- Chapter Four: Headdress -
'Saved by Reiko' the most unlikely phase to ever be uttered, that was precisely what had happened following agonizingly awkward moments stretched into gradually less comfortable eons, the odd pattern of his heartbeat broken only by the feeble whimper of flame threatening to curl in on itself and die on the cheaply crafted wick. Fueled by self-preservation and the innate fear of loneliness, whatever deep realizations or scrambled deals had been struck in the encroaching shades of darkness threatening to overtake the lieutenant's canvas war tent had been placed on ice as it were, the General abandoning the trite concern of what familiar flash of flesh could be seen in the fleeting flames and simply barreled in with the summons. Serpentine beasts striking with less deadly precision and speed, the muscular intruder moved swiftly as to not broker argument and with some small measure of stealth to observe any possible trace of a crumb that could be used for later extortion; truly the only surprising part was that Reiko himself was acting the messenger, although granted even that was only mildly out of place.
"It is time." Words spoken curtly by the tongue of a man that had endeavored with blood and sweat to make his ambitions a reality, the due relief etched into each syllable was only pronounced further by the flaring of nostrils that no shortage of light could hinder, "Shao Kahn has issued the order for the succubus to seduce and eliminate, as per my request." Preamble as foreign a concept as personal space to the meat-head looking mother, the handsy bastard grabbed Zyanya by the forearm and bodily yanked her to her feet.
Negative degree air gusting suddenly through the carelessly unattended slit to gut what remained of the trembling candlelight, in the brief instant before the dying sherbet glow was snuffed the fangs of paranoia barred themselves, the demoness acutely weary of a certain set of pupil-less turquoise pebbles falling upon the faint traces of a mauve five-fingered reminder to obey the first time. Cursing her naturally fair complexion and the silvery-rose scars that multiplied in number each time their CO got bored, the hellion reached subconsciously to hide the evidence and gazed in the direction of the General, "Understood. I..." Flickering momentarily to Ko'atal before rotating back around to give Reiko the attention he so plainly sought, she could feel her eyes moisten ever-so-slightly at how things had been left unsaid between the two, "I'll be right in for debriefing." And there it was again, the unbearable crushing weight in the center of her heart that intensified two-fold each and every time she failed to communicate something to her lover, this time the festering wound sliced with a sacred dagger blessed in the cursed blood of Shinnook; gapping hole only growing with each inaction or white lie, under no circumstances was the impling prepared to let anyone see her cry. "I'll be there."
Observing the unbroken sigh hanging over the heads of the duo by an unraveling string - the mighty Osh-Tekk reaching pitifully out to the abomination despite the wintry sting of rejection permeating the air while the filthy heathen stained beyond even the cleansing of death retreated further and further into herself - Reiko noted that not all was joyous. Vindicated in that it had been grossly obnoxious for the troops to endure the impenetrable walls of the couple's united front, not to mention how degrading it was having to beg that bitch for sloppy seconds, the Outworlder took a second to truly enjoy the cracks that were revealing themselves before refusing, "No."
Whereas Ko'atal was baffled by the apparent lack of the two-legged vermin passing along the possibility that he would be escorting his little girlfriend through the wildlands and into the city of Si'Sil-on, Zyanya merely nodded; granting leave to gather their clothing and whatever other equipment was deemed necessary via a subtle wave of the hand, he proceeded to gloat with a smirk, "Shame. Had I known she could follow orders and keep secrets from her beloved paramour, I wouldn't have had to march with death glaring at my back this whole time." Poison laced into the lash and seeping deeper into the fissures, Reiko shrugged, "No matter. The pair of you are to rendezvous with the Edenians Rain and Tanya outside of Ti'ian and head to Si'Sil-on, where Special Lieutenant Lunga is rumored to be. From there, Rain will act as both a friend and a dealer of special goods and present Lunga with two exotic beauties," snorting, it was quite clear that the General personally favored neither the albino-esque demon nor the lovely tawny lioness, "a gift in the hopes of brooking an alliance with the remaining Edenains against an emperor that threatens their ways of life. With his talents, I'm sure that Rain of all people could concoct a worthy story." Reiko couldn't have been any more condescending if he tried. "Once inside the hideout, the women will do what is necessary to distract Lunga while Rain and Ko'atal do the real work."
Head declined in the lowest of shames and forlornly bent away from the true source of her woe, long face framed by a rippling curtain of glinting silver standing out at all ends, Zyanya removed her arm from Reiko's silently mirthful hold and began her own hunt through the goods scattered across the grassy floor. Recovering from the prickling reality of an unsavory hunch slowly but with a collected bearing, Ko'atal stood to his full height without shame or embarrassment and sought the last know location of his underclothes, secretly dreading the moment that someone found the wrong piece of attire. It was one thing to have to face their situation without the outside world there to interfere, but with so many factors mounting at a single time, the warrior sun found it was becoming increasingly difficult to cope with the turbulent tangle of emotions and less-than-pleasant revelations that accompanied them - K'etz had always told his son that women were creatures of string, and he was coming to see what his father meant.
Male and female alike standing only to occupy the opposite ends of the canvas tupik with nothing but a squared reminder of better times between, he made the first move to kneel underneath the predatory and cruel eye of the Outworlder, massive teal hands kneading blindly through the bluegrass blades until they came into contact with a slender strap of something with a metallic feel. Sensing immediately that this discovery was not of his own fit, the knot feeding itself on raw nerves relaxed before snapping back tighter than it was before the instant he heard an audible groan that slipped through an otherwise iron defense. Zyanya sat upright, more silhouette than solid in the night, hand tremulously grasping a headdress of flattened beads and clanking bone that was rough to the touch; determined to be professional in front of their uninvited guest at the least, she crawled over and exchanged the cowled helmet for the slinky armor.
Fingers brushing oh so gently in the trade, all bets were off: golden gaze dancing anywhere but at the broad-nosed Osh-Tekk whose short hair was too dark to discern the color of, the electric spark between them ignited something that all but demanded direct eye contact, which in turn led to the weakening of wills, causing not only a second glance but a lingering one at that. Pulling back the protective head piece, Zyanya shook her head as the cooper-colored metal touched her heart, "Let me help with this?"
Aware of what it meant to have any woman attend his needs in such a manner, Ko'atal nodded with the faintest trace of a smile on his lips, pleased that there was something in her heart that cared enough for him to see to his safety (or hated him enough to commit subterfuge), "It would honor me if you did." Perhaps this was far from her accepting his proposal, but coming from the demoness this simple gesture was undeniably a good sign.
