Cliodhna Eoghan

Cliodhna bit back a small laugh at his visual aversion to her current state, he really had strong convictions of right and wrong. "Is there? Thank you again so much Erik....you've shown so much kindness to me, I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to repay you." Before he could say anything in reply, she gently closed the door and hurried to clean herself up a bit. The makeup proved more stubborn than usual for some reason, or maybe it was because Cliodhna was in a hurry to get to The Hall of Flames. Calming her eagerness, she feigned a nervous look as she took an empty seat at the table; clean and dressed in proper clothes. "Um...Why do I have to go there?"

Cliodhna's eyes had snapped open at the first sound of movement outside the door, hand already on her dagger it took only a moment to realize that someone was in the kitchen. Slowly she relaxed and moved off the bed to the door, easing it open. Peeking around she saw a man cooking. She merely raised an eyebrow at the scene before closing the door and returning to the bed. It didn't take long before there was a knock on her door, followed by Erik's voice. Returning to the door, Cliodhna opened it slowly to answer. Nodding, she looked up at the Flame quietly; hair a tangled mess, worn expression beneath smeared makeup that was much to garish and thick in the morning light, his cloak still enfolding her small frame but hanging loose enough to show the dress underneath was in even worse shape than previously thought.

Trailing slightly behind, Cliodhna let the Flame lead her to what she assumed was somewhere he deemed safe. This proved to be correct and another minor surprise in his character. Not only was it safe; he had taken her to his personal home. Mentally she chided the bigger man. "He's so careless, this is the last place you want to invite a total stranger...." Her thoughts broken as the heavy sword thudded on the table. "Than again, there's most likely little that can prove threat to him." She lamented, remembering how swift and ruthless he had been in the alley, biting her lip again to keep her features placid. Despite it being an attack on her group, Cliodhna was not one to discredit skill when recognition was due. "Thank you." Her soft-spoken words lingering in the air as Erik shut the door, leaving Cliodhna with the mammet. Keeping the cloak on, she followed Montblanc though the house keeping the scared waif facade in place in the process. There was little chance of her seeing him again until morning but little was still room enough for a mistake. Once inside the guest room and shutting the mammet out after thanking him; Cliodhna started to peek around the room. There wasn't much, a bed, side-table, small desk with a chair and a dressing wardrobe in the corner. After rifling through the desk and finding nothing useful, she turned to the wardrobe, opening it curiously. It was mostly empty save for a few dresses tucked away in a corner. Raising her eyebrows slightly, Cliodhna let her fingers pick through the material, vaguely wondering who they belonged to before easing the wooden door closed again. Stretching out on the raised bed, Cliodhan stared at the ceiling and let her legs swing slightly as she thought. He had to be part of the Crimson Watch to know about Garrett and where he was being held, otherwise there was no obvious explanation of how Erik could have stumbled across them in the alley when he did. It was a stroke of fortune that the Flame took pity on her and assumed her nothing more than a helpless girl in trouble and jumped in instead of pausing to listen to what was being spoken but, this still left a dangerous loose end. Her lips curled into a sneer, though Garrettt was afraid of her, it wouldn't take long for that pathetic bastard to give up any and all information he had; including what he knew of Cliodhnna's part in the mission. She had to find some way of leading the him into reviling where her "master" was being held. Slipping her shoes off and rolling to her side; Cliodhna curled the cloak tighter around her, drowsily nuzzling into it. Though imperative this be handled quickly, nothing could be done till morning. Besides, the bed was rather comfortable and the cloak smelled nice. "Such a pity he's a Flame...." Were her last thoughts before drifting into a light sleep.

i have tons saved but these are my top few favorites.

Feeling something heavy settle around her shoulders, Cliodhna rubbed her eyes just hard enough to make them slightly red and puffy but appear as if she was merely trying to wipe tears away before looking back to Erik. "Thank you...." She replied softly, wrapping the cloak tighter around herself and offering him a slightly broken smile. "I'm from Ala Mhigo but when I was about eight my family suddenly packed everything we could carry and we started walking out of the city; there was just so much chaos, my father had only said we were needing to find a new home and refused to say any more on the matter. Of course, I'm now aware of why we had to leave and make such a long journey here but at the time it was so confusing and frighting. The journey in itself was very harsh as well, my mother did what she could to make things more bearable, but being a frail woman to begin with..." Cliodhna trailed off again, her expression changing as the familiar pain momentarily surfaced. Giving her head a little shake, she looked over again at the Highlander. This was almost too easy, though his was very skilled at keeping himself blank, the clenched sword hand told Cliodhna that he was swallowing her story completely. Snuggling down in the cloak, she bunched the excess fabric over her fists before bringing them up to rest against her lips. "I have no friends or family here. Growing up I wasn't well liked due to my father's bad habits and I'm sure he's face-down in a ditch somewhere." Though muffled through the cloak, a hint of venom could be detected in her last comment. Closing her eyes, Cliodhna calmed herself before speaking again. "If it had not been my master, someone else has gotten to him, of this I'm certain. The only place I have been is my former home and my master's home but I can't go to either." Lowering her hands from her face, she glanced up again at the Highlander. "Please, you've already done so much for me, don't let me be more of a burden than I already have been....don't misunderstand," She added hastily, letting go of the cloak and grabbing his free hand with both of hers. "I am grateful, but this is the life I have to live now and I have nowhere to run. My master will find me and I don't want you to have un-needed trouble over someone like me." She pleaded, though Cliohdna's words assured this was desired; her body language said otherwise. Her hands gripped his tighter as she spoke, her bottom lip trembled despite her best efforts to keep it steady and her jade colored eyes blinked rapidly as if trying to keep more tears from forming.

