Chapter Twenty-Three:
The Power Of Persuasion
"I've told you, 'Dagio, that I'm just fine. Right as rain." Hodr grimaced and powered ahead of her patrolling partner. The few steps seemed to cost her a bit, though, and she came to an abrupt halt near a wall. "It's just a bit of a pull, is all," she muttered as she slid into a side lunge, then a forward lunge, then, feet together, she bent at the waist to touch her toes. Annoyed, she cursed at her shirt and the way that it shifted to display even more cleavage at her motions.
"If you're just fine, then I'm the Pope. Obviously I'm not," answered Bragi, trying to help her to a standing position, and look down her shirt without being too noticeable. "So obviously you're not. That leg's got you more mixed up than you think; you're calling me by my civilian name, Hodr darling."
"Call me darling again, Bragi, and I'll knock you on your arse," she grumbled. There was no true anger in her tone, though, and she sighed. "It's just stiff. Walking will do it good and it's not the whole leg. Just a hamstring." She shook him off and then suddenly offered him a faint, amused smile. "Anyway, I couldn't very well let you roam the streets alone, mate. Who knows what trouble you could get yourself into?"
"Yes, Signora Hodr," he answered. He still hadn't told her about that run-in with Bastet that he'd had a few weeks ago, and he didn't plan on it. "And Rome isn't the sort of place after dark for a lady with... hamstring troubles to go about alone, either." He flashed a wide grin, "it simply wouldn't be gentlemanly."
"Signorina and you bloody well know that." The tall redhead suddenly snorted with laughter and shook her head. "Idiot," she muttered. "But not entirely. You know better than to go out alone, too."
"Of course I do, Signorina," he answered. He'd learned his lesson the hard way. "Now, about how much patrolling do you think that it will take until your leg is better?"
Her smile was surprisingly wicked. "How long do you think you can keep up, lad?"
"As long as it takes," he answered in an equally devious tone. "Possibly longer."
"Hmph. Young men. Full of themselves." She still smiled, however. Turning away slightly, she stretched. "Okay, how about another hour and then home? I'll put heat on this muscle so you stop worrying."
"That sounds fine to me," he answered. "As long as the lady is happy."
"The lady is overjoyed. Come on then." She motioned him to walk next to her. "Maybe we'll get lucky and meet a purse snatcher."
No purse snatchers... no muggers, no roving gangs of bored teenagers, not even a speeding taxi had passed Eos on her patrol. Wishing she'd brought along that last can of Diet Coke she'd left in her fridge, she trudged along in the darkness. It had become a game, keeping out of the streetlights, sliding into shadows, staring at that one cute security guard who worked at the boutique three blocks away from the dealership... well, a girl had to have a little bit of play to spice up her work, didn't she?
She'd checked him already tonight. Eos found a comfortable spot against a brick wall and hid in the shadows, twirling a bit of hair about her finger. 'Gum,' she thought to herself. 'I should bring gum when I have to go out again.' Eos rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and sighed loudly. Another hour, she'd promised the rabbit. Another hour, and she could be home to catch the second half of the football game. Eos began to whistle her alma mater's fight song, pushing off from the wall and continuing along her evening route.
Around the corner, a tall redhead froze at the sound and threw an arm out to stop her companion. Then, wordless, she motioned for him to edge along the building, quiet. Once he had begun to move, Sailor Hodr picked her way forward, walking on the balls of her feet. Then, suddenly, she stepped out and around, spear glinting in a streetlight. "Hodr. Noord," she announced in clipped tones. "You are?"
So completely screwed. Eos attempted to sink into the unforgiving brick of the wall and failed miserably, mushing herself against the stone. Another Senshi, and one with a weapon... and not a Graikos. Swallowing hard, she decided that tentative sarcasm would take the place of courage for the moment. "Here." She waved, a gloved hand shooting into the light before being quickly yoinked back. "Eos. Graikos. And I gotta know," she rushed on, "does your getup itch in those inconvenient spots when the weather gets all clammy, or is it just me?"
