[i]21st First Seed, Evening[/i] [hr] “Well now, you’re something of a magnificent creature, aren’t you?” The woman in red asked, sat straight backed and imposing in her chair, opposite the Cathay-rant who was slouched in his own, hunched over the desk, his nostrils wide as he exhaled slowly. Her compliment came off as far more of a threat to him than anything else, but he remained stoic in his place. She sighed, letting a breathy chuckle trail from the end of it as she crossed one leg over the other. Her eyes were green too, and as intense as Dro’Sintaba’s. “Allow me to introduce myself,” she said, reaching out her hand to him, “my name is Viatrix Leotelli, I am the Commander of the City Guard,” she said with a smile. Again, it was not friendly. The Khajiit reluctantly shook it with his own, even if she possessed an incredibly large presence, in sheer size he dwarfed the Imperial. “Dro’Sintaba,” he replied frankly. That made her smile again, the skin around her eyes was cut through with wrinkles, and there was a scar down the left side of her face from her forehead to her neck that was visible when she tilted her head enough so that her raven coloured hair moved to reveal it. “Why the need to visit?” Sintaba asked, narrowing his eyes as he leaned back into his chair. “I wanted to introduce myself to the new owner of this Adventurer’s Guild, of course,” Viatrix answered in a sour-sweet tone. “There’s talk all over town of your deeds already. Rescuing a child’s ball from a hole — helping a farmer find an onion thief, a mystery of a missing lover. Impressive.” Dro’Sintaba sighed again, and watched as a trail of dust sprinkled from the ceiling to the centre of his desk. His eyes tracked it upwards to a slit in the attics floorboards that was just big enough for someone to peep through. That someone was gone now and had made herself scarce… For all of Viatrix’s talk, she was not observant enough to have spotted it, thankfully. “They’re new. I set them to small tasks, to learn about this city, and to become comfortable with each other,” he rumbled out, placing a relaxed hand on the desk. “Mmm,” Viatrix hummed, nodding in agreement. “Not a terrible idea. You’re a clever fellow, you must know why I’m really here.” She said, cutting through the small talk to land herself at the end of the page she wanted to be on with the khajiit. “You’re keeping an eye on us. Making sure we don’t cause trouble,” Dro’Sintaba answered, watching her with a powerful gaze. “Exactly,” she said, clapping her hands together. “We encourage good behaviour, protection of the town and of Cyrodiil at large, we want peace and the rule of law to prevail. If your guild proves to be problematic, and if your guild goes down a path of falling from grace we will have to intervene...” “Seems drastic to warn me of this,” Dro’Sintaba huffed defensively. “Like you said, we’re retrieving balls and helping the elderly with menial tasks… Hardly starting an underground uprising,” he continued. “It’s day one of my business and the City Guard is at my front door…” “Well, let’s just say that we know a thing or two about [i]you[/i],” Viatrix replied quickly, casting a glare across the desk. “You may be hiding behind this desk, and behind a [i]clearly[/i] more charming woman, but we know about you, Dro’Sintaba… [i]I[/i] know about you.” He wasn’t expecting that, if he had been a man that was easier to shake he might have flinched in his seat, instead he maintained his composure and made sure not to be the one to break the eye contact. His nostrils flared again, and the previously relaxed hand tensed, but she didn’t notice. Who was this woman? And what had he done to her? He did not recognise her face, nor her name… But he was shaken by her now. “Whatever you claim to know, whatever you think I am… That is years behind me Commander,” Dro’Sintaba said, trying to soften the woman, to give her any kind of reassurance. She then broke eye contact with him, glancing sidelong out of the window at the light rain that was landing against the glass, nodding before she rose from her seat. “Well I shall hope that those years don’t catch up with you,” Viatrix said. “Just know that we are watching you, and should your guild cause [i]any trouble[/i]…” The Imperial did not have to finish her sentence. [hr] “Well at least she thinks I’m charming,” Ivy commented, appearing behind the Khajiit after he had closed the door on her. “So you [i]were[/i] listening, then?” Dro’Sintaba asked with a light chuckle, feeling the tension leave his body now that Viatrix had made her exit. The slender Dunmer joined him at his side with a hand on her hip. “Not intentionally, I was simply lying on the floor and happened to hear it…” she answered, the mischief in her eyes betraying her choice of words. “See I really do think that we might also benefit from keeping an eye or two of our own on her too… Don’t you think?” She asked, her deep red eyes suddenly serious, even if she still wore a smirk. “I do,” Dro’Sintaba replied. He did wonder what his companion made of Viatrix’s confession, and what Ivy might have been thinking up to fill in the gaps of her knowledge. There was a part of him that was regretful as he looked down at her. If she was suspicious of him, she didn’t show it at all. Meanwhile, Ivy certainly sensed that the Khajiit was busy building a wall — she wasn’t concerned with what he was trying to hide, she didn’t see the past or fear it as he did, she only knew his present and his future and that was enough to keep her tied to his side. “Come on, the welcome feast is almost ready — I expect our employees are hungry now that they’re unpacked and settled, we should join them.” As she suggested it, she placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing him gently, she could practically feel how Viatrix’s threatening words had settled in the Khajiit. He thought about it for a moment, and turned to look back down the hallway. “Hmmm,” he pondered aloud. “I think I’ll stay in my room, actually,” he sighed heavily. “Headache,” he added before frowning. “Well, alright then. How about I bring you a plate of food later though?” She asked, her free hand finding his forearm to give their introverted leader a squeeze. “I’ve got chicken and potatoes,” she teased, leaning into his huge form as if to let some of her own joy spill into him. “That would be delightful,” he replied, forcing a smile onto his face, even if the rest of him seemed to sink. There was much to think about now. “You have fun,” he said, placing his own huge hand onto her dainty and boney shoulder. “Just don’t go getting them all drunk, yes?” “Ohhh Sinty. I can’t promise a thing like that now can I?” She smirked before relinquishing her hold on him to make her way to the guildhall, there was a sway in the way that she moved that Dro’Sintaba simply watched and admired before he skulked quietly away to his own rest.