Pausing for a moment to glare at Antimony's hand on his arm, the crag-faced Nunh growled, "I have no need for your forgiveness!" He stepped towards Antimony and thrust his arm out at the woman, hitting her in the face with the backside of his knuckles. "Nor do I have any patience for your so-called investigation! A farce to throw suspicion off yourself at worst, but even at best it is mere annoyance concocted as an offering to the conniving Tia that beds you."
Antimony staggered at the blow, her head snapping to the side from the force of it. Silence filled the space between them for several seconds as the hand that had once gripped D'themia's arm moved to cradle her face where a harsh, red mark was rapidly forming beneath glasses set askew. Her tail stuck out in a rigid line behind her and quivered almost imperceptibly.
Then wide eyes glared back at the nunh and a moment later her opposite hand swung out. The solid slap of her palm on his cheek broke the silence, followed by an outraged, "You do not treat others in such a manner, young man. Nor do you insinuate such--such untrue things!"
The huntresses shifted and muttered when Antimony struck D'themia, a thing they had not done when their Nunh had hit the woman moments before. There was the click of armor and shifting glances as the dark man glared at Antimony, seeming to only belatedly notice that she'd hit him. Like mishandled clay, his face cracked into a smirk, and he exhaled a low chuckle. Then he stepped forward and struck Antimony hard in the gut, this time to knock her away. "If you think I require so much as a pretense of patience, or to entertain any syllable from you I do not wish to, then you are failing incredibly at understanding your situation! You may evaluate our finances if it entertains you, for there is nothing to find, but it will not save you when the Sultansworn discern your motive in this meddling. And believe me, it is not difficult to understand."
Any words that may have been on the tip of her tongue fled Antimony, along with her breath, as D'themia's hand collided with her abdomen. She fell back with a wheezing grunt, landing hard on her tail, and there was a thin clatter of her glasses skittering across the floor. She blinked rapidly, arms moving instinctively around her waist in both a defensive gesture and a reaction to the flaring ache there. Her tail felt like it was on fire, so she rolled to one side to ease the pressure off it.
She didn't immediately respond, shocked into silence by D'themia's violence.
"Hey now," Lamandu said, standing up from his seat, though the difference seen between the two was not great, "No need for any of that. You are both rather distraught over obviously personal matters. I'm not certain as though you were entirely truthful to me about why you needed to be here so badly, Miss Antimony. Though I think I am entirely clear now as to the reason." He felt bad for the poor woman, truely, but this was nothing that he wished to be involved in, especially now.
"I have stated my position with sufficient clarity. The matter may be closed for now." The Nunh stepped back and spun away, petting his knuckles as though they had been wounded. Or perhaps trying to wipe off some invisible dirt. "Lamandu, I suggest you urge Antimony to go about her investigation and speak of her once-daughter no more."
Unused to the effects of such physical attacks, it took a moment for Antimony to recover enough to struggle up, green eyes wide. "Captain, I assure you, it is not what it--" she began at Lamandu, but stopped short and twisted her neck up towards D'themia, then winced her way to her feet, "I will not just abandon matters concerning my daughter, and you have no right to demand such of me."
"You can either let it go now and see about the business you brought me here to see, or you can continue discussing your family matters with D'themia alone. There are other things I have to do with my time," Lamandu rather hoped she would choose the latter, he was not keen to see Learner again when the man returned, though he was sure that the likelihood would be large that he would get chased down afterwards.
"I think you should consider," D'themia said, standing still where he was with his tail shivering behind him. "That this is the only time I will ever invite you to make this inspection. The opportunity will never present itself again."
Antimony glared defiantly at D'themia's back, her tail curled gingerly against throbbing at the base of the limb where she'd landed on it. This lasted for several seconds before her ears drooped suddenly and she shifted her gaze to one side. "We will continue with the investigation as intended," she said and then added in a low mutter, "But I will not abandon the issue of my daughter."
D'themia thrust a hand at one of the huntresses. "You!" The woman perked up in mild surprise, but then her Nunh amended his instructions, turning and sweeping his hand through the room. "All of you. Escort the Captain and the Witch to the records room. Make they see everything they want to see, and alter nothing."