"No, I reckon it's all of us. Gels, at least." Blue eyes narrowed, Hodr considered the other woman. Her own gloved hand held her spear loosely, long fingers wrapped around the carved shaft almost negligently. "So, lass, Graikos, hm? One of you tried to take a bite out of me a bit back. How do you stand?"
"Upright, at the moment. And without any Noord on my hitlist," Eos replied in a tone of forced playfulness, trying to ignore the weapon that Hodr held. She nervously tugged on fabric of her top, trying to decide whether to continue her witty banter from the shadows or step into the light. A moment's consideration, and she slowly emerged from her space, eyes on the other girl. "I suppose you can't say the same about the Graikos?"
Hodr shrugged slightly. "We do have a duty, you know, but I can't say that you've done anything terrifying yet." She paused. "Are you planning on it?"
Eos opened her mouth to reply, and then promptly shut it. Now was not the time for unabashed honesty. Swallowing, she affected a pose of less-than-intelligent and began to twirl bits of hair about her forefinger. Her head tilted to the side, she regarded Hodr with wide- eyed innocence. "I don't plan much. It takes, um, thinking." Eos could feel IQ points being deducted as she spoke. "So I just kinda react to whatever comes along and, um... yeah, that sort of stuff. Did you have a plan?"
The redhead's gaze was suddenly sharp and she smiled tightly. "Of course. Never leave home without it. It's called back-up." Neatly, she took a step to the side and adjusted her grip on her spear, bringing it down slightly so the point aimed at Eos. Then she whistled.
Bragi stepped around the corner and out of the shadows to where the other two senshi were having a battle of wits (or lack thereof). "Two ladies fighting by themselves, it just isn't right you know." Then he got a better look at Eos, "Oh, God... Tell me, do you need help getting into that outfit?"
The Senshi of the Dawn did her own double take at the fine specimen of male Noord that appeared next to Hodr. "Only if you need help getting out of yours," she replied with a wink and a cheekily blown kiss. "It'd be more fun than fighting in the streets, don't you think?"
"Oh yes, very. Hodr," he said, turning back to his teammate, "you're very certain that we have to fight this one? We can't just... kiss and make up?"
The tall redhead stared at her partner, momentarily lost for words by the exchange of words and evaluating gazes. Shaking her head roughly, she snorted. "Don't make me take you over my knee, mate. I'm not playing chaperone to two randy bloody senshi," she grimaced. "Two options, you lunatics. Fight or flight. There will be -no- kissing."
On a whim, the brunette turned to Hodr, full lips in a mock pout. "Aww. You wouldn't have to be left out, I'm sure we could fit you in somehow," she offered with a purr. "But, if we only have two options..." Eos trailed off, edging away from the pair. Rational thought was beginning to win out over the occasional nymphomania, and she wanted out. "I think we could just smile, curtsy, and call it a night, hm?"
Hodr took another moment to glance at her amused and appreciative teammate and sighed. "Fine. Right, then. Off with you, lass. Free pass tonight." As she turned to say something to Bragi, though, a crash sounded in a nearby alley, somewhere behind Eos. Metal on brick, a cascade of falling cans, the racket echoed through the quiet streets.
On alert, the redheaded Noord spun back towards Eos, eyes narrowing as she brought her spear up once more. "All alone, hm?" she muttered. "Lying's not very sportsmanlike, you know." She took a step closer.
The lone Graikos jumped at the noise as well, frightened out of her wits. Brown eyes as wide as saucers, she glanced at Hodr and gulped audibly. Fingers twitched, and Eos decided to forgo a last charming attempt at conversation in favor of simply getting out of there. "Sorry," she offered with a shrug, palms up as she began to backpedal. "Wish we'd done the kissing stuff instead." Another step back, and she clapped her hands together loudly. With a call of "By Dawn's Early Light," echoing in the darkness, Eos flung a milky ball of ever-increasing brightness at the spear. As soon as the orb left her fingers, she darted off into the alley behind her, hoping to find a place to hide.
A startled yelp escaped the Noord as the bubble burst on the spearpoint and she stumbled back a step when the light broke into pieces, flying everywhere. A flicker hit her face and she threw a hand up, suddenly half-blinded by the light. "Bragi," she snapped. "If you can still see, stop her, dammit." Falling back another step, she crouched and brought her spear up crossways.
