08-31-2013, 09:50 AM
She absorbed the information silently. Of the Baccarat incident she knew little – she’d only been in Moscow a single full day, which either meant it was something she had not yet come across in her early morning scouring of reports, or it was of a nature she had been deliberately ignoring. Suspicion came with a brief prickle of unease. If this civilian had crossed the Baccarat, however, she was satisfied the matter was being dealt with, so she dismissed it without so much as a crack in her stoically patient veneer.
Her girls. For that, Tehya’s expression did soften, though she didn’t smile. She had no right to feel protective of the two furia, neither of whom she had even met, but she had been used to a strong-knit family unit back in the States. She thought of the Atharim as family, even if in practise that was a whimsical and impractical notion. None of them could ever be allowed as close as her blood-kin, after all. If they knew what she was, what she really was, her Atharim siblings would not blink before ending her existence. It didn’t form the most stable basis for friendship.
She crossed to place her bag on the table. With her back to him, the ‘better be sleeping’ tacked on the end of his words elicited a meagre, somewhat grim smirk. It might simply have been annoyance on his part, having two strangers foisted into his company and on such short notice, but she chose to interpret otherwise. “Good. So should you.” It was not an order. He was not one of them, and Tehya was respectful of that line - if her tone of easy confidence suggested she was used to being listened to. Neither was it a suggestion of concern, though she was aware the night had probably been taxing; her own time as a field hunter was not so far removed that she could not empathise. Three rougarou were enough; an unanticipated bannik an added complication. But he was a soldier; soldiers did their duty.
When she turned her arms were folded. She expected him to be aware of his own limitations; she expected him to adhere to them. And she couldn’t get to work until she was alone.
Her girls. For that, Tehya’s expression did soften, though she didn’t smile. She had no right to feel protective of the two furia, neither of whom she had even met, but she had been used to a strong-knit family unit back in the States. She thought of the Atharim as family, even if in practise that was a whimsical and impractical notion. None of them could ever be allowed as close as her blood-kin, after all. If they knew what she was, what she really was, her Atharim siblings would not blink before ending her existence. It didn’t form the most stable basis for friendship.
She crossed to place her bag on the table. With her back to him, the ‘better be sleeping’ tacked on the end of his words elicited a meagre, somewhat grim smirk. It might simply have been annoyance on his part, having two strangers foisted into his company and on such short notice, but she chose to interpret otherwise. “Good. So should you.” It was not an order. He was not one of them, and Tehya was respectful of that line - if her tone of easy confidence suggested she was used to being listened to. Neither was it a suggestion of concern, though she was aware the night had probably been taxing; her own time as a field hunter was not so far removed that she could not empathise. Three rougarou were enough; an unanticipated bannik an added complication. But he was a soldier; soldiers did their duty.
When she turned her arms were folded. She expected him to be aware of his own limitations; she expected him to adhere to them. And she couldn’t get to work until she was alone.