The first huntresses he'd motioned to nodded and moved in silence, stepping away from the wall with the click of her spear against her armored calves. As she angled out of the room, the other huntresses separated from the wall, watching Antimony and Lamandu, waiting for them.
Nodding towards the Dodo nunh, "Thank you, D'themia." Lamandu started immediately to the door, stopping when he reached the guidewoman. "Are you coming Antimony?" Best get this done soon, before Learner returned with more overzealous accusations.
Antimony turned reluctantly, wincing at the lingering ache in her gut and the way each step made her tail throb. She paused a moment to retrieve her bag and, after some searching, her glasses, and then made to follow Lamandu and the huntresses out the door.
***
The huntresses did as they were told, leaving the room the Nunh occupied in stoic silence. But once they were out of D'themia's sight, their composure slackened, and the three who walked in the rear began to mutter among themselves. None of their words were shared with those they escorted, though they spoke with an audible mix of confusion and frustration. The foremost huntress lead them dutifully down the hall and through a locked door into a musty interior room that did not bear any of the eccentricity of the rest of the Commune. The walls were plain and windowless, the oil lamps burning yellow with an unpleasant odor, and the room filled with rows upon rows of cabinets, drawers clearly labeled by date and subject.
From here, the huntresses helped Antimony find what she needed to see, just as they had been instructed to. And they watched, just as they had been instructed to. They were neither friendly nor hostile, though there was obvious shortness with any requests. Their eyes perused Antimony's appearance and mannerisms, and they whispered to one another in moments of stillness.
D'themia, in the meeting room alone, waited for what he felt was far too long a time. He paced and muttered to himself, glared out the window, glowered at the door. He considered the hookah but didn't partake. He considered sitting down but choose to stay in motion. His patience drained with his footsteps, though, and then he would wait no longer. He made his own way down the hall, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness that on any other day would have been full of Miqo'te. That Antimony and Lamandu would try to convince him that it was mere coincidence that they would come investigating on this day out of all of them, was laughably ill-advised. He could only be grateful that the Sultansworn would be present to see their blatant gambit.
The Nunh pushed into the records room with a huff, the door slamming open and the echoing sound of it silencing the huntresses. They returned to their straight-backed, stoic postures as though struck with thunder. D'themia stomped forward, "You've had enough time! I am not obligated to entertain your presence beyond reason!"
Antimony worked largely in silence amongst the filing cabinets, drifting between an old desk and the rows of stashed paperwork as necessary. She would occasionally come to Lamandu with a question regarding the Blades, but otherwise largely left the lalafell captain to himself; his primary purpose had been to help gain her access to these records and that had been served. She did her best not to think of the bruise she could feel forming along her cheekbone, or the one surely blossoming hidden beneath her robes; nor did she let herself dwell on the matter of her daughter. At least not too much.
Despite these distractions, it didn't take long to recognize that what she'd tracked down from the Blades' end was point for point replicated on the Dodos' side - and then some. With the meticulous method that had earned her such high regard from her last employer, and won her work with the CRA, Antimony pulled and notated each indication of money transfer - from whom, to whom, how much, what it had been earmarked for if anything, which accounts were involved, and more - and built up a rather fortified and undeniable picture of financially subversive Dodo activity towards the Brass Blades of Pearl Lane.
When the Dodo nunh burst into the room, Antimony was working through her final triple checks of calculations. She frowned at the black marked paper beneath her fingers, took a steadying breath, and spoke without looking up from her work and with as firm a tone as possible, "You are obligated to conform to the letter of the law, which in this case includes my and the Captain's presence in this room."
While paperwork was a day-to-day thing that Lamandu had to deal with in the Pearl Lane offices, it had never been among his favorite of activities. It seemed to do a great deal to calm and steady the older woman who was neatly shuffling through papers, pulling and refiling the information that she was looking for. He wished she'd hurry up, but when D'themia returned demanding that they cease then, he had to side with Antimony. He was already buried in this mess, and so had to see it through, especially since in exchange for the use of his credentials she was skirting around the fault that lay within his own office. Or at least thats what she had better be doing. Not only that, but now that the Sultansworn were throwing themselves into the middle of things with loose, circumstantial accusations, their having legitimate business was a necessity.Â
So he stepped in the path of the Nunh, stating firmly, "The warrant I have allows us entry here, unless you want to be charged with the interference of an official investigation? You had said, that we could see everything that we wanted to see."
