Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02

He'd make a great Dunmer, he already had the jet black hair, she noticed idly. He wasn't as fair as most of the rest, no doubt one of the group who'd been adopted by the tribe. He had dark brown eyes, near black, and tanned skin. With Aina's blond hair and blue eyes, he even looked the part of her shadow. He approached and came to hover a few feet away, nodding politely.

"This is Lucas." Aina pipped in after neither of them offered to do more than stare each other down. "Lucas, this is Inanna." Inanna inclined her head, though she was certain Lucas already knew that.

"How do you do Sera?" She murmured politely. "I'd offer you a seat as well, but furniture appears to be at a premium." She glanced around the empty room.

He stiffened visibly. "We can only keep what we can carry." He said tightly.

"I know." She said softly. He didn't seem to know how to answer that, so he just shifted and glanced towards Aina, who cleared her throat.

"So...so you will be helping us then?" She asked carefully, tipping her head towards Inanna. Her eyes were light blue, but there was something about the shape of them that looked rather familiar. This must be the daughter he spoke of. Inanna nodded.

"However I can, if you want me to."

"Why?" Lucas's voice was still strained. She met his narrowed gaze, her face twisting into a sardonic grin.

"Why not?"

"It...it ah, does seem rather strange that you should put yourself out for complete strangers." Aina offered more diplomatically.

'Definitely the daughter of...what? Alpha he was going to say? Yes, the Alpha's daughter. A leader in training.'

"Well...I consider your father a friend, not a stranger. So it's not so extraordinary."

Aina blinked at that. "Friend? Didn't you just meet?"

Inanna shook her head and smiled. "No, we met over a handful of mutual enemies a few months ago and ran into one another a few times since. I was here before, clearing the cellar, as it were...you didn't know that?"

The girl frowned; obviously displeased that something had slipped by her. Lucas looked equally put out. 'Such a difficult age,' she thought, keeping her smile of amusement to herself. But then she considered anyone under thirty to be too young for her. Most of her own people would still consider her young and impetuous, and she was rapidly approaching her first century.

"I wouldn't worry about it." She offered. "He probably didn't want to mention it until he was a little more sure of me himself." It sounded like a reasonable explanation to her. She wondered if he'd told anyone about that first encounter. She assumed Mirisa might know since, as Feric had explained, she was his second. She could only guess that he hadn't mentioned the one at the lake. Aina nodded politely and promptly changed the subject.

Aina told her a little more about their people as she finished her food, though she remained careful and politic in what she said, so she told her very little more than what Feric had already explained during the trip back. Lucas remained silent, but hovered nearby at Aina's shoulder. She thanked Aina who gave her a sweet but tired smile.

It broke Inanna's heart to see such a young person having to worry like these two obviously did. They should be out on the hunt, wild and fearless, not hiding timidly in these pitiful ruins waiting and worrying like old women. The two excused themselves and left, Aina clearly distracted, and Lucas casting a few more covert glances at Inanna before they vanished.

She wasn't alone too much longer as Feric returned not long after his daughter and her protector had left. He returned alone. She was tired and getting a little edgy, but he was a surprisingly welcome sight and she felt her spirits lighten. She smiled and stood, stretching her arms over her head and listening with satisfaction as the bones of her spine popped and cracked themselves into a more comfortable position.

He winced.

"You ok? You look as tired as I feel."

Her smiled deepened and she sauntered towards him, laying a hand on his chest and looking up into his eyes.

"Not too tired." She purred. She may have been ready to drop a minute ago, but there was something about this particular man that had her blood pumping. Even hormones didn't explain her intense urge to wrap her legs around him and pin him to the nearest wall. It was like some strange alchemy or enchantment, but her other senses could detect nothing like that. Maybe he was just that good.

Feric held his breath and tried to ignore the hand on his chest and the scorching look in her eyes that screamed 'take me now.' A good portion of him was delighted by the prospect and warmed by the memory of her sleek frame writhing under him, but a tiny sliver was ringing the warning bells and telling him to get as far from her as he could. Whatever remained of his tired mind was howling madly and demanding he take her and crush her body with his so he could sink his teeth back into that delicious flesh.

He very carefully reached up and removed her hand and took a step back needing desperately to get space between them.

"We, ah..probably shouldn't..." he muttered, and glanced towards the door, thinking he heard something and feeling on edge. She frowned at him. He felt like an asshole as he watched her usual expression of amused confidence slip for a brief second in confusion before she recovered her easy humor and shrugged. He had started this after all, but he knew if he continued he wouldn't be able to walk away as casually as she would once she decided she'd had enough.

"Sure. You're the boss." She turned away and went back to grab her things. She looked back and smirked at him, "Let me know if you change your mind. I promise I won't tattle." She winked as she passed him.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got a place a few hours from here." He shook his head.

"Don't go tonight. We haven't got much, but there's plenty of space. We have sleeping mats, so you can get at least a couple hours sleep first. You won't be as sharp if you go out there this tired." He watched her pause to consider it, fighting down his own conflict, and quashing his less reasonable desires to see her stay, the ones that weren't particularly interested in making sure she got sleep that night.

Eventually she nodded.

"Yeah, alright, I might as well. Where do you want me?" She hadn't put anything suggestive in her tone or words, but he still couldn't help but think of exactly where he wanted her. He clenched his jaw then cleared his throat.

"Well, if you follow me I'm sure we can find something.

She followed him through the maze of halls she'd seen at a passing glance the last time she was there and he took her to a smaller ante chamber. There was a fire pit set up and a couple of bed rolls laid out beside it.

"No one's using the room, so you get it to yourself." He gestured to the room. "Like I said it's not much, but you can get a few hours sleep at least. Feel free to stay as long as you need to." She nodded.

"So they're ok with me then?" He nodded.

"Enough for now at least. Everyone understands the need for outside help right now, but it's still unnerving."

"For you?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head. "No." His mouth quirked. "I probably shouldn't admit it, but I trust you." Again she was touched. Where she came from trust was an important thing, perhaps the most important, and it was never given easily or lightly. She smiled faintly. But then she trusted him too didn't she? She'd not thought about it, but now, looking at him contemplatively, she knew implicitly that she did. His smirked widened, though there was a certain self-conscious quality to it, it looked a touch forced.

"This is where you say you trust me too." he whispered to her, and she laughed breaking the slight tension that had been created by his admission.

"I trust you too." She answered still laughing. He smiled, his eyes glittering and for a moment it looked like he wanted to say something else. He paused however and his smile faded. He only nodded and looked down, breaking her gaze.

"Well, I should be letting you get some rest then. Sleep well." He nodded to her again, barely making eye contact before turning and leaving the room rather hastily. Hastily in her opinion anyway. She let her mild smile slip off when he left, it was making her face ache.

She growled low in her throat. She was used to getting what she wanted, and she couldn't think of anything she wanted more right at that moment than the man who'd just walked out the door. A tiny voice questioned the force of that desire, but most of her just wanted to hurt something. She lay down and stretched out on the bed roll and closed her eyes, her mind slipping into sleep with thoughts of all the clever methods she planned on using to eliminate the competition, starting with the hunters.

She slept deeply and dreamt of spiders in the darkness. It was a good omen.