[center][h3]Loom: Midtown Swait District[/h3]
[i]Day 2, Evening, 2254[/i]
Roanne, Ian[/center]

“Heh.” Roanne's shoulders strained with contained laughter as she smiled back. That [i]look[/i] on his face was downright murderous, the muscle on his forehead so tense she could see a vein pop. He seemed to be talking more to himself than her at first, his hands unable to decide whether or not they wanted to attack as he drew and withdrew an instrument. Were she prey, she would have felt fidgety, even afraid, but the relaxed curve of her back and the hilt held loosely in her fingers betrayed no such sentiments. She wasn't an idiot—he could attack at any moment—but making her guard seem low was meant to be placating and energy conserving. 

She spat out a gob of blood that had been collecting in her mouth. “I'm not sure if there's anyone else in Loom as heavy-handed and ignorant as mages. Give them a glimpse of the universe and they get the idea that all of creation answers to them. There's nothing to be gained by fighting you, so I'm going to try and help you understand what you just walked into.”

It was too early to be exerting herself again, but she put on a good show, legs steady even as she cradled one arm around the bloody claw attached to her side. Casually, she made her way over to the three boys groaning on the asphalt. The one with the gray hoodie yelped as she poked him with her foot. “These are called gangsters. Gangsters rob and kill people who intrude on their turf. I stopped them. Like that hideous corpse over there—I stopped it from killing more people, nothing more, nothing less.”

Sighing, Roanne swung the flat of her blade over her shoulder and slowly began to walk towards the mage. Even without his introduction, she could see it—the aura, like bright red smoke wisping off his body before dissipating into the air, which marked him as a human in possession of magic. “That view from the Academy is just so [i]high[/i], isn't it? Must be disorienting, condescending all the way down here to tell me what Hazumi's idea of law is. All I'm concerned with is keeping people who can't defend themselves away from the cowering monsters in front of you. Monsters that, by the way, you failed to keep in check just now.”

If Ian didn't flinch away or otherwise move, he'd find himself side by side with the angel as she sauntered ever forward. Her eyes were more gold than green the closer they were, almost metallic. And she was still smiling. 

[@Themerlinhawk]