Don't Mess With The Master || Vex

[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background: #999999; width:450px; height:490px; padding:0px;] [style=width:400px; height:165px; opacity: 0.8; font-family: times; background: url(http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/Cowgirlatheart_101/Josh.jpg)][style=width: 270px; height:100px; background: transparent; float: right; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size:12px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #333333; line-height: 25%;] TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU READ MY MIND [style=width: 200px; float: right; background: transparent; text-align; justify; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size:5px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #111111; line-height: 80%;]the good old days, the honest man, the restless heart, the promised land, a subtle kiss that no one sees, a broken wrist and a big trapeze. oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind 'cause I don't shine if you don't shine.

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[style=text-align:center; text-size: 9px;]WORDS: 603 TAGGED: Vex
NOTES: I...hate starter threads XD That's all I can say for this miserable existence of a post.

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Well this was an interesting bit of information. So he was on his way to Riften, having gotten orders to keep track of the shipment that was supposed to be going close to that town. Derrick crouched low, covered by the foliage while he watched the slow process of the shipment winding its way through the land. With a hand on his bow, Derrick thought about taking the soldiers down himself. He was an excellent shot with a bow…he could stop them before they even knew what was happening. But something held him back. Orders were orders after all, and he was supposed to be following this to see where exactly the camps of the Stormcloaks were located this deep in the heart of Stormcloak territory. It would be worthwhile information that the Imperial army would need, and it was his job. Damn, but it was hard to hold himself back at times.

He remained there until they had wound out of sight, before going back to his mount, tucked away behind a crop of rocks. After he had swung astride, Derrick sent his horse in a canter toward where they had disappeared, slowing his mount to a face paced walk when he got closer. No need to warn the men of his presence, that was for sure. While he wound through the landscape, the scout checked his back trail. Hopefully he had gained no attention in his stalking of the shipment. He shouldn’t have, but there seemed to be eyes everywhere, unfortunately. People couldn’t seem to stick to things that were their own business. He wasn’t sure why either, it would keep them alive for longer if they just kept focused on things that actually concerned them and stopped sticking their noses in things that they shouldn’t.

It didn’t take him very long to catch up to the shipment. Could the men take any longer to wind their way around the countryside? With a frustrated sigh, Derrick made himself scarce once more, watching with cunning eyes as they rode past, still without any knowledge that they were being watched. And this was exactly why the Imperial army was superior. Despite being smaller in stature than the Nords, (And Derrick would admit that freely) and not having them having superior brute power, the Imperials relied on their brains, and that made all the difference.

It took them all day to get to the camp that they were heading toward. When they finally got there, Derrick left his horse far away to avoid any attention and snuck closer and closer, until he was on a ledge overlooking the camp. He trusted that his horse, tucked away in the foliage, would be fine and remain there until he came back. The horse had been with him long enough to be used to the long pauses in travel and the odd habits of the man he carried, and Derrick figured that no one would see the stallion where he had left him. Though he didn’t especially like leaving his horse back there unattended and holding many of his belongings, there wasn’t much that he could do in situations like this, as he definitely couldn’t simply ride his horse up to the point of interest and hope to remain undetected.
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[VEX .]

[style=width: 370px; background-color:#a7cacc; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 9px; padding: 15px;]THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

there was nothing quite like returning home after a successful job.

solitude was a long ride away from riften, but vex knew she'd still have plenty of time to gloat about pulling it off when she returned to the ragged flagon. it had been a pretty risky job, stealing from the blue palace itself, and she'd done it without a single hitch. the set of goblets she'd swiped now rested in the bag slung over her shoulder, clanging gently together with the movement of the horse and thief. no matter how tightly she wrapped them, the speed vex was pressing her mare at seemed to undo the goblets in no time. but knowing no real damage could come to the gold unless she happened to fall on them, vex knew they'd last the journey back home without being dented or damaged beyond repair.

she knew she couldn't be too far from home, the landscape becoming more and more familiar as she moved south. she preferred to travel off the roads, knowing it was far less likely to come across a wandering guard or even just other travellers that way. but she could see the road about a mile away as it swept across the land, and vex knew that at this distance from the city, and with evening falling quickly, it might be better to start to head towards it.

about half a mile closer, however, she began to hear noises. horses, people shouting, the unmistakable clang of metal. she dismounted and crouched in silence for a moment next to her horse. by the sounds of it, it was a camp, and a great number of men were resting there. a smirk crossed over the imperial's features as she thought of all the possibilities the camp might hold. loosely tying her horse to a tree, so that it could still graze if it wanted. slowly, but surely, vex began to creep towards the camp, knowing extra loot wouldn't do the guild any harm.

but a snort to her left made her dart behind the nearest bush. had the rider seen her? were the soldiers camping up here, rather than down in the gully as she'd assumed? but that couldn't be it. she could hear the horse pawing at the ground, but vex couldn't hear men speaking, or practicing, or whatever it was soldiers did in their spare time. knowing her horse was far behind her, vex made her way towards this other horse, wondering if it was a stray, or just abandoned. if it was the latter, perhaps she could put it out of it's misery. anyone in their right mind would only abandon a horse in skyrim unless it was injured beyond repair, and as cold as vex might seem to some, a horse dying slowly of injury was something she couldn't just let happen. after all, the horse's pained whinnies could draw attention to her location.

