see through her methods. She was waiting for a snap from his side, and he wasn’t about to give her that pleasure. “One favor?” he questioned with slightly raised eyebrows. Just one? The man was surprised she didn’t demand more than that, but sure, he’d bite. “Do share.”

As the girl spoke again, Ilyas face remained almost blank. He wasn’t sure whether to feel insulted or flattered by what this young one was saying. Supposedly, the fact that this girl tried to mess with his mind was a compliment, or at least, it seemed so, from the way she put it. Never had the man thought that being able to wield bow and arrow would give him some female attention; most women were disgusted by men who hunted, even if they did so to survive and in a respectful manner towards nature. Ilyas killed only what he needed, no more. Not for sport, not for fun, but merely for survival. Not often was the man complimented on his skills and frankly, he wasn’t sure how to take the positive words flowing from the girl’s mouth. Was this another way of getting on his good side, somehow? Or was that simply his paranoid mind, quickly trying to discard each and everything that was close to something positive about him? Either way, his eyes narrowed a bit until a strange proposition came up.

“You don’t want to be my friend? Ow, that hurt my feelings.” The man allowed his lips to curl upwards slightly. Perhaps it was because he was out of his comfort zone in this place, and the sudden change in the girl’s tone of voice and the way she suddenly addressed him left him a bit confused, but he couldn’t possibly reply to her without using a good amount of sarcasm, as usual. “Do you even have friends?” Not a sarcastic or insulting comment – or at least, not meant as one – but sheer curiosity. The man guessed many would likely want to befriend someone like this girl, but not because she was so likable. People had the habit of surrounding themselves with others useful to them. This girl was wealthy and had status. Therefore, she could be deemed useful by many, but the blonde wondered how many people got to see her for who she truly was. This façade she kept up about how her only goal in life was to annoy people quickly got old, and Ilyas really wasn’t as gullible as this girl perhaps believed he was. Like that maid had said, there was more to the redhead than one would initially think. It was hard to believe, but the maid said it; she had to base that on something. If anything, her toying with people’s mind was simply her way of keeping people at bay. Just like Ilyas used his cold attitude, this girl used her own tricks, her own walls. It takes one to know one. Of course the blonde could’ve thought wrong and the girl was simply bored; that was the second option. And yet, if the latter were true, he doubted the maid would’ve spoken of this one so highly.

He had to ask it. In order for him to truly consider her offer, the man had to be sure. The chances of her giving an honest answer were small, but perhaps Ilyas would be able to read a lie from the redhead’s eyes. “Are you serious?” There was a hint of doubt and confusion in his voice, and there was still something cold about it, as always, but the harshness it’d held before had disappeared. Technically, he didn’t need the girl for anything, since he was perfectly capable of hunting by himself. But still, there was something tempting about the offer. After all, last time they went on a spree together, it ended quite perilous, and exciting. The most excitement Ilyas had seen in this dull little place. “How do I know you’re genuine and not just trying to trick me into something again?” And it took more than a simple promise to convince one as this man. Promises were as good as worthless here.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

Aphrodite felt one of her eyebrows raise. “Why would I laugh? It’s not funny and never will be.” Whether or not she had money, her opinion on people being homeless would never change. It was horrible in a way. While some people brought on themselves, there were others that couldn’t help it and some were just born into it and didn’t know any better. Her family had done their fair share to the homeless back in Greece, not that the male would know anything about that. Aphrodite hadn’t been 100% okay with it at the time, but she was still young then. As she got older, she learned more about it. She still wasn’t completely fine with it, but she’d learnt to accept it and not complain anymore. They had enough money coming in anyway, what with his fathers businesses and her mothers clothing line, there was more than enough. As long as Aphrodite could spend it without having to worry than that was fine with her. If her parents wanted to give a little to the homeless, then why shouldn’t they? There was nothing wrong with that. While thinking about this, she nearly missed what the male said. She caught it just in time and scowled at the male. Spoilt? Maybe. Stuck-Up? Hell no. “I’d rather be spoiled and stuck-up than a stubborn asshole that’s old and alone with no-one to love and care about him. And I know what you’re going to say, I’m going to end up old too, but at least I won’t end up alone like you. I have people I care about and there is no way I’m ending up like you.” There was no way she was letting him get away with that him.

Aphrodite snorted again and turned away, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine.” She needed a drink. She paced her way back into the living room, grabbing a scotch glass from the side and opened the cabinet. Her father was most likely in his study again, doing whatever it was he normally did and her mother was probably in her sewing/clothing room. If her ears weren’t deceiving her, the faint whirring above them was the sound of her mother’s sewing machine. There was no chance of her parents coming down and seeing her drink and Mary certainly wouldn’t rat her out. Her eyes browsed through the various sizes and shapes of the many bottles that they had in the room until Aphrodite reached out and slid a bottle of the shelf. It was one of her favourites. A single malt whiskey with a distinct honey taste. She loved the taste of it more than anything. She poured the amber liquid until there it had filled a little more than a quarter of the glass. Aphrodite gently placed the bottle back into the cabinet, picked up the glass and walked back into the hallway, taking a sip of it as she did so.

Aphrodite let out a small giggle at the sarcasm that came out of the males mouth and quickly covered it up with another sip of her drink. “With this of course.” She held the glass up a little bit so the male could see it. It had been worth a shot after all. Anyway, if that hadn’t got underneath his skin, then he would most likely be in for a pleasant surprise at her next bit of information. She shifted her feet as the blonde took the bait she’d been hoping for. “Well considering you seem to be a bit behind on your payments for the hotel room you’ve rented, I’ve told Mary to ring the nice woman who owns the place and pay them off. We’ve also paid for you to stay there for another week and a half. You can refuse this, of course, as I’m sure there’s someone else who could use it, but I’m sure that the reminder that your debt’s been paid off by someone other than yourself would nag at your consciousness over time. This also goes for the small debt you owe the bar in town as well as any other places where you might owe a small fee. I’ve had you tracked for two days after our second encounter and to be fair old man, it’s paid off in more ways than one.” Aphrodite let out a small breath and took another sip of the amber liquid, let it burn her throat on the way down. “I only ask for one favour in return. If you don’t, I have plenty of ways of making you come around, believe me.” She let her eyebrows raise for a second before going back to their original place.