Bragi nodded and took off after the girl. In retrospect, he probably should have said something, but his footsteps told that he was leaving. He'd only been hit on part of his vest, he could still see where she went easily. He had about three seconds to figure out how to stop her, and in those three seconds he thought of an idea that would work. "Double Speak," he mumbled to himself. Running some more after her and hoping that he was out of earshot of Hodr, he said in a loud, clear voice, "Let lip touch lip, and gently turn about and kiss me." He really, really, hoped that he was out of earshot of Hodr, or that Double Speak only worked on the intended targets.
Slowing up, Eos paused briefly before turning back. Any scrap of reasoning or coherent thought had been overwhelmed by that male Noord's extremely persuasive suggestion. That little voice that had initially offered to help him out of his clothing was now screaming with giddiness. She walked back slowly and deliberately, gaze fixed on Bragi through dark eyelashes. One gloved hand reached up to stroke his cheek as Eos pressed her lips to his, completely oblivious to the fact that snogging the enemy was probably not the foremost of exit strategies.
I like her more and more, thought Bragi to himself as Eos continued to snog his face off. He then had to stifle the request to ask her to continue, and instead broke away from her kiss and said, "I think that it would be very nice of you if you went back with me, and apologized for what you've done, don't you?" He had to focus on his words not saying something like "take off your clothes" hard enough that he didn't have time for his usual eloquence. A little voice in the back of his head said that it would be wrong for him to do that while using his powers. He was sure, somehow, Andante was behind it all.
Eos chewed the bottom of her lip, clearly disappointed that she had to stop kissing that nice young man. He had nice lips, and he smelled good, and... "Apologize?" She considered this for a full second and a half. "Well, you're right, it's probably a good idea," she agreed, interlacing her fingers in his. "It wasn't the nicest thing to do, in retrospect. I bet she's a very sweet person, y'know, when she's not pointing sharp things at people," Eos offered, heading back to the scene of the crime.
The "sharp thing" was currently lying harmlessly on the ground as Hodr continued to rub her eyes, cursing softly in English. A final swipe obliterated the remaning brightness and her hands dropped to her sides again as her head raised. "Oh, right, then," she muttered, switching back to Italian. "Good work, Bragi." Initial anger over, though, the redheaded Noord obviously had no clue how to proceed. She glanced at her partner as she bent to retrieve her spear.
Bragi grinned brightly at Hodr and said, "We kissed and made up." He turned and whispered to Eos, "Let lips touch lips again, and then make your words of apology to Hodr." Bragi was really enjoying this far too much; he was a bastard, but an eloquent one at that.
Eos managed a sound caught between a purr and a giggle as she kissed Bragi thoroughly in a fashion that might have made a lesser man gasp for air. Traciing her tongue over her lower lip, she turned back to face Hodr with the most sincerely apologetic whipped-puppy look available in her bank of expressions. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to get that stuff all over you. Honestly, I'm awfully sorry about that happening. Pointy things scare me, and there were two of you and one of me, and well..." Eos managed a sheepish grin that could have lit up the darkness better than any of her attacks. "Sorry 'bout that, doll."
Struck dumb twice in one night; this was getting to be a trend that was certain to put her in a bad mood. Hodr stared in utter disbelief at the contrite woman in front of her for a long moment before a grimace slowly warped her aristocratic face. "Are you completely off your head, gel?"
"No," she replied with a shake of her head, dual ponytails swishing back and forth. "It really wasn't very nice; then again, you did say you were gonna let me pass, and then you didn't. But really, I -am- sorry for throwing that stuff at you." She reached forward to brush a bit of the remaining and quickly dimming light from Hodr's fuku.
The redhead froze at the other woman's touch, looking like she had swallowed a frog. Snapping out of it, she pushed Eos' hand away impatiently. "Yes, fine. Apology accepted," she muttered. "Look it's already fading. Thank you, yes."