but the horse wasn't injured at all. in fact, it was in fine condition. she admired it for a mere second before her eyes were drawn to the saddlebags slung on the beast's back. so she wasn't the only one interested in the camp. approaching the horse slowly, hushing gently under her breath so as not to startle the animal, vex finally laid a hand on its neck without the horse emitting so much as a snort. "attaboy." she murmured to the animal, smiling as it bent its ears back. she moved to its side, her deft hands prying through the bags for anything of value. finding a coin purse, a few arrows, even a dagger. a map was tucked away in one of the bags, and vex was about to peer over in her curiosity, when the sound of leaves crashing to her right made her pause in her tracks. pocketing the map and the other loot she'd found, vex darted towards the nearest tree, scurrying up it as fast as she could. she'd always been proud of her own agility, and she came to sit on a branch even as the man entered the clearing. she hoped he'd notice some of his belongings were missing. watching people try to figure out they'd been hit by a sneak thief was always the best part.

DERRICK/TAIYA | 713 | i figured he'd need to mark the location on the map and would realize it was missing? IDK. btw, your post was perfectly fine. c:

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[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background: #999999; width:450px; height:490px; padding:0px;] [style=width:400px; height:165px; opacity: 0.8; font-family: times; background: url(http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/Cowgirlatheart_101/Josh.jpg)][style=width: 270px; height:100px; background: transparent; float: right; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size:12px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #333333; line-height: 25%;] TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU READ MY MIND [style=width: 200px; float: right; background: transparent; text-align; justify; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size:5px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #111111; line-height: 80%;]the good old days, the honest man, the restless heart, the promised land, a subtle kiss that no one sees, a broken wrist and a big trapeze. oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind 'cause I don't shine if you don't shine.

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[style=text-align:center; text-size: 9px;]WORDS: 678 TAGGED: Vex
NOTES: XD That worked out perfectly He is no happy about someone stealing from him!

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Incompetent.

That was what the men were. Even while he crouched down, one hand pressed against the ground, he was thinking less about the information he had just obtained, and more on the knowledge that he could so easily sneak up to these men without them knowing. It was disturbing really, that these lumbering warriors could hold the Imperials at bay. True, they were exceptional warriors, but they didn't have the cunning or the strategy that the Imperials had. He supposed they should be thankful they didn't, as it would make this war more difficult. What they lacked in strategy and resources really were what put the tides in the Imperial's favor, or so he reasoned.

It didn't take to long while he was crouched there to notice they were warmly welcomed to the camp. That was three camps that he had found strung through Skyrim. That was plenty of information to relay back to Solitude, so Derrick was satisfied there. Unfortunately, he knew that once they go the information it was unlikely that they would simply send the army to wipe them out. It wouldn't be easy to get so many men so far inside of Stormcloak country, and with outbreaks scattered throughout Skyrim, he wasn't sure if they had the resources themselves to do anything about it. Not that it really mattered, since Derrick knew that he was doing his part. He couldn't change everyone else, so he shouldn't worry about that. After all, he was doing his duty and taking his older brothers place among the Imperial army, he couldn't win a war by himself.

Satisfied with the information he had gotten, Derrick retreated from his place of concealment. Quietly he made his way back toward where he had left his stallion, taking care to cover any noise and move quietly but quickly. As soon as he got back to his stallion, Derrick gave him an affectionate pat on the neck and moved toward his flanks. There his saddlebags easily rested on the thick haunches. "Got it Bud.", he mentioned lightly in victory, giving a sideways cocky grin while his stallion slung his head around to watch his master. Something...about his horse seemed a bit off. Normally his stallion was content to stay in one place and recognized that he might be waiting long times while his master was off. Now though, the stallion seemed restless, shaking his head and shifting around. Furrowing his brow, Derrick's eyes went from studying his horse to scanning the environment even as his fingers were undoing his saddlebags. The chances of running into Stormcloack forces around this area was high after all...

Still, his weary eyes caught no movement while he looked around. "What's up?", he once again murmured to his horse, resting a hand on his flank while he reached a hand into his bag to retrieve his map to mark the location. Instantly he realized that it was missing. Dropping his eyes down, he reached in with both hands, hoping he had just...felt wrong. Nope. No map. "Shit.", he growled out, his eyes returning up again. This wasn't good... Damn it! Reaching back, Derrick removed the bow from where he had slung it over his shoulder and held it loosely in his hand. Whoever had taken it had to be in the area, as they wouldn't have time to go far, even on horseback. "We got trouble Bud, you sit tight." Looking around the area, Derrick knelt down by his stallion and started to study any tracks that might be around the horse. He had no question that he would be able to find a set of tracks, and once he did, he'd set out to find whatever idiot thought they would take something from him.

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[VEX .]