“Oh I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, would you like me to rub them better for you like a good little baby?” Aphrodite’s tone had changed from genuine to one that someone might use to mock another, with a slight babyish hint to it. She then laughed coldly, the tone she had previously used gone. Did this man really think she’d care about being his friend? They were long past that and she didn’t expect them to start trying to be any time soon. She would rather eat her own foot off than be his friends. No, hunting partners would suit her just fine. With minimal contact possible if events allowed it. But then again, the chances of them going hunting together were minimal anyway, especially with what happened last time. She liked going hunting in that forest, she really did, but after the wolf attack, her father was the only one allowed to take her. Because apparently, she didn’t know how to deal with wolves properly and he did. Aphrodite had wanted to snort in derision at the idea, but that would only set her father off more. A small frown set itself in her mouth as she remembered what had happened. That very nearly made her forget that the male was still in front of her until he spoke. “I could ask you the same thing.” Aphrodite glanced the male up and down, an eyebrow raised. “Yes, as a matter of fact I do. They don’t use me either. They are proper friends, thank you very much.”

Aphrodite took another sip from her glass and very nearly rolled her eyes. Mother almighty, could this guy not tell she was serious? There were rules that she played by. If she ever got that serious, then she wasn’t lying, especially if any words along those lines came spouting out her mouth. “Of course I’m serious old man, I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.” She took another sip of the alcohol. She’d needed this more than she’d thought. Though at least the males tone had changed. That was a difference Aphrodite had made a note of in any case. It was actually kind of nice. Maybe she should throw compliments his way more often since it seemed to confuse him more than anything. “Oh for the love of Pete.” She mumbled to herself. “Fine, you want to know how I’m genuine? Come with me.” What she had in mind she didn’t show to anybody and since she wanted to get in the guys good books for once, it was most likely the right thing to do. Though, it wasn’t like he could get into the room if he broke into the house.

She walked down the hall way until she reached a door. This door didn’t lead to any particular room on the ground floor, but to the basement. Which was filled with all the archery stuff that their family owned. It wasn’t just archery stuff, there were different variants of bullets, guns as well as the targets she used for practice. There were also several targets outside but they were only used if it was a nice day. But it was filled with loads of stuff that was filled with thousands of pounds worth of stuff. If anyone got into the room, the amount of money they could get by selling one or two pieces in this room alone would keep them in good comfort for quite a number of years. Aphrodite opened the door she stood in front of normally and started walking down the cold, stone steps until she reached the metal door below. It was bolted in several places, had a retina and finger print scanner as well as a key lock. Aphrodite placed the number in, placed her eye up to the scanner, her finger pressed on the pad and she pulled away the bolts. She then pushed down hard on the handle and the door clicked open. Thankfully her drink hadn’t spilt.

Aphrodite stepped into the room and let her eyes glance around. The basement combined both the sizes of the kitchen and the living room. The walls were lined with both crossbows and bows alike. There was also a small section for the guns her father owned. There were tables lined with bullets that had different sizes and effects depending on the gun and the same thing for the bolts and arrows. There were several targets lined against one wall, some already set up. Various quivers dotted around the room and there were loads of boxes which were filled with ammunition. Some of the weapons that were hung had been in their family for generations, others had been bought within the last couple of years. Aphrodite’s oldest bow was hung up there. Despite being over 10 years old, the dark wood still gleamed and the string was still taught. She took a few steps within the room, letting herself wander over to the table with a bow on it that both her and her father had been working on together. She let her fingers trace over the wood and the string and smiled. “If you see anything on the tables that intrigues you, let me know.” She mumbled, just loud enough for the male to hear if he was there.

“However, I strongly recommend you do not tell another soul about this place as no-one in the town knows about my family and now you. I trust you to keep this secret close to your heart unless you want to face the consequences. That is how I prove that I’m genuine in my request.” Aphrodite looked up, a calm and clear expression on her face.

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[ilyas aylin]

“Well, congratulations.” Hadn’t it sounded so sarcastic, the girl could’ve possible picked up on the genuine side of the comment. Sure, she was annoying, but that didn’t mean Ilyas wished something bad to happen to her. She was lucky to care for people, but she was even more lucky to not have lost those who she cared for. Maybe she’d understand that, one day. “You seem to think you can insult me by calling me ‘alone’, but you’re forgetting one thing.” Slowly, he turned to face her, but his eyes avoided hers. Not because he was hiding something; not this time. He simply felt no need to look at her. Whether or not she would believe the words that came from his mouth, that was up to her. “I choose to live this way. It’s my choice, and I have my reasons for it.” Reasons that weren’t the business of this young girl, but she’d likely understood that much by now. She didn’t even ask another question, so the message must’ve come across. At least, for now. “Being alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is not having a home or not wanting any help.” But the blonde doubted the girl would believe that. After all, she didn’t have the experience he had. Good for her, because no matter how much he disliked a person, Ilyas wouldn’t wish anyone to go through what he had. He was many things, but not a bad person. Not really.

Was she fed up now? It certainly seemed so, because she turned on her heels and left the hallway, returning to the living room. Ilyas had no intent to follow her; he’d already lingered here far too long. A waste of time it had been, even if it had afforded him a small meal. Could a piece of bread be called a meal anyway? The man allowed his blue eyes to gaze around once more – it wasn’t every day he got to see such a large house, that, although not to his taste, wasn’t completely bad looking – before he, too, turned around. His steps slow, he walked to the door, to his freedom. He reached out, and his hand was almost on the doorknob, when faint footsteps returned behind him, followed by the light giggle he’d learned this girl used rather often. Of course, it’d been far too easy if he could’ve walked out like this.

That favor she spoke about; she truly seemed convinced that she had something on him when she mentioned it again. She’d paid off his debt? That at least explained why he was welcome in that sleazy bar in town again. Not that he spend much time there now; it was too crowded for his liking anyway. “You think that by forcing a favor on me, I now owe you one?” He couldn’t help but let his lips curl upwards a little. This one was persistent. “I could ask you what you want, but whether I want to know or not, I’m nearly positive that you’re going to tell me anyway.” This child had less of a life than Ilyas did, if she truly had him followed; what was she hoping to achieve? Another question she wouldn’t give the answer to anyway, so pointless to ask. She now seemed to think she had control again, but he was already a step ahead of her. He’d come up with a plan to pay his debt to the old woman in that hotel and surely, it’d take a little time, but it would happen. Now, whether he had to pay her or this strange redhead didn’t really matter. “I’m not doing anything for you.” The wonders of free will.

The ‘hunting partners’-idea was still tempting. It left the blonde man to ponder for a moment. There were pros, there were cons. The biggest con at the moment was the fact that this girl would be present, yet, at the same time, that would also be the biggest pro. She had skill, and he’d told her that much the first time they’d met. But with all the games she played, it was no wonder he had to reconsider his answer quite a couple of times. “You know just as well as I do that your words mean nothing.” Empty promises and manipulation. She was very good at it too, but apparently, his comment had somewhat offended her. Women.