Another dazzling smile, and Eos hopped from one foot to another in delight. "That's -great-," she squealed. "No hard feelings, we can all go home, and nobody gets hurt. What a fantastic patrol." She gave Bragi an impulsive little kiss on the cheek and turned to leave. A rather loud noise echoed from the same spot as before, prompting her to freeze and pray that the one with the spear didn't point it at her again.
"Oh, great!" came a voice from behind. "That's how many RotS I've broken in one - "
The female voice stopped, apparently noticing the three senshi standing there. The figure of a tall teenage girl with short, textured hair in a big poofy dress stepped out of the shadows.
Somehow relieved to have another new face in the mix, Hodr took a step back and brought her spear up crossways over her body. "Hodr of the Noord," she snapped, "and you are?"
"Noord?" the girl repeated. "I don't think I've seen one of you before... I'm Pandora. Graikos. And the rest of you? It's only fair that we all know each other."
At the sound of the word 'Graikos,' Eos let out a noisy sigh of relief. "Oh my God, I am SO happy to see you," she gushed, smile stretching from ear to ear. "I'm Eos, Graikos too. And they're both Noord." She approached Pandora, lowering her voice and toning down the enthusiasm. "And I was just about to get the hell outta here, so if you'd like to join me, maybe we can make a break for it."
Pandora blinked. Well, at least she'd found another teammate. "They'd catch up. I'm a ballerina, not a track star. But I guess it's worth a shot," she whispered back.
Eos nodded and straightened up, sliding in front of her newfound ally. "Well, guess it's time for us to be going. No hard feelings, right?" She grinned at Hodr before turning to Bragi. "And you're an awfully nice boy, but we'll just have to end our playdate early. Perhaps another time?"
"Anytime, bella," said Bragi, grinning like the fiend that he was. "I'd give you my number, but I'm afraid that just wouldn't be kosher." He noticed Hodr glaring at him just a bit, he coughed lightly and mumbled to himself, "single speak." Bragi choose that moment to see if it really was just the voice, and without his powers said, "May I at least kiss you goodbye, oh goddess of the morning?"
"Goddess of the..." Eos flushed crimson at the flowery wording, a sucker for such phrasing no matter the time of day. She cast a sideways glance at Pandora and shrugged as if to say, 'what harm could it do.' She cleared her throat and grinned. "I, well, I suppose so, if you'd like." Eos took that moment to wink at Hodr as well, clearly enjoying the bit of annoyance her cross-faction flirtation was causing the other Noord.
"Thank you, my dear," answered Bragi. He stepped forward, and as he did so he could feel Hodr's eyes shooting daggers at his back. He picked up her gloved hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed it lightly. Then he went in for the kill. He grabbed her by the waist with his free hand, leaned into it, and silently cursed his mask for being so close to his mouth. After a few moments, their lips parted, and he leaned back up and let go of her waist. "This is perhaps the best senshi battle I have ever been in. We shall have to meet again, bella."
"If you are quite through," Hodr drawled, hiding her growing annoyance. "You know it's not nice to show the opponent how easily you can slip a knife in their back." A faint flicker of a smile played around her full mouth. She knew she was being needlessly antagonistic, hinting at things that she knew Bragi would never do, but, dammit, couldn't that boy take anything seriously if it came in a skirt? Shouldering her spear, she motioned ahead with her free hand. "Go," she ordered the two Graikos. Then she smiled again and it was warmer. "We won't follow."
Reeling more than just slightly, Eos stumbled back and grabbed onto Pandora's shoulder to steady herself. Good kisser. Hell, great kisser. If only she could expect every Senshi confrontation to happen like this. "Right, then," she managed, a bit breathless. "Time to go." She licked her lips, eyes still locked on Bragi. Nice. Very nice. With a rather girlish giggle, she turned, cape billowing behind her. "You coming, hon?"
Pandora paused. Okay, not just the senshi she'd met before were crazy. She must be the only sane one around. The purple-haired one nodded and turned around to follow Eos.
She waited until she was certain that the Graikos were far away, lost to the shadows of night-blanketed Rome. Then Hodr spun on her heel and glared at her teammate. "Just what the bloody hell did you think you were doing, Bragi?" she hissed. Stepping forward, she forced him back to the wall, eyes flashing. "What would you have done if she had sucker-punched you? Pulled a hidden knife and rammed it in while you were checking her tonsils?"
