Lora fumbled for her keys, the woman she'd picked up at the bar following behind her. Von. Shortening – casual? No, minimal. Sparse. Disaffected. Drinking alone on festival day.
The two of them stepped into Lora's room, and she shut the door behind them. The sounds of parading, fireworks, and drunken revelry a few streets away were still clearly audible, even through the closed window. Lora reached out and slid her hand around Von's hip, calmly but eagerly. Not forceful. Not passive. Invite, await, respond, advance. Von ran a hand up through Lora's hair, pulling her into an aggressive kiss. Now. Lora's other hand reached out to fondle Von's breast, wandering up her chest to her neck, releasing her claws, and –
And there was cold metal pressed up below Lora's chin. Fast. Unnatural reaction time. Professional. Stinging – kill sigils. Hunter's gun.
They stood there in silence, faces inches apart, Lora's claw poised to slit Von's jugular, Von's gun poised to put an imbued bullet through Lora's skull. Too late to pretend. Both too quick to finish unscathed. Stall, learn, opening, escape, next city.
"How did you find me out?" Lora asked casually.
"You fucked up." Von's voice was just as rough and unsentimental as it had been back at the bar, but showing more hard edges now. "Went after the wrong prey. Started off targeting people no one would miss, but you got cocky. That girl you ate last month? Her parents have deep pockets and deep connections. Enough to call me in from the other side of the country."
Dodged question. Hiding her methods. Last month – the runaway. Nobility? Plausible. Well-fed, well-developed, better than usual. Move on immediately, next time. "So you came running to do their bidding. A dog at her masters' beck and call." Probe. Provoke. Unsettle. Distract.
"I came to kill demons." Her glare was a cold flame, steady and even. "I can kill demons in the Windless Mountains. I can kill demons here in Lakeroot. If I get a larger pile of coin than usual, all the better."
"Saving up for something? Sending money home to your family, planning your retirement with a sweetheart?" Lost someone. Who? Probe. Provoke.
"Saving up for more guns. More bullets. More seals. More traps. To kill more demons."
Lora stared into Von's eyes. Microreaction. Marginal. Walls, well-practiced. Shift approach. "Doesn't it start to feel hollow? Just killing, back and forth forever, until everyone's dead or grieving?" Professional hunter. Familiar pattern, emotional appeal, rejection. What angle?
"Spare me the melodrama. You don't grieve, you don't care. You just run across another demon now and then, recognize each other somehow, maybe fuck, and move on." Doesn't know how. Wants to know. "Neither of us give a shit, and we both know it. I'm not here to ad-lib a morality play."
Push deeper. "You're talking a lot, for someone who's convinced there's no point trying to have a conversation."
"You think you can piss me off by treating me like I'm stupid?" Yes. "This isn't a conversation, it's a knife fight. I don't win by standing still and blocking. I refuse to talk, you keep talking and watching until you come up with something I can't let slide, if I respond then I'm making a concession, either way you score a free point in your head game." Tried it before.
"So that's it, then?" Talks about hunting. Doesn't have anything else. Lead further. "Everything I say is a lie or a ploy, none of it means anything?"
"Am I wrong?" No. "I've seen how you learn. I've watched a demon hatch, on its own in the woods. Trailed it at a distance while it built up its hunting vocabulary, learning bird calls overnight, tearing apart crows with its teeth. Followed it to the edge of a campsite while it watched people sit by a fire." Von held Lora's gaze, unblinking. "The moment it said its first words of human speech, I shot it through the head."
"What did it say?"
"'I'm cold.'" Precocious. Good opening. Empathy impulse runs deep, hard to fully override. Except her. No flinch, no waver, no remorse. Expert, best so far. But... Connect, theory, test –
Lora stared back at Von for a silent moment. "You never did tell me how you tracked me down." Abrupt shift. Leave unbalanced, wary. "I've been quite careful. I change my face, I change my clothes, I cover my trail, I relocate and vary my approach. And I'm very well-practiced at being human. Do you know how long it took to get dogs to like me? You have to get the scent just right... So how'd you see through it?"
"You seriously think I'd tell you?" Von glared back at her. There. Reaction. Confirmation.
"You don't need to tell me how. Because you didn't. You didn't notice anything off about me, you didn't have any reason to think I was anything but human while we talked, while we flirted, while we walked back to my room... and you were always ready to put a gun to my head at an instant's notice anyway. Just in case. Have you ever trusted anyone?"
"The fuck do you know about trust?" Her voice stayed even, but its edges grew colder and sharper still. Fracture lines. One more push, something strong... Oh? ... Fascinating. Utilize.
Lora smiled. "You're right. I'm no-one to talk about trust, my words are nothing but tricks and lies. So let me share the only honesty you'll ever get from me..." Her free hand moved to Von's free hand, holding it gently but firmly, pulling it slowly and calmly downwards to –
Von stared at her face, confused, gun keeping steady. Delay, recognition, reaction, now –
Lora let go and jumped away towards the door at the same moment Von recoiled in disgust and pulled the trigger. She dashed back across the room to leap through the window, dodging Von's next shots and hitting the cobblestones running.
Lora dashed down an alleyway, taking a few more turns before pausing to reorganize. She began shifting her face, and recalling the route to one of the spots where she'd stashed a change of clothes.
Fascinating... Would never let me, but... Unfamiliar lines of thought, unfamiliar motives. She slowed down as she reached the festival-goers, walking calmly through the crowds.
Want to see her again. Want to see her die... Why? Not hunger. Not safety. Just to know how she ends...
Lora looked down at her reflection in a puddle of dirty water. Von's face looked back up at her. She hadn't had as long as usual, but she'd gotten a very solid impression. It'd be good enough to fool anyone, except maybe her closest friends. That didn't seem like it'd be a problem.