[style=width: 370px; background-color:#a7cacc; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 9px; padding: 15px;]THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

from her perch in the tree, vex watched the man go from unsuspecting to frustrated. a wry smile crossed her features, although she knew she wasn't in the clear yet. she was still stuck up the tree, with an angry archer wandering around at her feet. she was thankful for the leaves that hid her from view, and the dark armor that shielded her in the shadows. even so, it wouldn't take long for them to spot her, even with her hood pulled up to hide her flaxen hair from view. she could see him studying the tracks on the ground, and even though she was light on her feet, the ground was soft, and no doubt vex had left some tell tale sign of where she was hiding.

getting to her feet, silent as a cat, vex moved along the branch, leaping across to the other without making so much as a sound. it was her objective to get to the other side of the clearing without being noticed, and run off back to her horse with the man being none the wiser. jumping onto the third tree was a bit of a problem, but eventually vex clambered onto it, holding herself up by the trunk. from this vantage point, she'd lost sight of the person below her, but as there were no shouts of alarm at spotting anything out of the ordinary, vex figured she was still undiscovered as of yet.

leaping onto the fourth tree, vex felt herself slip slightly, causing the leaves to rustle. she cursed under her breath, knowing it would have drawn attention to her location. biting her lip, she adjusted her balance. even a nord would have realized more than wind had caused it to move so much. sighing, vex lowered herself to a crouch, and jumped to swing off the branch in front of her, landing on her feet perfectly. she allowed herself a self-satisfied grin, pleased to discover she was just as agile as she had always been. it had been a while since she'd been able to do anything so physically grueling, and she still managed to keep her breath even.

"looking for something?" she asked tauntingly of the male. she didn't have to pull the map from her pocket for him to put two and two together. or so she hoped. dim-witted opponents were far less entertaining than those that put up a decent fight. slowly, vex lowered her hood, revealing herself to him. running a hand through her hair, vex was the epitome of casual. there was no point in drawing her weapon. the man would have an arrow through her heart before she even thought about it. so she stood, appraising him slowly, taking her time to look him over. handsome, for sure, but certainly not her type. "perhaps i can help you.." vex stated, her grin all too obvious. he'd have to be blind to see that she wasn't guilty.

DERRICK/TAIYA | 494 | hope this is okay, m'dear. c:

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[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background: #999999; width:450px; height:490px; padding:0px;] [style=width:400px; height:165px; opacity: 0.8; font-family: times; background: url(http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/Cowgirlatheart_101/Josh.jpg)][style=width: 270px; height:100px; background: transparent; float: right; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size:12px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #333333; line-height: 25%;] TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU READ MY MIND [style=width: 200px; float: right; background: transparent; text-align; justify; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size:5px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #111111; line-height: 80%;]the good old days, the honest man, the restless heart, the promised land, a subtle kiss that no one sees, a broken wrist and a big trapeze. oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind 'cause I don't shine if you don't shine.

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[style=text-align:center; text-size: 8px;]WORDS: 765 TAGGED: Vex
NOTES: :3

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The ground was softish, that was a good sign. Derrick glanced around him, brown eyes flickering here and there while he went about reading tracks and imprints. Though the thief could be long gone, or becoming so, Derrick took his time studying the dirt. If he could find a trail, a footprint, anything to start him in the right direction, he could track down whoever, or whatever, had wanted his map so badly. He’d spent a lot of time studying different camps and trailing men to get that, so he sure didn’t want it in the wrong hands. He also knew that he quite possibly would have to kill whoever it was that took the map. Not because he liked to kill or did so needlessly, but that was information for the Imperial army only. If it was a Nord or a Stormcloak sympathizer, unfortunately, they would have to be taken down. Nothing personal, just good business.

It didn’t take him too long to find the half print of a shoe that was definitely not his. He could distinguish his easily, but this one was smaller, much smaller. Obviously a woman…or a man with very small feet, which was possible, but less likely of course. Kneeling beside it, Derrick studied the location and the direction it was pointing, which thankfully must have been left in their hurry to get away, rather than on their approach to his stallion. Brushing off his knee, Derrick had his bow unslung and prepared to shoot an arrow while he walked softly, eyes constantly scanning the surrounding area, including the underbrush and any possible place to hide. As he moved through the underbrush, he kept a look out for any other footprints. A few minutes of searching later he found yet another print. Though he supposed the person would have been long gone, something…some odd feeling, told him that the thief was still around. Was he going crazy? Perhaps, but he could be right too. Best not to run away quickly and miss the person that was resting right under his nose.

Or, you know, he could be paranoid, which was entirely possible.

At that moment he heard the rustling of some foliage. Quickly Derrick straightened up and pressed his back against the tree he was resting by, his dark eyes scanning the area once more. Well hell, that had sounded like it had come from the trees. Was he going crazy? Peering up, he studied the general direction he thought the sound had come from. After a moment, he started that way slowly, bow ready to be executed swiftly.

The woman showed herself before he got close enough to do anything. He felt a bit of surprise, quickly masked, as well as some satisfaction that he had been right on every level. One, the thief was a woman, and two, she hadn’t left the area quickly, unfortunately for her. He wasn’t doubting that this was the person that had taken his map either. Straightening up completely, Derrick looked at the pretty woman before him and quirked an eyebrow. Nord? No…too finely built.