Ilyas’ blue eyes rolled. This game was long and tiresome, but he decided to follow the redhead, be it somewhat reluctant. After all, what was really the worst that could happen? She’d already tried to get under his skin numerous times and he’d dealt with it decently, he thought so himself. If she’d come up with another trick, he’d most likely be able to retort that as well. The two of them didn’t have to walk very far; in the same hallway, the girl came to a stop in front of a door. It looked plain, nothing special, but as on many other occasions, looks could be terribly deceiving. As it opened, all that was revealed was a flight of stairs and a lot of darkness. That alone was enough to make the blonde raise an eyebrow. “Torture chamber?” That would be interesting indeed, although this one didn’t need a torture chamber to make victims; she had her mouth and her sharp comments worked well enough.

The man followed the girl as she descended; with a good bit of distance, of course. The metal door gave away that, whatever it was that these people were hiding down here, it had to be of great importance, and great value. Fortunately for them, Ilyas had no interest in things of great value, but admitted; seeing what was truly down in this basement did leave him in awe for a moment. It was rather a weapon chamber than a basement. Turned out that his first guess wasn’t so far off, then. Of course his attention instantly went to the bows, hanging from the walls, but the other weapons didn’t go unnoticed either. There were guns in all sizes and types imaginable. Ilyas could still somewhat imagine a rifle being used for hunting, but some of the other weapons he saw around left him with a raised eyebrow.

“Quite a collection you have here,” he stated simply while he strolled around the room slowly. It was quite bizarre to see this much weaponry in someone’s home. No wonder she kept it a secret; if anyone got wind of it, they might be in trouble. The man started to smirk slightly at the threat from the girl’s side. “Oh, I can’t share this with all my friends? Bummer.” Or had her comment simply been another way of hers to rub in the fact that he was all alone? Who knew.

He paused in front of a bow that hang from the wall. It looked old, but still in a very decent state. The decorations that had been carved into the wood had a familiar sight to them. The redhead must’ve gotten this one from Eastern Europe. Compared to everything that lay around here, his own bow was a bauble. It didn’t matter much to Ilyas though; as long as it worked decently. Gently, he touched the wood of the bow before him; if that wasn’t allowed, Ruby would surely start to scold any second now. Then again, she seemed rather intrigued by something on the table in front of her herself. Ilyas shortly glanced over his shoulder at the girl, but as he turned his head back around, his free hand had accidently knocked off a couple of the bullets that were displayed on the cabinet that stood there. Again, his blue eyes rolled, but he kneeled down to pick them up anyway. That was when he saw it.

Under the cabinet lay something. A sheet of paper. Not something that would normally cause people to frown, maybe simply a lost document. The man reached for it and as it came out into the light of the room, he couldn’t help turning it over to see what it was. A list. A list of names, to be precise. Ilyas frowned lightly. The top three names were crossed off, but that still left a good seven more on there. A list of names, lying around in a room full of weapons? Well, call Ilyas paranoid – again – but he found that was slightly unsettling. As he shortly glanced at the redhead again, the paper was quickly folded and placed into the pocket of his jacket. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt he needed to give it a better look later. When he was alone.

He found his way up to his feet quickly again and put the ammunition back in its rightful place. The girl probably hadn’t noticed his discovery, and he wanted to keep it that way, for now. “Do you still use that?” he asked casually, gesturing towards the old, wooden bow before him.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

Okay, this guy had a point. He might’ve chose to live this way and of course, he had his reasons for it, but Aphrodite still had a point to bring up. Well it wasn’t exactly a point, but it was something she had to get off her mind. “You might have your reasons for it, I’m not doubting that. But one day, you’re going to wind you all alone, more than you are now and the only person you can blame is yourself.” She frowned at him ever so slightly. He didn’t seem to realize that. Whether he’d realize that years from now or in just a couple of weeks, Aphrodite just hoped that the message got through to him one way or another. She then let out a small snort and rolled her eyes. “Alone might not be, but it does have it’s implications. So do the other two. By the time you eventually ask for help, if for any reason that happens in your stubborn mind, there will be no-one left to help you. You’d have pushed everyone away and you’ll be on your own. Again.” She let out a small sigh and shook her head before back up. Aphrodite had no doubt, bad things had happened to this guy, but seeing as he didn’t want to share it, there was no point asking about it. Aphrodite walked around the hall for a few seconds before stopping a few metres from the male.

Aphrodite let out a small laugh. “Oh I think you will. This will eat away at you eventually.” She took a sip of the amber liquid and then a step towards the male. “Whether it’s sometime in the next few hours or in the next week or so, the fact that you now owe someone something, will get at you. It won’t be long before you’re trying to repay me, don’t worry.” She let out a small smile. No matter what argument he dealt out, they both knew that this would end up eating at his consciousness. Anyway, she didn’t know what she wanted from him right this second. Even if he was staying at a hotel, it didn’t mean that Aphrodite wouldn’t run into him again, this town was too small for them not too. “You’ll be back don’t worry old man.” She might be getting a little cocky right now, but it didn’t matter. He did owe her something now, whether he wanted to accept it or not, he’d have to come to grips with it sometime. Aphrodite turned on her heel and took a few steps over to the wall and leant on it.

“Tch, I know that. Why do you think I’m going to show you this?” She asked, raising an eyebrow in the males direction. Aphrodite knew there was no way that she could convince him with words alone. There would have to be another way to convince to take this partnership, even if they both weren’t all that fond of it. It had its good points alongside its bad points, but every relationship had that. Aphrodite took a gulp of the liquid. Of course, it was going to be difficult trying to maintain this relationship considering how much the two of them clashed. There would be times where they would have to look past their differences to be able to get things done. “I know better than to try and convince you to accept this with words. Better just to show you something that might help.” It was her last shot really. There were one or two other ways, but really, if he didn’t want to accept it, then Aphrodite couldn’t force him too. Maybe she could, but it would be forced and they wouldn’t enjoy it as much.

Aphrodite couldn’t help but chuckle at the male’s comments. It wasn’t far off. If you could count a bow and gun room a torture chamber. But she didn’t say anything. She would let him be surprised at what he found. Well, that’s if the guy could actually feel anything beyond his own stubborn mindedness. She pushed the door open a bit more, making sure it wouldn’t click shut behind them. She could very well get it open, but it would take a while. Though, locking someone in here would make an interesting game. There was no food or water in the room since everyone that came in here could easily get out. There was no way to get out other than the door they’d just come through, which would cause a problem since no-one outside the family could use the devices attached to the door. She clicked the door against the wall, hooking it up to it so it wouldn’t slam. The guy seemed pretty impressed. Though ‘impressed’ seemed to be a bit of an overstatement. His attention was practically drawn to the bows, which didn’t surprise Aphrodite in the slightest.