Antimony staggered at the blow, her head snapping to the side from the force of it. Silence filled the space between them for several seconds as the hand that had once gripped D'themia's arm moved to cradle her face where a harsh, red mark was rapidly forming beneath glasses set askew. Her tail stuck out in a rigid line behind her and quivered almost imperceptibly.
Then wide eyes glared back at the nunh and a moment later her opposite hand swung out. The solid slap of her palm on his cheek broke the silence, followed by an outraged, "You do not treat others in such a manner, young man. Nor do you insinuate such--such untrue things!"
The huntresses shifted and muttered when Antimony struck D'themia, a thing they had not done when their Nunh had hit the woman moments before. There was the click of armor and shifting glances as the dark man glared at Antimony, seeming to only belatedly notice that she'd hit him. Like mishandled clay, his face cracked into a smirk, and he exhaled a low chuckle. Then he stepped forward and struck Antimony hard in the gut, this time to knock her away. "If you think I require so much as a pretense of patience, or to entertain any syllable from you I do not wish to, then you are failing incredibly at understanding your situation! You may evaluate our finances if it entertains you, for there is nothing to find, but it will not save you when the Sultansworn discern your motive in this meddling. And believe me, it is not difficult to understand."
Any words that may have been on the tip of her tongue fled Antimony, along with her breath, as D'themia's hand collided with her abdomen. She fell back with a wheezing grunt, landing hard on her tail, and there was a thin clatter of her glasses skittering across the floor. She blinked rapidly, arms moving instinctively around her waist in both a defensive gesture and a reaction to the flaring ache there. Her tail felt like it was on fire, so she rolled to one side to ease the pressure off it.
She didn't immediately respond, shocked into silence by D'themia's violence.
"Hey now," Lamandu said, standing up from his seat, though the difference seen between the two was not great, "No need for any of that. You are both rather distraught over obviously personal matters. I'm not certain as though you were entirely truthful to me about why you needed to be here so badly, Miss Antimony. Though I think I am entirely clear now as to the reason." He felt bad for the poor woman, truely, but this was nothing that he wished to be involved in, especially now.
"I have stated my position with sufficient clarity. The matter may be closed for now." The Nunh stepped back and spun away, petting his knuckles as though they had been wounded. Or perhaps trying to wipe off some invisible dirt. "Lamandu, I suggest you urge Antimony to go about her investigation and speak of her once-daughter no more."
Unused to the effects of such physical attacks, it took a moment for Antimony to recover enough to struggle up, green eyes wide. "Captain, I assure you, it is not what it--" she began at Lamandu, but stopped short and twisted her neck up towards D'themia, then winced her way to her feet, "I will not just abandon matters concerning my daughter, and you have no right to demand such of me."
"You can either let it go now and see about the business you brought me here to see, or you can continue discussing your family matters with D'themia alone. There are other things I have to do with my time," Lamandu rather hoped she would choose the latter, he was not keen to see Learner again when the man returned, though he was sure that the likelihood would be large that he would get chased down afterwards.
"I think you should consider," D'themia said, standing still where he was with his tail shivering behind him. "That this is the only time I will ever invite you to make this inspection. The opportunity will never present itself again."
Antimony glared defiantly at D'themia's back, her tail curled gingerly against throbbing at the base of the limb where she'd landed on it. This lasted for several seconds before her ears drooped suddenly and she shifted her gaze to one side. "We will continue with the investigation as intended," she said and then added in a low mutter, "But I will not abandon the issue of my daughter."
D'themia thrust a hand at one of the huntresses. "You!" The woman perked up in mild surprise, but then her Nunh amended his instructions, turning and sweeping his hand through the room. "All of you. Escort the Captain and the Witch to the records room. Make they see everything they want to see, and alter nothing."
The first huntresses he'd motioned to nodded and moved in silence, stepping away from the wall with the click of her spear against her armored calves. As she angled out of the room, the other huntresses separated from the wall, watching Antimony and Lamandu, waiting for them.