Her taunt did nothing but make him shrug toward her. “We both know what I’m looking for and who has it.” He didn’t rise to her taunt, but simply shrugged, knowing it was the simple truth. Until he had it in his hands, Derrick was at a slight disadvantage. He was strong and agile, but he didn’t know a damn thing about her, and he didn’t like it. The way to win was to know weaknesses and exploit them. He felt no shame in that, since it was a way of survival…and the reason that the Imperial nation had thrived. He had to admit, he was impressed on how easily she was acting, since by all rights he had the right to loosen an arrow into her throat. Skyrim was definitely ruled more by violence and a quick justice system. Instead though, she was confident, taunting. He admired that. “Yeah, I think it would be in your interest to help me.”, he said in an offhand manner. “We can do this one of two ways, want to take your pick?”
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[VEX .]

[style=width: 370px; background-color:#a7cacc; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 9px; padding: 15px;]THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

Vex should have been frightened. any normal person would have been. and she was, a little. more than anything she relished the adrenalin that had been slowly trickling into her veins since she had scuttled up the tree to hide. now that her feet were both on the ground, she felt incredibly energetic, so much so she could run faster than this man could knock an arrow and send it towards her. but that was impossible, and so she remained standing, staring at him and not even bothering to hide the amusement on her face.

now that she was on the ground, vex could see her target properly. he was taller than her, though that wasn't unusual when she barely reached average height for one of her race. dark hair, strong looking.. and her first assumption had been very correct. he was handsome. vex wasn't sure if she would be able to beat him if it came to a fight, but vex was hoping she'd be able to outwit him. and then she could walk away with both her life and the map. she hadn't had a chance to look at it yet, but if he'd been looking for it so frantically, vex was assuming it was important for him to possess it. and if he wanted it so much, no doubt there was another party who would too, and pay her a significant amount of coin for it.

vex's smile only widened at the man's nonchalant reaction to her appearance. like he saw women jump down from trees every time he wandered into a clearing. "looks like i hit a clever one, for once." she murmured, more to herself than the man, but if it got him worked up, then that was perfect. vex enjoyed taunting others, despite the fact she was very easily riled up herself. there was something appealing about situations where she was in control, and others wreaked mayhem around her. "i'm assuming you mean the map i swiped. a horse left alone is fair game. one of our little thief rules, i'm sure you understand." regardless of whether he cared or not, vex's goal was to get him talking, or at least frustrated. once he lost focus, escape was as good as hers.

"two ways, hm?" she asked, tilting her head slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "so either you kill me, or i hand it over nicely, is that right?" she shook her head, chuckling under her breath. neither of those was going to happen if she had any say in the matter. she felt in control already, and she'd barely even begun. then again, that may have just been vex's usual cocky manner. "i have a better idea. why don't you buy it off me?" at that, vex's grin turned wicked. the man's coin purse was currently located in one of her many pockets, but perhaps he hadn't realized that just yet, after getting so upset about the map. "or has your gold gone missing too?"

slowly, so as not to spur him into action, vex took a step towards him, unwinding her arms and holding them up, open palmed, showing him she'd cause no trouble if he didn't. "what's your name?" she asked, genuinely curious, before remembering the camp she'd heard, the entire reason she was in this situation. "hold on, are you a spy?" with eyebrows raised, vex's tone was disbelieving. if he couldn't even keep track of his own possessions, how could anyone expect him to be an informer? of course, vex knew there was a war going on, and whether this man belonged to the stormcloaks, imperials or some other faction, they appeared to be scraping the bottom of the barrel with this particular recruit. it was a little sad, really. and he didn't even have to answer her question for it all to make sense. a lone rider that had thought of using the same vantage point vex was going to use to watch the camp. and the map.. well, well. perhaps it did have some real value after all.

DERRICK/TAIYA | 685 | DO DE DOO~

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[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background: #999999; width:450px; height:490px; padding:0px;] [style=width:400px; height:165px; opacity: 0.8; font-family: times; background: url(http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/Cowgirlatheart_101/Josh.jpg)][style=width: 270px; height:100px; background: transparent; float: right; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size:12px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #333333; line-height: 25%;] TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU READ MY MIND [style=width: 200px; float: right; background: transparent; text-align; justify; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size:5px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #111111; line-height: 80%;]the good old days, the honest man, the restless heart, the promised land, a subtle kiss that no one sees, a broken wrist and a big trapeze. oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind 'cause I don't shine if you don't shine.

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[style=text-align:center; text-size: 9px;]WORDS: 703 TAGGED: Vex!
NOTES: None!

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Derrick wasn’t offended in the slightest when she mumbled under her breath about him. In fact, he actually got a bit light hearted. “Of course.”, he egotistically agreed. Knowing his own abilities, to say Derrick was arrogant wasn’t stretching it in the slightest. Of course, he had a reason to be. Obviously he hadn’t gotten to his position in the army for no reason. Clever? Yes, yes he did think he was clever. Maybe some were more so than him, a lot were definitely slighter, especially surrounded by Nords. Despite their prowess in battle, Derrick was the first to jump on their lack of intelligence or cunning. Their way of tactics was nothing short of charging into a situation they knew nothing about, swords swinging. He truly thought that lack of intelligence disturbing. And of course, that wasn’t to say all Nords were like that. He’d met plenty that had just as much brains as they had brawn, it was just…much less likely than his own race.