She let herself have another look around the room and a small smile sat on her face. Aphrodite had some good times with some of the weapons in this room. From her first bow to the first time she’d got a bull’s-eye, it brought back memories. Though, not all the weapons in the room were hers. “They’re not all mine, obviously, the majority of them are my fathers. Some have been passed down and have been carved out of wood and such. Others have been bought more recently.” She smiled a little more. There was one other bow that her gaze settled on. It was the bow she had the earliest memory of. From what she remembered, her father sat her down and showed her possibly the most gorgeous dark wood bow she’d ever seen. It had intricate patterns carved into it, along with the Georgiou name and family crest on the grip of the bow. These patterns had also been outlined with very thin lines of gold ink, which had to be topped up every few years to keep it there. It had been passed down for the past one hundred years from what she’d been told. The ink had obviously been changed from a different substance that they’d used, but it still looked rather nice. The bow string glinted silver in the light, but was actually a normal bowstring which had aged for a while. There was a quiver hanging underneath it which the same colours and patterns on it from the bow as well as the same crest. The gold lines were more defined and it had been coloured so that it looked like it had been carved out of wood itself. It had obviously taken quite a while to make the equipment and it was the pride of their weaponry.

“What friends would they be?” Aphrodite let a sly smile slip onto her lips as she took a sip from the glass. The amber liquid was slowly going down and by glancing down at it, she could see that she’d only drank a little bit. “But seriously. Mention anything about this to anyone, even any little animal friends you might have and you’ll be in trouble.” While animals weren’t going to do anything about it, there was always a chance that they could be bugged. There were plenty of people in the world that had a thing about getting back at the Georgiou family and would try anything to get information on them. Which included bugging animals to follow them, listen in on the family’s conversations or wiggle their way into their home to find out stuff. “Though I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to share this with anyone would you? Not everyone’s into hunting.” She knew that not everyone agreed with it. Hell, she’d had many people stop her and start ranting at her to stop and to think about what she was doing. She hadn’t listened of course, she liked doing this, it gave her family something new to eat and in some ways it was fun. The thrill of the hunt as well as being able to use a bow and arrow. Plus, even if he did tell anyone, they wouldn’t be able to get in here. The room was locked more than the whole house.

Aphrodite placed her glass down on the side after taking a quick sip from it and looked up at what the male was talking about. He’d obviously picked up the bullets just fine because they were now resting on the side where they should be. What had taken him so long, she didn’t know. But seeing as bullets could roll, maybe he’d had trouble picking them all up. They were simple looking ones after all. Most likely for one of the pistols hanging on the wall near the bow the male had gestured at. She was a little surprised; she hadn’t anticipated that the male would pick out her oldest bow. Though, its markings were different to that of the rest of the weaponry surrounding it and the markings weren’t seen on many bows today. Aphrodite let a small shrug fall off her shoulders. “Sometimes. Only if it’s a special occasion.” Those occasions were primarily when her and her father were going out for a couple of miles to get some game. It wasn’t in the forest that they had visited before. They went quite a ways before stopping. Usually it was a place practically brimming with life, it was a shame to have to take it away. Aphrodite only used that bow for those times and occasionally for practice. But it was so old now that she was a little scared to use it in case it broke.

[/size][/blockquote]

[ilyas aylin]

The most aggravating about her little speech wasn’t the fact that she kept retorting everything he said, nor that she kept rubbing in how her life was so much better than his was. It was the fact that she was right, and he knew it. What she described was exactly what the little voice in the back of his mind said as well; that little voice, also known as conscience, the last part of him that seemed to want to safe himself from the pitiful life he put himself through. But what was also highly annoying was the way she made it seem that it was all so easy to change it. It wasn’t, not for him. She had no idea. “Well, Miss ‘I have a solution for everything’.” Was it possible for this guy to speak without sarcasm? It definitely wasn’t at this moment, with this girl. Sarcasm was a weapon, a wall, the last thing that could keep people from reaching a part of him he so dearly protected; his weaknesses. “What do you suggest then?” It was a rhetorical question. Of course it was. And yet, there was an opening for an answer; a serious answer. She seemed to know everything, he’d give her a shot to prove that.

But swiftly, his dominant, not-accepting-help part took over again. He wasn’t going to let this girl, this child, spoiled and fortunate, tell him how he should live his life. She knew nothing. She had wealth and family. She was blessed and lucky. She had everything her little heart desired and if she woke up one day and felt bored, it was easy for her to get what she wanted. That wasn’t life. This girl lived ecstasy, not life. Life was rough and unfair. Life was a bitch. Life left you bitter. A short snort put an end to all of the thought running through Ilyas’ mind at that moment. “We’re not all as fortunate in our friends as you are,” he stated simply. Period. End of discussion.

True. Very true, indeed. Ilyas wasn’t planning to give this girl the joy of owing her a favor. He’d deal with it quickly, although she seemed to think he was highly bothered by it. That was alright, she was allowed to think that for now. His shoulders shrugged. “Agreed.” Ilyas let a smile come to his lips. He could only agree with her statement that he’ll end up coming back to this place, but likely not with the reason she expected. She’d be more than surprised to find he would have his business together. And he’d show her the smuggest smirk he’d ever had on his lips. “I’ll be back.” A promise, and one that the blonde was set on keeping.

Maybe the little chuckle that left the girl’s lips after Ilyas’ comment about the torture chamber should’ve stopped him from following her down. After all, there could’ve been several reasons for her to lead him down this path. And to find all the weaponry down there could’ve easily had the man fearing for his life, had he cared a little more about it. Obviously, it didn’t all belong to her. Ilyas didn’t know how old she was, but impossibly old enough to own this many weapons.

“I don’t have animal friends,” he stated with a shrug, as if he took Ruby’s comment more than serious. “They all hate me, because I eat them.” Fair enough. He figured, if animals had the ability to think that way, they surely would dislike a hunter. “My tree friends, on the other hand..” He left that sentence unfinished and just let a small smirk come to his lips again. In a way, trees were a lot more trustworthy than people were. With trees, you could always be sure of one thing: no matter what happened, they’d always still be ‘there’. Didn’t have much of a choice, anyway. The man’s blue eyes rolled. Somehow, his sister seemed to have gotten into his mind. She was the one talking to trees, not him. He’d tried, really, but couldn’t help but feel like a fool afterwards. The trees had probably even laughed at him for it. But in a room like the one he was currently in, Ilyas felt like any threat made by the young lady could as well be one she’d actually execute. But more so than being afraid of the consequences that might followed, the man simply didn’t want to share this with anyone. He had no reason to and if this girl asked it of him – which she did, in her unconventional manner – he’d keep it to himself. That was the type of person he was. “I have no reason to share this with anyone,” he stated plainly, and it was the truth. Even if he’d had someone to share it with, he didn’t see a reason to. “I keep secrets hidden. Can I say the same for you?” Not that he’d shared any secrets with her, not yet. But it was at least good to know the answer to that question. He didn’t underestimate this one. It wasn’t unthinkable she eventually found out something about him, whether he liked that or not. It was best to cover himself for when that happened.