Nodding towards the Dodo nunh, "Thank you, D'themia." Lamandu started immediately to the door, stopping when he reached the guidewoman. "Are you coming Antimony?" Best get this done soon, before Learner returned with more overzealous accusations.
Antimony turned reluctantly, wincing at the lingering ache in her gut and the way each step made her tail throb. She paused a moment to retrieve her bag and, after some searching, her glasses, and then made to follow Lamandu and the huntresses out the door.
***
The huntresses did as they were told, leaving the room the Nunh occupied in stoic silence. But once they were out of D'themia's sight, their composure slackened, and the three who walked in the rear began to mutter among themselves. None of their words were shared with those they escorted, though they spoke with an audible mix of confusion and frustration. The foremost huntress lead them dutifully down the hall and through a locked door into a musty interior room that did not bear any of the eccentricity of the rest of the Commune. The walls were plain and windowless, the oil lamps burning yellow with an unpleasant odor, and the room filled with rows upon rows of cabinets, drawers clearly labeled by date and subject.
From here, the huntresses helped Antimony find what she needed to see, just as they had been instructed to. And they watched, just as they had been instructed to. They were neither friendly nor hostile, though there was obvious shortness with any requests. Their eyes perused Antimony's appearance and mannerisms, and they whispered to one another in moments of stillness.
D'themia, in the meeting room alone, waited for what he felt was far too long a time. He paced and muttered to himself, glared out the window, glowered at the door. He considered the hookah but didn't partake. He considered sitting down but choose to stay in motion. His patience drained with his footsteps, though, and then he would wait no longer. He made his own way down the hall, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness that on any other day would have been full of Miqo'te. That Antimony and Lamandu would try to convince him that it was mere coincidence that they would come investigating on this day out of all of them, was laughably ill-advised. He could only be grateful that the Sultansworn would be present to see their blatant gambit.
The Nunh pushed into the records room with a huff, the door slamming open and the echoing sound of it silencing the huntresses. They returned to their straight-backed, stoic postures as though struck with thunder. D'themia stomped forward, "You've had enough time! I am not obligated to entertain your presence beyond reason!"
Antimony worked largely in silence amongst the filing cabinets, drifting between an old desk and the rows of stashed paperwork as necessary. She would occasionally come to Lamandu with a question regarding the Blades, but otherwise largely left the lalafell captain to himself; his primary purpose had been to help gain her access to these records and that had been served. She did her best not to think of the bruise she could feel forming along her cheekbone, or the one surely blossoming hidden beneath her robes; nor did she let herself dwell on the matter of her daughter. At least not too much.
Despite these distractions, it didn't take long to recognize that what she'd tracked down from the Blades' end was point for point replicated on the Dodos' side - and then some. With the meticulous method that had earned her such high regard from her last employer, and won her work with the CRA, Antimony pulled and notated each indication of money transfer - from whom, to whom, how much, what it had been earmarked for if anything, which accounts were involved, and more - and built up a rather fortified and undeniable picture of financially subversive Dodo activity towards the Brass Blades of Pearl Lane.
When the Dodo nunh burst into the room, Antimony was working through her final triple checks of calculations. She frowned at the black marked paper beneath her fingers, took a steadying breath, and spoke without looking up from her work and with as firm a tone as possible, "You are obligated to conform to the letter of the law, which in this case includes my and the Captain's presence in this room."
While paperwork was a day-to-day thing that Lamandu had to deal with in the Pearl Lane offices, it had never been among his favorite of activities. It seemed to do a great deal to calm and steady the older woman who was neatly shuffling through papers, pulling and refiling the information that she was looking for. He wished she'd hurry up, but when D'themia returned demanding that they cease then, he had to side with Antimony. He was already buried in this mess, and so had to see it through, especially since in exchange for the use of his credentials she was skirting around the fault that lay within his own office. Or at least thats what she had better be doing. Not only that, but now that the Sultansworn were throwing themselves into the middle of things with loose, circumstantial accusations, their having legitimate business was a necessity.Â
So he stepped in the path of the Nunh, stating firmly, "The warrant I have allows us entry here, unless you want to be charged with the interference of an official investigation? You had said, that we could see everything that we wanted to see."
![[Image: AntiThalSig.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/AntiThalSig.png)
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