He took what she mentioned in stride. He had hoped that she hadn’t taken a look at the map that she had stolen off his horse, but…he had expected that she would. She seemed like the gutsy kind, and curious. Perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest move to look at the map instead of getting away quickly, but he couldn’t fault her for curiosity. That was the gateway to intelligence, curiosity. Exactly why most Nord’s in his opinion, lacked that intelligence. “Owners usually return for horses, wouldn’t you say? It’s not very polite to steal something when you haven’t met the owner. Besides, dead men – or women, don’t have much need for any silly rules.”, he threatened slightly. Derrick wouldn’t lie, he’d have a hard time killing a woman that wasn’t attacking him outright in some sort of a battle.

At least she got the hint. “Good girl.”, he said just as cockily, before he pursed his lips to indicate he was seriously considering the situation. “Though I wouldn’t have to kill you. Just take it by force.”, he mentioned with a shrug of his shoulders, acting as if it were the most casual conversation in the world. What she said after that, about paying for it though… Instantly he started to laugh in earnest. It took him a moment, but he finally settled back down. “I don’t pay for things that belong to me, no matter if I have the gold or not. Nice try though.” He had to hand it to her; she was trying her hardest to weasel away with something of his, and doing a damned good job at the attempt. It might work on a lesser man.

With that same smirk, he watched her advance toward him. Though he recognized her show toward no hostility, he neither mimicked that motion nor denied it, simply watching her. “I’m the man you stole a map from. Don’t you think that’s all you need to know?”, he asked cheekily, before he pretended to deeply think about her question if he was a spy or not. “I’ve been many things in my life. Have I spied on people? Sure, who hasn’t? You’re a spy too if you’ve watched people before looting their possessions. There's hundreds of your kind.” Shifting his weight slightly, his cunning brown eyes watched her. “As much as I’d like to stand here chatting about the weather, I have things I need to do.” With that, he reached out a hand expectantly, never breaking eye contact with her.

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[VEX .]

[style=width: 370px; background-color:#a7cacc; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 9px; padding: 15px;]THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

"stealing from someone i know isn't nearly as fun." vex told him. not to mention it would get her kicked out of the guild. outside of her business alliances and whatnot, vex didn't know that many people. "i'm not exactly concerned about being "polite", either." the threat went over vex's head completely. she was aware he had pretty much informed her she was a dead woman, but vex just continued to smirk at him. "good thing i'm still breathing, then." she answered lightly, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"good. i like it when men get rough." she winked at him, her voice barely above a purr. another tactic to get him all flustered, but vex doubted it would work. nevertheless, she hoped she was at least pestering him on some level. he really did seem too collected for her taunts to be working. and he did have the upperhand, after all. but vex had always relished a challenge. "taking it by force isn't going to happen, handsome." she informed him. she was confident she could take him in a fight. she'd been fighting the male members of the guild for years, and this man was no different. just another male who thought they could swing a sword and call themselves a warrior.

his response to her question wasn't satisfying, but it made her grin widen. "so you're important, and you don't want me to know. or you're too proud to make polite conversation with a thief like me. is that it?" vex couldn't help it. her ego bristled a little at being informed there were hundreds of her kind. how wrong he was.. "you're wrong. there's only of me. and don't you ever forget that." she was several times better than any of the thieves vex had come across in her career. if only he knew who she was, but vex assumed an imperial spy like him had never frequented the underground world of skyrim. she watched him extend a hand, and was about to make a smart comment when a noise behind her caught her attention.

it was the unmistakable sound of voices, a scouting party perhaps, returning to the main camp. vex didn't know, but she froze for an instant, and it seemed the noises were getting closer to their little clearing. "be quiet." she hissed at the man, her head whipping back around to him, her expression deadly serious. if either of them were caught here, they were as good as dead. "and move. up a tree, or in the underbrush. just hide." she darted for the cover of the trees, and began scrambling up the trunk of one when she remembered the man's horse. blasted thing. "your horse better not make a sound, otherwise i'll kill it." not wanting him to protest, vex motioned for him to keep quiet. in the tree, she felt safer, both from the man below her and the approaching men. pulling her own bow from across her shoulders, vex nocked an arrow as she crouched on the thickest branch she could find, waiting for the approaching party to enter her sight. with any luck, she'd fell some of them before they realized they were even under attack. of course, that depended on the actions of her target-turned-ally. at least, she hoped that was how it would go. he could very well turn her in as the spy. she had the map after all.

it seemed like hours had passed before the noises were suddenly right in front of them. she could see the foliage moving, hear the men laughing when finally the first one entered the clearing. before he had time to exclaim about the lone horse, vex had loosed the arrow and sent it in his direction. she barely had time to smirk satisfactorily as it entered his throat before readying another arrow and sending it at his companion. "what the-" he spat out at the sight of his dying friend, before vex's arrow found its mark. unlike the other, however, the change in weight spooked the horse and it bolted, tossing it's rider from it's saddle. as there were no sign of any other men following these two, vex waited with bated breath. what if the horse alerted the camp to the fact they had unfriendly attackers nearby? they had to move. and now.

when everything seemed clear, vex leapt down from the tree, not even bothering to look for the man she'd practically saved. bow still in hand, vex moved towards the dead soldiers, rifling through their pockets. one barely had anything on him, a few pieces of gold. but the other.. now he was interesting. a piece of paper that looked official, an very full coin purse, and more besides. perfect.. "no need to thank me." she called to the man wherever he might be hiding. "think your legion superiors will want me now that i've done their work for them?" now that she'd seen the armor and the contents of the stormcloak officers pockets, vex had no doubt about it. she'd stumbled into the middle of the bloody civil war without even trying.