“It’s pretty,” he said while his eyes hadn’t left the bow for one second. He liked this one best, not just because of its age, but also because it didn’t look as expensive as many of the others did. It was the emotional value that counted. No wonder she saved it for special occasions only; it must’ve been a pleasure to use. Part of Ilyas wondered if the girl had brought him down to this chamber to simply convince him to join her on a hunting spree. Wasn’t it also to simply show off all her precious belongings? Whatever her reasons were, he had to admit he was impressed by it; any living soul would be impressed, surely. And the blonde had an appreciation for archery and all that came with it. The variety of arrows in this place alone was astonishing; with silver tips and with golden, with barbs and round tips, their backs decorated with different types of feathers. Some must’ve only been for show. The man couldn’t help but letting his mind trail off to the piece of paper in his pocket, though. It’d have to wait for a while longer, but there was a somewhat uncomfortable feeling in Ilyas’ core that he couldn’t instantly dismiss. Before the girl could noticed he was distracted, he opened his mouth.

“Fine,” he said softly, his eyes finally parting from the weapons on the wall and tables all around. This wasn’t an easy decision for the man and surely, he had a few requests. With a small nod, he agreed. “Let’s see how this goes.” That was all he could offer at this moment. “No promises. No attachments.” He took a couple of steps closer to the redhead, not to threaten of intimidate her, but simply to show he meant business. “No strings.” It seemed important to mention that, somehow, before she could wrap her pretty head around a new scheme of hers. He wanted to make sure this wasn’t something he was going to regret later on.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

Her retorts seem to keep him quiet for a few seconds. A few seconds of silence hung in the air before it was cut loose by the male’s sarcastic words. Aphrodite knew it wouldn’t be the end of things with him. There would always be comeback, no matter what the situation or the tone of the conversation. There was a slight rhetorical twist to his question, but he had essentially left the question open to an answer as well. “Well you could get a job. That’s always a good place to start.” While she might not necessarily have a job herself, at least she could go out and socialize without annoying every single person she met. Though annoying people was usually the objective of why she went out in the first place. However, there were times when she wouldn’t annoy someone and there was a chance they could just click. That was rare though. “Another would be to not be such an asshat to every single person you meet, that could help in many ways.” Even Aphrodite had her limits. She wasn’t totally bitchy to everyone she met. “Buy a flat, share it with someone, go out on a limb and talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk too. For someone who’s like ten years older than I am you sure do have a hard time talking to people, even if they do annoy you.” Did this guy have any idea how to communicate with people without aggravating them in as many ways possible? Well if he was taking advice from her, then clearly he did.

“True.” Aphrodite chuckled and took another sip of the alcohol. “And we’re not all fortunate to believe we don’t need when we do as you are. So I guess everyone wins.” She shrugged and turned her back on the male. Aphrodite would have huffed at the fact that he was once again at his usual place; not accepting help from anyone. But huffing wouldn’t do anything at this point, if anything it would only make a smirk appear on the guys face. She wasn’t letting the conversation go now. Not in the slightest. She took a smaller sip of the liquid and let slide over her tongue. The appearance of a smile on his face anyway unnerved her as did his words, but Aphrodite didn’t let this show. She didn’t want to show a weakness in front of this guy so that he could exploit it. “I know you will and we’ll be waiting.” The fact that the tables had turned a little was quite pleasant to her. While he might have a different idea since the smile he had on his lips was no where near a normal one, he did owe her something, no matter what. And she would hunt him down to get it out of him when she wanted it repaid. After all, the money he’d owed around the town had priced up to quite a bit.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. Of course, the trees. How could she have forgotten the trees of all things? “I’m sure they’re great fun when you have no-one else to talk too.” Talking to trees wasn’t such a bad idea though. It was a little crazier than talking to animals, but they didn’t answer back. Though to Aphrodite that was a bad thing. She liked talking to a certain extent, as long as she got some sort of a response, no matter how aggravating. She picked her glass up and took a sip out of it. There was less then a quarter of the liquid in the glass now and would soon have to be taken back up stairs to be cleaned. Neither her or her father liked have dirty dishes down here in case something got spilled and dirtied up something in the room. Technically, she shouldn’t even have the alcohol down here in case she accidently spilled it. Which she had done in the past. But the past was the past and she didn’t particularly want to bring up that memory at a time like this. Aphrodite let out a small chuckle. ‘You have no-one to share it with.’ She thought. From their previous conversation, it certainly seemed like this. Unless he went around town yelling about how the spoiled Greek girl in the mansion has a basement full of weapons, he couldn’t tell many about it. “I can keep more secrets than you know old man.” There was a chance she’d find out something even better than the pieces she’d already found out, not that she’d tell him directly. She’s probably toy with it first, see if he’d catch on first.

Aphrodite resisted to agree with the male’s compliment. She didn’t want to rub it in more. It was pretty. And she was insanely proud of it too. If anything, it was her most prized possession, hence why it was locked behind a glass case. It wasn’t entirely visible though, the glass, if you stood at the right angle you could see the light glint of the glass, but if you stood at others, you could hardly notice it. There was a simple key hole to open it, which only Aphrodite had the key too. Sure it left it open for people just to smash the glass and take it, but it was always rigged up to an alarm that would awake practically everyone in the house if it was broken. As would the others if they were broken or stolen. She didn’t think the male would try to steal it, not by the way he was staring so intently at it. She moved away from the table, her fingers trailing off the bow as she walked around the room. Sometimes she liked coming down here. Not to practice, just to have a look at all that they had got over the years. While some had been bought or made, a select few had been won over bets or on hunting trips with other families. The same with the bullets, arrows and bolts. She stopped by a table and looked at some of the arrows that lined the table. A few of them brought back memories. It made a small smile appear on her lips.