Tension sang through her slim body and her hands were tight on her spear. "This isn't a game, 'Dagio. This isn't a dating service. This is real life and I'm not going to let you get hurt if I can stop it."
Bragi was rather taken aback by the spear-wielding woman who seemed to loom over him. For a moment, the idea crossed his mind that he'd be able to smooth talk his way out of it, as usual. Hodr, though, got rid of that idea quite quickly. There's just something about a woman yelling at you, while carrying a big, pointy stick.
"Si, Signorina," he mumbled. The best night of patrolling that he'd ever had, and he was getting yelled at because of it. So what that he'd taken a few liberties? If he was going to be a costumed idiot running around Rome getting beaten up, a little compensation would be nice. He looked like a kid who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar, knowing that he was in trouble, but defiant in the end. "I`ve learned my lesson."
Next time, don't do this with Hodr around.
"Did you?" she snapped. "Did you really learn it? If that had been me, you would have been picking up your teeth from the bloody ground." She scowled, shaking her head. "Shite, lad. It's one thing to play games when you have them under your spell but lifting the spell and doing it again? Are you barmy?"
"No," he said, beginning to become a little defensive. "But I am a good judge of people. She obviously didn't want to fight, and she was attracted to me before I turned on the charm, and trust me I know the difference between genuine and fake. The obvious point to make is she wasn't you -- I know better than that, and I could tell it." He flashed her a large grin, "you know that I wouldn't risk my life -- I'm vain, not stupid."
"You know that, too?" The tall redhead stepped back and sighed, back abruptly relaxing and shoulders rolling out kinks. "Just... Bragi, 'Dagio, please." Reaching up, she rubbed a gloved hand over her forehead. "Keep them under the spell longer. I know she didn't want to fight and you fancy yourself a ladies' man but there is always a chance that she's a bloody good actress and that you were wrong."
Pale blue eyes bored into his as she abruptly lifted her head. "Just be careful or else I'll be taking you over my knee for a right spanking."
"Mmm, kinky," said Bragi.
The briefest smile answered him as she turned on her heel and began walking. "No, kinky would be if I had one of Savina's little nun- friends doing it to you."
Bragi looked slightly grim at that prospect, and squished his eyebrows together in consternation. "My sister wants to be a nun." He began walking after Hodr. "I don't think I like the idea; it'd upset `Dante."
Thrown for a moment, Hodr paused and looked over her shoulder again. "Which idea? Being spanked by a nun or your sister becoming a nun?"
"Being spanked," he answered bluntly. "I don't know why she wants to become a nun, but if that's what she wants..." he shrugged, "at least I don't have to worry about beating up her boyfriends."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Hodr laughed softly and began walking once more, tilting her spear back to rest on her shoulder. "We should trade stories. My sister throws a wobbly every time she has to introduce one of her boyfriends to me. Seems to think I'm going to kick their head in."
"A boy breaks my little sister's heart, I break his face," `Dagio answered nonchalantly. "I don't trust boys, I know how they think. I'm the older brother."
"Careful there or I might think you're decent enough to introduce to my sister."
"I doubt it," grinned the Noord. "I'm hardly the type to take home. Introducing a young English lady to an Italian gentleman? That's just asking for trouble."
"Introducing -anyone- to my sister is asking for trouble." The redhead looked skywards and frowned slightly. "It's getting pretty late. I reckon it's time to call it a night. What do you think?"
"My dear lady Hodr," said Bragi, "any evening spent with you is enchanting. We have, though, already managed to find one other group of senshi, and we all walked away unscathed. I say let's quit while we're ahead. Shall we?" he pointed down the alley where the brighter parts of Rome lay.
"Yeah." She shot him a vivid grin. "Come on, lad. Let's get you tucked into your bed, safe and sound and dreaming of things that I really don't want to know about." Chuckling, Hodr led her teammate off, back into the depths of the city, heading surely back towards their respective homes. They had both earned a peaceful night's sleep.