DERRICK/TAIYA | 857 | HOPE THIS IS OKAY. I CAN ALWAYS CHANGE IT IF YOU WANTTT. <3

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[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background: #999999; width:450px; height:490px; padding:0px;] [style=width:400px; height:165px; opacity: 0.8; font-family: times; background: url(http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/Cowgirlatheart_101/Josh.jpg)][style=width: 270px; height:100px; background: transparent; float: right; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size:12px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 2px 2px 2px #333333; line-height: 25%;] TELL ME WHAT YOU FIND WHEN YOU READ MY MIND [style=width: 200px; float: right; background: transparent; text-align; justify; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size:5px; font-family: times; text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px #111111; line-height: 80%;]the good old days, the honest man, the restless heart, the promised land, a subtle kiss that no one sees, a broken wrist and a big trapeze. oh well I don't mind, if you don't mind 'cause I don't shine if you don't shine.

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[style=text-align:center; text-size: 9px;]WORDS: 843 TAGGED: Vex!
NOTES: XD I really like this thread

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Cheeky thing she was. With arms crossed over his chest, Derrick quirked an eyebrow at her. Alright, so she had a point there. Stealing from someone you knew was nowhere near as...lively anyway. At the same time, it might keep you alive longer in that situation. Not…of course, that he would be going around attacking women. Besides that, for the most part, Derrick was getting his fill of entertainment in this situation as well. It wasn’t every day that you met someone that could actually rival you when it came to cunning. Despite thinking himself at a higher level than her even now, he could respect that she obviously was confident in her own self. That usually meant that she would be able to do something in a fight. If not physical strength, than mental. “You seem to pick and choose moments of honesty.”, he declared.

Her comment about the rough men got him chuckling. “This may end up better than I’d originally thought then.” The wolfish smile was up on his lips after he got done chuckling. “Unfortunately I don’t have the time now, so I’ll have to take a raincheck.”

Skyrim women…what ever happened to sweet, gentle women that stayed inside the house to take care of the kids? That hadn’t gotten his mother very far in life though, so he supposed that it was the way life went in those situations. With a cocked eyebrow, he shrugged a shoulder lightly. “Of course you wouldn’t think so. I’m just another dumb soldier, ready to lay down my life to do my oh so sworn duty, right?” Wrong. She didn’t know a thing about him. He may not be able to just beat up on everything like Nords did, using their brawn instead of their brains, but they didn’t hold the greatest part of the country, now did they. “It’s better to know what you’re up against before you start forming schemas about them.”

Taking a step back physically, Derrick lifted a hand to his chin and seemed to contemplate her words while he studied her. “I don’t claim to be important, though I’m interested in knowing why you think yourself to important. As far as I’m concerned, everyone and their uncle – or aunt – is a thief.”

The noise caught his attention right as it caught hers. Dropping down lightly, he glanced toward the sound, before nodding his head at her instructions. While she scrambled up the tree, Derrick latched his bow over his shoulder, grabbed for a branch, and swung up next to her. Balancing there, he shifted himself back in the foliage and got out his weapon once more, dark eyes scanning the bottom. He didn’t want to be caught any more than she did, so keeping still wouldn’t be a problem. He wasn’t concerned about his stallion making any noise. He’d had that stallion for years now, trained him from a cold. “You hurt my horse, and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”, he warned.

Despite having his bow out, Derrick didn’t see the use of wasting more arrows on someone that she was just going to shoot anyway, so he let her have it. Unfortunately, she made a mess of it. Quickly he dropped down, called lightly for his stallion to come toward him, which the grey promptly did. Derrick stood with a notched arrow while she rifled through their belongings. He had to roll his eyes when she made the crack about doing his work for him. “You mean making a mess of the situation and spooking the horse so bad it went back and alerted them? Yeah, sure. Thanks for the excellent job.” Putting his weapon away, Derrick mounted his stallion, and reached a hand down to offer her. “I don’t know who you are, but even if you do think you’re so awful important, you can’t outrun horses.” Besides, she still had his map. Did she think he’d forgotten about that? Not in her life.
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[VEX .]

THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

The threat she received after threatening the man's horse only made Vex's lips curve upwards in a half-smirk. Regardless of her amusement, however, she shushed him, past caring about his precious horse. If it made a noise, it would die for endangering their lives. And if this man had a problem with it, he would die too. Vex wasn't cornered anymore, and with her bow drawn, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"at least i did something." vex snapped at him. it was true she'd messed up the shot, but the man she'd been hiding with had done nothing. she'd always been something of a talented archer, but finding a gap in the stormcloak armor had been tough to do in such a limited space of time. He should have been bloody grateful, not harrassing her about not doing it properly. They were dead, weren't they? She pulled her arrows out of the men rather roughly, wiping the gore clean on their own cloth before returning them to her quiver. she certainly wasn't going to leave those behind.