It was however, the males voice that made her turn around to face him. He had managed to draw his eyes away from her bow and onto her instead. Aphrodite nearly let the surprise show on her face, but stopped herself just in time, but that didn’t stop it from showing in her eyes. She didn’t think he’d accept. But then his next words dampened it a little. Not that she had anything planned for him anyway, she just wanted a name to define what their relationship was going to be like. Not that hunting partners didn’t have its perks already. “Shake on it.” She held her hand out for him to either accept or decline. This wasn’t pushing it in her opinion. In any other cases, she would’ve at least had a witness or got him to write it down and sign it so that she knew he was genuine. Since she didn’t want to push it and more, she did neither of these things and just settled with a handshake instead. Plus it meant Aphrodite couldn’t do anything the male stated either. “I know you said let’s see how it goes and I agree with you, but this is the least I can do without getting someone in here or you writing it down. Plus it means I’ll uphold my end.”

[/size]

[ilyas aylin]

(It's a little short, sorry!)

“How do you know I’m an ‘asshat’ to every person I meet?” Interesting choice of words. But actually, when he gave it a little thought, he hadn’t treated her particularly bad when they’d first met. He’d gone out hunting with the girl, which couldn’t quite be labelled as ‘ass-hattery’, but perhaps Ilyas was mistaking. He’d even given her a compliment that day, but she seemed to have banned that from her mind. Oh well, he didn’t mind much. She could think of him what she wanted. He wasn’t mean to everyone he met, though, unless they’d given him a reason to. Unless they were just as annoying as he could be. When given a reason, Ilyas could truly be a pain, but when not bothered by anyone, he minded his own business and wasn’t particularly obnoxious to anyone. Surely the girl hadn’t noticed, because she wasn’t in the room, but Ilyas had actually been nice to the maid that walked around here – nice to his standards, at least. And actually, there were a few people in town who he was one somewhat friendly terms with. Not that he’d ever refer to them as friends or ask them for their help – that was simply not in his nature. But again, this wasn’t any of her business. The blonde would let the redhead think what she liked to think. That might give him an advantage one day. He’d no longer mention it now.

He snorted lightly, but let a faint hint of a smile come to his lips at the same time. Something told the man this girl would be a really decent enemy; she had the means, she had the will. She could really make a person miserable. But at least she kept their secrets, or so she claimed. That still wasn’t an open invite to share anything with her, though. As he’d said before, Ilyas didn’t trust a word this girl said, unless she had some way to prove it as well. Part of him did wonder what she’d do, if she’d manage to find truly interesting information about his past. Would she use it to torment him with it? Would she find it not interesting at all? Either way, she could never hurt him more than all his own thoughts in his own mind already did. She didn’t have the power that he had.

True, he hadn’t expected to agree with her proposition himself either, but after pondering for a while, Ilyas thought her company would have more pros than cons. Or at least, he thought so now. The man could easily still change his mind at some later point. But it wasn’t difficult to see the girl had expected a different answer. Her eyes were slightly widened and they held a glint of surprise. It made the corners of his lips curl upwards a bit. “Don’t tell me I’m not nice.” Of course that comment asked for one in return and it would surely come, but that was fine. He just had to use his sarcasm. She then held out her hand, at which he looked down for a little while. He’d just told her that no strings would be attached and yet, this felt a lot like she was trying to reel him in. The words that followed tried to convince him of the opposite, though. Still, this more and more started to feel like something he was going to regret. Then again, what was better then? Heading back to his alleyway in town? At least this deal would give him something to do, once in a while.

He gave a faint nod and folded the fingers of his right hand around hers. A gentle shake of her hand followed. “I’ll give this a try, and tell no one about..” He let his eyes move around the room again, figuring that indicated what he meant. “You play no tricks.” That seemed a somewhat fair deal. It was better than nothing. The man slowly let go of the girl’s hand again. This only left a couple of more questions, though. However were they going to arrange all of this? Would it be on her terms, when she was feeling like it? Or would he be the one giving her a call? Yeah, right. He didn’t even own a phone, let alone knew how those annoying things worked. It was probably best to simply ask.

“So,” he started as he took a step back, increasing the distance between the two of them again. “Now what?” Ilyas didn’t want to waste much more time in this place, even if he had nothing to go back to. The girl had probably given this some thought, hadn’t she? She must’ve figured out an entire plan, otherwise she hadn’t asked him this; she must’ve considered him agreeing to it.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

“Well considering your general attitude, you do seem like the person to snap at people as well as use sarcasm.” Aphrodite took a small sip of the liquid before continuing. “Even though you paid my one or two compliments doesn’t mean you do it for everyone. From what I’ve seen, your attitude about people isn’t that good.” She had to give him some credit though, he could be nice at some points, but for the most part he did seem like a bit of an ass to people, even if they were nice back. Add alcohol into that equation, and then things could get messy. That reminded her, the alcohol he’d had earlier hadn’t really affected him that much. Then again, it was only a small amount, so there wasn’t really any reason for it too. “Sure you might have your moments, but my point still stands.” Aphrodite let a shrug roll off her shoulders. Whether he did have his moments with people in this town, she didn’t know or care, but she wasn’t a very big fan of the other side of his personality. Which was his most prominent one. She shook these thoughts out of her mind, glancing around the hallway again. The sound of the machine was still going on, which meant her mother was still sewing. Aphrodite was wondering what she was making this time. She looked back a second later, not wanting to appear distracted or bored with the males presence.

Aphrodite saw the curl in the males lips and pressed her lips together to hold herself back from saying anything. She didn’t want to go saying anything that could possibly put him off doing this agreement with her. It would land her right back to square one if she did. That wasn’t something she wanted to be at right now. “Oh sure. You’re as nice as anyone can be.” Sarcasm was biting at her words as Aphrodite took a drink of the amber liquid. It was getting lower and nearing the bottom. She was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol already. Nothing too drastic, just a bit dizzy and her ‘happiness’ was slightly more alleviated than normal. She wasn’t one of those people that alcohol affected all too much and you could hardly tell she was drunk unless you knew what she was like in the first place. “Though you could be a little nicer to the people you meet.” Aphrodite mumbled under breath. Though she was one to talk. She wasn’t exactly pleasant to everyone she met, but it seemed like she was nicer than the guy in front of her.

She felt fingers close around her hand and Aphrodite shook the mans hand when he shook hers. So this was how it was going to play out. She got the message he was trying to tell her and she nodded. “I won’t. Not unless you play any first.” It wasn’t going to be easy, Aphrodite knew that much considering how much they clashed in terms of personality and lifestyle. Though it would certainly be interesting to see how everything played out in the future. As long as he didn’t tell anyone about this room in her house, then all was good and she wouldn’t be forced to play any tricks. They both had their deals; it was just a matter of trying to stick to them over the course of their agreement. How long it would last would depend on how long they could stand each others company.