Letting Erik take her hand; she curled her smaller fingers around his, her other hand gripping the tattered skirt to keep from tripping as they ran from the echos of boots. Though noticeably shorter; Cliodhna managed to match his longer strides before being swept onto his back without notice, her thin arms hooking around his shoulders to keep from falling off as Erik nearly flew up the skyline and out of their pursuer's reach. Biting the corner of her mouth, she kept the start of a smile from quirking. This Flame was bound and determined to be her hero tonight. Feeling his hand settle on her shoulder, Cliodhna nodded once and slouched behind the ledge to keep out of sight until it was clear. Sitting up a little to better face the Flame, Cliodhna let her hands wring a bit of her skirt tightly and let her teeth worry her bottom lip a bit before taking a small, worried sigh. This had to be played just right or she would be in no better shape than her men or Garrett. Hurriedly she reached up and tucked a few locks of her blond hair behind her ear, her gaze in the general direction but not quite meeting his eyes as her words slowly unfold. "W-well....I'm...uh...I'm...." She let herself gasp again as if trying to control a sob from forming. "My father has always had debts but he finally got in over his head, he was given a choice......he could either pay what he owed or give something equally valuable away....." Cliodhna placed a hand over her eyes and turned her face away; discreetly digging a nail into the corner of her eye until a tear slipped down her cheek. "I was the only thing considered valuable and I'm sure you can understand what had happened...." She let out another soft gasp of air; shoulders shaking a little this time to help illustrate the fight to keep her tears at bay. "I was meant to be a present for the men you rescued me from tonight since my "training" had been completed the night before and I needed to be- "properly broken in" is what he called it." Her words had lowered to a breath of a whisper, her voice full of shame and regret for the life her father had thrust her into. Turning further away from the Flame, Cliodhna covered her face with both hands and feigned a few dry sobs before letting them slow and regain what appeared to be control. "I honestly do thank you, kind sir but I fear you've only prolonged the invertible for me. I know my master will hear of this and tomorrow will just be the same plan as tonight, unless he finds any part of this my fault, then I might have to be taught another lesson."

nL9EV94kW9Q [[Background music]] Cliodhna's jade eyes drifted over each solider in front of her. This was bad, Garrett had just gotten picked up and was going to spill everything. They needed to quickly alter the current plan and take him out in the process. Keeping her tone both low and threatening; Cliodhna was in the middle of reworking their plan when there was a sudden clatter down the empty alley they were standing in. Brows knitted in mild annoyance she spared a quick glance in the direction of the noise before turning her attention back to the three....three? Quickly realizing the noise had been a distraction, Clidohna stepped away from the other soldiers and crouched down feigning fear; hand already discreetly moving to her thigh, intent on grabbing the dagger she carried on her. If her men couldn't handle this shadow delivering death, Cliodhna wasn't planning to let him get to her as well. Seeing the speed and ease in which the other men were silenced, she carefully watched the bigger man out the corner of her eye, calculating where to best strike. Just as Cliodhna was about to attack he did something completely unexpected. His large hand appeared near her line of sight to help her up. Asking if she was alright, his words surprisingly gentle and carrying concern for what appeared to be a frightened little girl. It was all Cliodhna could do to keep from giggling in a slight hysterical manner. This man is clearly an Immortal Flame and most likely part of the Crimson Watch, and here he was rescuing her. If it wasn't such a potentially dangerous position, it would be almost adorable. Summoning a few tears to cling to the corners of her eyes, Cliodhna slowly looked up at the Flame from under her lashes. "E-eydis..." She replied softly, her voice trembling slightly, as her hands moved to hug her shoulders and clutch at her ragged top. "Thank you for saving me sir, but please...we need to leave....I'm sure the guards patrolling will find out what you did for me and we will both be in trouble for it..." Cliodhna added tilting her head up ever so slightly so Erik could see the urgency in her features. Hopefully this could guide him subconsciously into bring her to where they were holding Garrett....or at least keep the Flame around long enough to find out where they were holding him before she slipped away to take care of it.