Her cold blue eyes watched him as he mounted his horse, expecting him to leave her behind. She was oddly surprised when he extended a hand towards her offering help. Vex did have her own mount nearby, it would take her less than five minutes to make her way back to it on foot, but nevertheless, she accepted the man's invitation. Putting her bow back over her shoulder, she didn't take his hand, not needing his help to climb rather gracefully onto the horse and seat herself behind him. She rested her hands on either side of him, before deciding to wrap her arms around him as much as she could. She had no idea what this horse was like, and she didn't exactly fancy falling from the horse.

When they were ready to ride off, Vex pointed over his shoulder, in front of them and to the right. "Go that way." she directed him, unsure whether or not he would trust her judgement. She had been contemplating drawing her dagger on him, forcing him to do as she say, but for reasons she didn't know, vex hadn't. Vex was sure that was the way she had entered the clearing, and going back that way would lead them back to her own horse in no time at all. However, Vex was in doubt as to whether he'd listen to the thief that had been pestering him for a good hour or so now. Vex wouldn't have done so if she were him. Then again, she'd always been overly cautious of other people, handsome men included.

As they rode, Vex's eyes constantly scanned the area, looking for any trace of her horse. It was a rented one, and had cost her a decent amount of gold, some of which she would get back once it was returned to the stables. When she saw no sign of it, Vex determined she must have traveled farther than she had originally thought. Turning her attention back from her surroundings and to the rider in front of her, Vex "So you're part of the Legion, then?" she questioned him, raising an eyebrow, though of course he couldn't see it. "Why? Do you like being ruled by Mer?" Vex had no opinion on the civil war thus far. More than anything, it was an inconvenience. No doubt it was partially to blame for the Thieves Guild's recent bad luck. With people taking sides, it didn't leave many wanting to employ the thieves' services. Of course, Vex didn't blame the man sitting in front of her as an individual, but she couldn't help but regard him with some disdain. She'd never been overly fond of soldiers, anyway.

DERRICK/TAIYA | 630 | ME TOO. c:

[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Tell me what you find when you read my mind {WORDS } 800 {TAGGED } Ves {WEARING} Armor Derrick couldn’t help but purposely roll his eyes when she snapped at him. “You know, for being so all fired proud that you just did something, you sure as hell aren’t doing anything now.”, he snapped back while he strode for his stallion. Hell, she could stay here the entire day and snap at the air about how important she was and how much she did when it came to situations like this, but he was getting the hell out of here before that whole army of Nords had their horse run back to camp rider less and came pouring out of the hills to lynch them from the nearest tree. Those Nords may be dumb brutes, but they were brutes none the less, and he really didn’t want to be faced with an entire squad of them when they got it in their thick heads that they should avenge some of their buddies. Though he cast an annoyed glance at the thief that had gotten him into this trouble, Derrick swung up on his stallion and extended a hand down to her. Sure he might get a dagger through the back, but he needed that map back from her, and he would rather face the prospect of a not so sturdy looking thief than an entire supply train full of Nordic soldiers with a rope and weapons. Whatever he could say about the blonde dummies, they could hold their own in battles, and Derrick was man enough to admit he didn’t have that same brute force. Thankfully she wrapped her arms completely around him. In another situation, he might have been a little more excited about that prospect, but right now he was more concerned about a dagger to the back than anything else. At least with her arms around him, she would take a little more time to get any weapon out and stab him. He’d have plenty of time to wrestle her away if she got the notion. When she directed him, Derrick hesitated. He didn’t know where the hell she was attempting to take him. For all he knew, she could be leading him into some sort of trap. Or a thieves camp where he’d have even more trouble to deal with than a bunch of Nords. Then again, she had seemed just as eager to escape the situation back there, so Derrick figured he’d have to do so and then deal with the next scenario when it came. “Alright. You leading me into some cave of bandits?”, he asked in good humor – or at least as good a humor as he could muster at the moment. Despite his reserves about this, Derrick reigned his stallion in the direction she had told him to, dark eyes searching the area around him for possible threats. While he did, Derrick was constantly aware of the woman seated behind him and whatever movements she made. Still expecting a dagger in the back. Her question didn’t really surprise him. At this point, he didn’t suppose he could say anything to combat what she said. She seemed like a smart woman – Imperial blood no doubt – and Derrick didn’t see any reason to hide it from her. After all, she was just a thief anyway. “I had a brother that thought the only way to bring about any justice and do his oh sworn duty as an Imperial was to join the legion.”, he finally said sarcastically, thinking about his older adopted brother that he had looked up to. “Got himself killed.” Derrick’s voice hadn’t changed from the casual way he normally spoke, even though he still felt a surge of emotion within. “I couldn’t give a damn about the rules or our ‘duty to Cyrodil’, but seeing Ulfric’s head on a stake does appeal to me.” Sure, he wasn’t the biggest fan of the army, but it did give him a sense of justice he supposed. “And I’ll be taking that map back honey, like it or not.” {NOTES} Finally got this up @_@

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

[VEX .]