Aphrodite watched as the male took a step backwards. She mulled the question over in her mind as she took the last sip of her drink. Well she would’ve gone to put the glass back upstairs in the kitchen to get washed, but there were a couple of things she wanted to do. “Well whenever you want to hunting, just find the house again and leave a message with someone if I’m not here. If not, find me around town somewhere. Use a payphone to call me or something.” The next thing was a bit more tricky and was all a matter of whether the male would want to accept it or not. But the offer would stand there in case he ever needed it and it was worth a shot to see how he reacted. She walked over to the table she’d gone to first, placing the glass on the side until they did leave the basement. The bow wasn’t quite finished yet; it still had a few more details to be added onto it before it could be used. But all the same, Aphrodite picked it up very gently. It was the bow she’d been looking at earlier. It slightly resembled the male in front of her. It was made of a light coloured wood, with intricate water like patterns carved into it along the edges which had a very small blue tint to it. The only place that wasn’t patterned was the hand hold. The blue patterns and colours resembled the fact that the male was a Water Sprite. Aphrodite hadn’t mentioned this to her father, nor had she mentioned that it was based of the male she’d met in the forest, since he would flip out if he knew. There wasn’t a string in it yet, but there was one laying next to it which was the standard sort they used for all the bows that they made, but like the bow, had a slight blueish tint to it if reflected in the right light. “Something I’ve been working on with my father. As you can see it’s not quite finished, but if you ever want a new bow for whatever reason, this’ll be here for you to use. I realized not long after we started making it that it was based off you in some aspects.” She placed the bow down in its original place. There were also several arrows next to it, along with a half finished quiver that matched the bows designs and colours. The arrows weren’t all that special, but a few aspects had been changed. They matched the designs that were on the weapon as well as being a bit sharper, longer and there were small spikes right near the tip of the head. The feathers were yet to be put on. “If you don’t ever use it, then I guess it’ll stay here.” Aphrodite shrugged and picked up the glass again. “Shall we go back upstairs?”

[/size]

[ilyas aylin]

Well, that was the pot calling the kettle black. Sure, Ilyas could probably be somewhat nicer to the people he met – a lot nicer, really, if he tried – but he truly didn’t see a reason to. His attitude was a good way to separate the decent people from the indecent. She somehow still thought he was interesting, despite the way he spoke and acted towards her. Of course she had her reasons for that and they weren’t all that friendly, he figured, but still, it was a point. He wasn’t going to mention it out loud, though, because it would only trigger another reaction from the girl’s part and this discussion would never come to an end. “Maybe,” he stated simply, hoping, knowing that it would end their conversation on this subject. There wasn’t any more to say about it anyway.

Finding this house again wouldn’t be very difficult; Ilyas could find a pin in a haystack, if there was a need. He was particularly good at navigating, after all the travelling around the world he’d done, so finding a huge mansion in a small town, that shouldn’t be such a big challenge. The bigger challenge would be setting aside his pride to do so. It would likely take a little while before he would manage to do such thing, but despite that, it wasn’t unthinkable. The blonde had sunk off into thought for a moment and when he lifted his eyes again, he noticed the girl had changed her position. She was again standing by the table she stood before earlier, a faint smile and serenity displayed on her face. She had to be particularly proud of the bow there, which Ilyas could understand; handmade. Blood, sweat and tears poured into it. Those were the belongings that actually mattered. And he could only agree it was a beautiful exemplar.

As she started to speak again, after a long moment of silence, he listened, without moving his eyes from the bow. This girl seemed particularly close to her father; something that was rather foreign to Ilyas. He’d never had a good relationship with his father. The only time they were close was in a literal form, when the man decided to beat the crap out of his son, for whatever reason he found fit. That wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory, but it’d been a long time ago and daddy dearest had gotten what he deserved in the end. “You and your father,” he started, but didn’t finish that sentence, since what the girl said next got his eyes to lift in an instant. Did she just offer him this new weapon?

“Based off me?” he asked and he couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. After all, it was quite a shocking thing she revealed. If she based one of her handmade weapons off him, that meant that he at least had to have done something well when meeting her. It was a big compliment, in a way, and all the more reason to make the blonde feel slightly uncomfortable; he didn’t deal very well with compliments. He could swiftly counter anything positive in his head, though. The only reason she’d do such a thing was because she might have some respect for his hunting skills, and even Ilyas himself couldn’t deny he was good at that. He needed to be good at it too, because he relied on it dearly. Perhaps not here, maybe not in this town, but all through his life, hunting had always been a key to surviving.

He couldn’t help slightly frowning, though, and a twinge of doubt entered his mind. Was she speaking the truth, or was this simply another way of getting under his skin? Ilyas could never afford something so fancy, which ruled out ever using a bow like the one she held in her hands now. He already owed her a favor – was she trying to elongate that list somehow?

The man released a breath. Old habits died hard, and trusting a person felt as if he went against his own nature, but the fact was they’d just agreed on something. They even shook hands and regardless of what he thought of her, this redhead didn’t seem like one who broke deals or promises. He hadn’t yet done something to break their agreement, nor was he planning to anytime soon. “Why would you make something like this for me to use?” He couldn’t help but ask that question; it was all just too confusing. Perhaps it was for obvious reasons; this girl already had more weapons than she could use in a lifetime and she had some free time on her hands, but that still didn’t explain exactly why she’d make something with him in mind. She somehow seemed to have counted on another meeting between the two of them.

With a short nod, he agreed to her proposition to head back upstairs. There was little else to do down here and the man surely needed a while to ponder the strange offer the redhead had just made him. It was tempting to say yes instantly, but that was very unlike Ilyas to do. He never did something without giving it a good amount of thought. The heavy door fell back into its lock behind them as they slowly moved up the stairs again. Shortly, his hand travelled down his pocket, to secure he was still in the possession of what he’d found down there. The bright light in the hallway initially made the man squint his eyes slightly, but his vision quickly cleared up again. He took a few paces forward, until his eyes fell on a person coming from the living room. “Morning,” he stated simply. It was still morning, wasn’t it?

(I figured that could be either Aphrodite’s dad or the maid, or whoever really. Feel free to decide ^-^)

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I got so sick of being on my own,
Now the devil won’t leave me alone
It’s almost like I’ve found a friend

“Tch, figures.” Aphrodite muttered under breath and rolled her eyes. This conversation was obviously at an end since no other comments came from the males mouth in the next few seconds. It was just as well, the conversation felt like it was fading anyway. Though it didn’t surprise that he would bring it to an end, she would only retort in a way that would keep the thing going anyway. It would’ve had to have ended sooner or later. And sooner seemed to be better. It meant she didn’t have to put up with any more of the mans ‘explanation’s’ about things he was doing. Though that didn’t stop her thinking that he could be somewhat nicer to the people he met. Who knew, one day he could actually learn something from someone without being sarcastic about it. Aphrodite nearly snorted at the idea. Like that would ever happen.

