"How much longer you think we’re going to be here?” the light feminine voice drifted in through the balcony door, where her thin frame was bent over as a tiny brush painted a deep blue over manicured toenails.

“Till the job is done,” a deeper voice said as a second pair of bare feet stepped out onto the balcony, the tall, well-built frame leaning in the doorway. “You agreed to help out, so you stay till it’s complete.”
A nail finished, dark eyes looking it over once more as she softly blew on it, her hard gaze rose a moment later to the male’s face, a hint of impatience present. “Wasn’t asking because I was thinking of leaving before it’s done, just trying to plan.”

“Well, don’t make any plans. If I had my way, this would last forever and you wouldn’t be going back to that backwards ass world,” coming out further onto the balcony, heavy hands settling onto the railings as he leaned over. “I always thought the violence was bad around us, but every time you come home, it seems like that world is so much the worse.”

“Violence is everywhere, and probably worst in the places you can’t see it,” almost in a philosophical tone as her gaze and hands were redirected to her toenails and paint once more. The male shook his head slowly, looking down on the dim-lighted city streets below; a warm breeze blowing up around his naked upper torso, past him and dancing in the female’s dark hair. Finally, he spoke once again, more quietly.

“Rainea said he may have a lead on Calper.” The female’s gaze shifted up at him, nail brush pausing mid-stroke. She said nothing to hurry him along; the cool stare of her impatience was enough. “He goes out to a – a club of sorts on the weekends…usually. But no one knows the location ahead of time and only a few go with him. The rest of the gang goes out to other bars and clubs, each with one in the group wearing a replicate of Calper’s jacket, even adding in the touch of his scar across his forehead. So you can follow who you think might be him, but in more than likely it is just a decoy.”

“So how does this translate to a lead?” an impatient question broke in, eyes slowly shifting back to continue on with her nails.

“I’m getting there, Viera, just hold your horses,” he snapped back. “It seems that Calper does actually favor one club more than the others, or so our inside source believes. All we need to do is be at that club one weekend and nab him.” A shrug came from her shoulders, finally leaning down to blow on the last toenail before screwing down the cap on the polish and tossing it into a small travel bag that sat nearby.

“Yeah, but you still need to get him alone, and the real one will have his best and most brutal guards with him.” Trent stole a glance over his shoulder at her, steely gaze running up and down her body for a moment before turning back. A soft growl rose as she was not in a mood for such things. A quick leap out of the chair led her towards him where her fist landed hard on the side of his upper arm. “Give up.” He glared back at her, grabbed the wrist of the fist that had hit him, yanking her towards him.

“You never would have hit me in such anger before, you used to like it when I looked at you!” She pulled back a bit to try and get her hand loose, but his other hand just grabbed at her other arm. “I am still...” But he never got to finish his phrase. At that moment, a loud thud thud thud came from the door to their hotel room. His glance towards it gave her the chance to pull away from him and march back inside the room and towards the door, and standing on tiptoes, peered through the eyehole.

“No one is out there,” she said in observation before stepping back and grabbing one of the small knives that lay on the bathroom’s outer sink counter top before opening the door and sticking her head out to look down the hallway in both directions. Seeing no one, she finally looked at the floor and saw a small basket there with a dozen white roses sitting there and an envelope on top. She blinked, and before she knew it, Trent was reaching down to grab up the basket.

“It’s got your name on the envelope, but might be an assassination attempt. You should let me read it,” setting down the basket on the luggage rack and ripping open the top of the envelope. A rough growl rose from behind him as a soft hand was felt on the back of his neck, followed by nails digging into his skin.

“I suggest you give me that envelope now before you start losing blood,” she was annoyed. She had been a part of Rhydin for a good chunk of time now, and was far more independent and strong-willed about personal things than she once had been. He turned his head enough to glare at her with one eye, the envelope coming up with his hand.

“Take it.” As it was snatched from his hand, she released his neck and moved to the balcony, getting away from him. Leaning with her arms on the balcony, the note held before her, her eyes widened at seeing the first word Lavi. It was a letter from the man she loved, a man who until now, she hadn’t seen or spoken with in nearly two months’ time. She slowly read the note once, and then once more before carefully folding it and pressing the paper to her lips, then sliding it carefully away into her pocket.

Trent was standing in the doorway that led out to the balcony, frowning as he watched her. She looked back up at him, standing tall herself even though she was a foot shorter than he. “We’re finishing the job this weekend, even if I have to kill Calper myself.” He stood tight-lipped, not sure exactly what to say, and then just smirked at her.

“I suppose that is good then, considering Rainea wanted you as the stripper in the favored club of Calper to draw him away from the others.”

“Good, but I will need to go shopping then for a skanky enough outfit to attract the bastard.” That settled, she pushed a shoulder into him to walk past and to the bathroom for a long shower, time for her own thoughts and daydreams of home. And dwell they did, mainly on the man she called Cobra, wondering how in the heavens he had managed to deliver such a note and gift when he was supposed to have no idea where she was.

All the while, a dark shadow from the building next to theirs was watching, yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness as triangle ears flicked with some of the harsh words spoken, and finally just smiling as his boxy head came down to rest on two big, black paws.