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[atrb=border,0,true] Taiya with derrick 529 OUTFIT day old hate - city and colour nutemplate! c:

[atrb=border,0,true] sensing the soldier's hesitation as vex gave him instructions the thief bit her lip. it was an uncharacteristic display on uncertainty, but she was hoping he'd do as he was told without question. she didn't realize she had been holding her breath until he asked his jokey question and she exhaled deeply. she rolled her eyes, despite the fact the man couldn't see it. vex made a point of not dealing with bandits. they were lower than soldiers on vex's scale of respect, considering most of them were brutes. even jesting that she had bandit accomplices was a deep insult to her honor. even so, she played along, though her tone was incredibly sarcastic. "why, yes i am. i can't wait to see what they do to a pretty man like you." with that, she squeezed his waist gently, before smirking to herself darkly. that smirk faded, however, when he began to answer her question. if she had them, no doubt his story would have plucked a few heartstrings, but vex's expression remained blank. in her limited experience of family, vex felt that with blood relations there was no end to trouble. the fact that this soldier had gotten himself involved in skyrim's civil war because his brother had been killed did nothing to raise vex's opinion of him. "people die in war. if every person who had family member killed in war signed up to fight, there'd be no one left." she let out a harsh laugh at that, before shaking her head slowly. "that might even be a good thing..." she added, knowing that if every hothead that wanted to fight a war actually put his sword where his mouth was, there'd be a lot less stupid in the world. the problem with most men, however, was that they were cowards. "sure you are, love." vex breathed when the man insisted he'd be getting his map back. stressing the endearment came naturally to her. vex wasn't sure what it was about her that made men seem to think they could call her love, sweetheart, honey and much worse. she could barely stand to be called 'little vex' by members of the guild, let alone having near strangers call her pet names. that always irked her to no end. her eyes scanned their surroundings as they moved through it, looking for any familiar trees. vex should have paid more attention while creeping towards the camp, but she hadn't exactly been expecting to return on horseback. when they reached a clearing vex thought she remembered passing through, vex's eyes widened, her grip on the man tightening to get his attention. "stop." she ordered, knowing jumping from this height would be ridiculously stupid. vex had suffered enough injuries in the last year to last her for a long time to want to risk her health yet again. "let me dismount." she said once again in case the soldier wanted to hear why she had ordered him to halt, her tone growing impatient. of course she hadn't given him any reason to trust her, but surely he wasn't expecting her to want to hitch a ride to wherever he was going.

THE THINGS WE DO JUST TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE

[Derrick Raihl .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Tell me what you find when you read my mind {WORDS } 705 {TAGGED } Vex {WEARING} Armor Derrick smiled when she went along with what he’d asked her-…or at least he hoped it was just her going along with his story. “Can’t help what I was given for looks.” He didn’t much like the idea of being hauled into said bandit cave and fed to them for dinner. Of course, she seemed a cut above the common bandit. Or maybe that was just because she was clearly an Imperial. Either that or she wasn’t quite as corn-fed as the rest of the Nords that populated this divine forsaken land. Whatever the case may have been, Derrick decided that he did like seeing a women every once in a while that didn’t look like she could beat an ox for muscles. Was that so difficult? And what did the male nords find so appealing about women like that? Obviously something or there wouldn’t be quite so many nords as there seemed to be running around currently. And damn there was really a lot of them, that was for sure. He couldn’t really bring himself to care about her opinion of him however, no matter how attractive she was. That didn’t really matter when she’d probably rather gut him and steal all his stuff than anything else they could be doing – even with the other things being a lot more inviting. “Well they can do whatever the hell they want to, I don’t really care.”, he mentioned with a half shrug, turning his head to scan around them. “As far as everyone fighting in this damned war, you’re right about that, no arguments there.” Despite his own reasons for joining the army, Derrick would have fought tooth and nail if his brother Devin had decided that he wanted to join the army. No, best he had come anyway and left Devin back in Whiterun with their parents big dreams for the kid. He didn’t belong anywhere near a war anyway. The Imperial also pointedly ignored her sarcastic return of a ‘pet’ name, though a smirk was on his lips. She was an exciting one to rile up, or so he gathered. It was obvious that like any woman who wanted to be equal to men in the ways of combat and intelligence, she had a real problem with men calling her anything aside from her name. Well that was just too damned bad for her. He didn’t have a name to begin with, and besides that, he could call her whatever the hell he wanted to. Nothing lost with her annoyance at him anyway, since he’d rather not get involved with a thief. Besides that, he didn’t care about what happened to her anyway. She was just another woman trying to carve out a name for herself in a society dominated by men. Well luck to her, she’d need it. When she asked him to stop, Derrick reined in his stallion and turned him slightly. Instead of letting that be that however, Derrick reached back and locked his powerful grip around her arm. “The map.”, he stated. “From what I gather, you don’t need it for anything other than maybe material to wipe your ass, so I’d be obliged if you’d hand it over.” {NOTES} Finally pooosting!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5