Looking up, Aphrodite waited for him to finish his sentence. Though the next thing she was half expecting and let a small smile get placed on her lips. The surprise in his voice was nice to hear for a change. It wasn’t something she did often, base a weapon off someone she’d met. But the male was also a hunter. He was used to a bow an arrow and had some decent skills to boot. She respected him for that, if anything. She nodded once. “Yeah. You have some skills to be fair.” Aphrodite shrugged. Though it wasn’t just the skills in archery that she’d noticed in the bow as well as in the male. It was the skills in his powers too. “To be fair, I wasn’t exactly thinking of you when me and my father made it. I guess it was just impulse really.” She lifted the bow up so it stood on one end with one hand while pointing to the different patterns with the other. “See? I didn’t realize it was based off you until I looked back at these patterns as well as the size and colour of the bow” She couldn’t exactly put any sort of name or crest in the middle of the bow since she didn’t really know the guys name in the first place. “I would add some more personal details about you, but I know how stubborn you are.”


Aphrodite expected a question based around what the male asked next. In fact, she already had the answer prepared in her mind just in case. Though the surprise that he had shown had yet to go from her mind. She had a little doubt beforehand that it wouldn’t surprise him, but she was always full of surprises and this had definitely caught him off guard for a moment or two. It seemed like it still had, in its own way. “You left an impression I guess. Not many people do that, as you can most likely tell. But I must have honed that impression into the bow when I was making it.” Aphrodite gently placed the bow down back on the table, making sure it didn’t rattle and get damaged. They were hardy, but they were still subject to damage if not handled with care. “And you looked like you could use a new bow just in case your one broke.” She then shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t sure if the male had just the one bow, it seemed likely, but still. There was always the chance that his one could break at any moment, no matter how careful he was with it. It seemed old as it was.

Aphrodite waited until the male started going up the stairs before grabbing her glass and following him up. She switched the light off before pulling at the door to make it start closing. Once she was out, she slammed the door shut, bolting it shut as well as locking it and continued up the stairs. The further up they got, the brighter the light got. It was irritating at first, but Aphrodite quickly got used to it. She turned left when she reached the top, quickly placing the glass by the sink before going back out into the hallway. Her eyes followed her father coming out of the living room and offered him a small smile, for which she was awarded with a quizzical expression. “Patera, I was just showing him the basement. I believe he finds it quite fascinating.” Aphrodite explained, gesturing to the man in front of her. Her father knew little of what she did outside of the house, so he didn’t know what they were talking about or the exact reason Aphrodite had shown the male the basement. The quizzical expression changed to a semi disapproving one. “As long as he doesn’t tell anyone about it, then fine.” Her father continued onwards, heading towards the stairs. “Don’t worry, I made sure he won’t.” Aphrodite nodded ever so slightly as she watched her father make his way up the stairs before coming a halt and making his way down a few steps, his eyes trained on the man.

“Wait a second. Aren’t you that man from the forest?”

[/size]

[ilyas aylin]

A beautiful bow, handcrafted, with blue details – one of his favorite colors – for his use only. Surely, it was extremely tempting to simply reach out and take a hold of the weapon; he wondered what it’d feel like, how heavy it was, and simply whether it would fit his large hands. It was far prettier than the exemplar he possessed himself, although that one wasn’t difficult to top; it was old and very plain, born purely out of necessity. And it worked well. In the end, that was the only thing that matter, not how fancy something looked. But the older it got, the more the worry increased as well; a bow wasn’t meant to last a life long, not when used so excessively. So yes, there were several reason to want to own a new bow, but still, Ilyas didn’t extend his hand. He held himself back. If this weapon was for him to use, it definitely wouldn’t be today. Maybe some other time. If it was meant to happen, it would happen.

“Thank you,” he said simply to her compliment. He could only agree that he had skills when it came to hunting, and he’d given her credit for her skills as well. Even though she was young, she shot her bow and arrow well, and the blonde didn’t completely rule out the possibility that he’d be able to learn something from this girl when it came to that. And perhaps, also when it came to other things. The comment about him being stubborn made his smirk lightly. “What more personal details do you need?” he wondered a little rhetorically, “Isn’t this all the details anyone needs to know of me?” If anything, a bow that was rather plain best fitted him, because he wasn’t one to give away too much information about himself, and especially not in a weapon that everyone could easily get their hands on.

The explanation for why she’d created the object in the first place made sense. At least, somewhat. Ilyas was pretty used to leaving an impression, but it was never a really good one. He wasn’t fond of people remembering him in a positive way, so he made sure that wouldn’t happen. Apparently, during the hunting spree, he’d been a bit too much in his element to remember to do so. Oh well, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing now. “I’m flattered,” he mumbled, but this time, the hint of sarcasm that was usually in his voice was missing. He thought he was flattered, at least, although it wasn’t a feeling he often experienced and therefore had some trouble identifying it. It felt strange; foreign and somewhat uncomfortable, but there was also something else mixed in with those feelings. Something a little more positive that he couldn’t name. It didn’t matter. He’d soon return to his distrusting self.

The man cast a final glance at the new bow, and all the other weaponry found in the room, before he turned on his heels and ascended up the stairs again. His mind couldn’t instantly let go of what he’d found there, and it weren’t just all the weapons. They’d made an impression, but something told the blonde there was more to that room, and to this house – perhaps even to this family – than met the eye. His blue orbs fell on the girl shortly, who walked just a little behind him. Somehow, he doubted she’d been one to write down a list of names in a weapon chamber. That left the question: who did? And why?

It was as these question spun through his head that someone approached from the living room. A familiar shape it was, and as the girl addressed him, it became clear this man was her father. Ilyas remembered him vaguely from the forest, though in this bright light and without having to worry about attacking wolves, he caught a better sight of the man. His blue eyes followed the father as he strolled over to the stairs, but came to a halt there. That was when their gazes met. It could’ve easily been a look a father had in his eyes when worried for his daughter; after all, wasn’t the girl a little too young to ‘hang out’ with someone Ilyas’ age? But there was something about this man that the blonde didn’t like. He remembered now that he’d felt something similar the first time they’d met. Perhaps due to his distrusting personality – probably due to his distrusting personality – but he couldn’t shake it completely. “Indeed, I am,” he replied to the man’s question, although the answer was pretty obvious. It was beyond difficult not to reply with sarcasm, but the challenge was accepted. Besides, it was perhaps to show the girl he could have a normal conversation. Though, normal was a bit of an overstatement.

“Were you not aware that I was kidnapped here?” Oops. Failed.