allitersonance
Banned
(( She can think quickly because everything is much more concise in Kupo. ))
The sound of conversation dragged half of Hawkeye's attention back to the hume and moogle on the roof. By straining her ears, she could hear their conversation, which was carried at levels that a hume could easily understand. Since the moogle was answering the hume and they were both talking to each other, she had no need to respond, although she still listened.
It seemed that her scent hadn't carried to them, if the moogle thought she was male, but she didn't correct them.
"He just said he wasn't going to hurt anyone, although he's lying with his body language," the moogle said, baffling Hawkeye. "He may not be a threat to us, but he is certainly a threat."
Odd. She guessed that the moogle had spent far too much time with humes, because apparently he could read body language but didn't understand the subtle nuances behind them. His understanding of body language was more of rote memorisation than naturally learning about body language through interaction with moogles. It seemed rather like a second language, in that he had to translate them into words before he could understand. There were several mental disorders that made this possible, but Hawkeye wasn't trained to diagnose such things and didn't speculate.
"There is a difference between deference and vulnerability," she said. There was no doubt that she had the ability to kill any one of them, or even more, but it was not a lie, because it was more of an attitude than anything. She was essentially saying there was a guarantee she would not strike back unless pressed, because they had more power. She was meeting the leader, at least, as someone lesser than the leader. She could have approached them with the manner of an equal, portraying something more like I have no intent to harm, but it would probably not be as easily accepted when she had apparently attacked.
The bangaa cannoneer already had the hand cannon trained on her, as expected. She couldn't tell exactly if he was aiming at her head or chest, but it would be fatal either way. She was much more surprised, though, when another bangaa sprang onto a roof and leapt toward her, moving rather quickly.
"If you're too close, you'll hinder your cannoneer," she told the leaping bangaa, with the tone of edged patience, but it didn't matter. She removed the earplugs by the string when the clan leader made the signal. Hawkeye guessed correctly, because the leader began to speak.
"Moogle," she said. "Come down from there so we may discuss this matter without alerting the spies in this town. We already have the problem of having some of our members out the survey the area, we don't need more fireworks to alert them further."
"Everyone," the rev said, "be at the ready, but don't attack." He looked at Hawkeye and addressed her. "Listen to the lady. It would be best to speak of this in lowered tones."
Hawkeye gave the rev a grim smile and hopped off the roof, using her wings to slow her descent. She landed lightly, though her shell pouch thumped against her more forcefully. Revs and vieras both had very good ears, so their whispers were quieter than a hume's, but she could still hear snatches of the conversation.
"They should already know," Hawkeye said, at normal volume. "I'm a competent tracker, but not a professional, and it was not difficult. You couldn't hire anyone if you didn't spread the word. Clan Khamja does the same, except they hire entire clans. I heard from both, because you cannot control the spread of information you freely released. Others have heard from both clans, and several are both interested and intelligent enough to realise the connection. That's not the only way to find you, but it was an easy one."
The sound of conversation dragged half of Hawkeye's attention back to the hume and moogle on the roof. By straining her ears, she could hear their conversation, which was carried at levels that a hume could easily understand. Since the moogle was answering the hume and they were both talking to each other, she had no need to respond, although she still listened.
It seemed that her scent hadn't carried to them, if the moogle thought she was male, but she didn't correct them.
"He just said he wasn't going to hurt anyone, although he's lying with his body language," the moogle said, baffling Hawkeye. "He may not be a threat to us, but he is certainly a threat."
Odd. She guessed that the moogle had spent far too much time with humes, because apparently he could read body language but didn't understand the subtle nuances behind them. His understanding of body language was more of rote memorisation than naturally learning about body language through interaction with moogles. It seemed rather like a second language, in that he had to translate them into words before he could understand. There were several mental disorders that made this possible, but Hawkeye wasn't trained to diagnose such things and didn't speculate.
"There is a difference between deference and vulnerability," she said. There was no doubt that she had the ability to kill any one of them, or even more, but it was not a lie, because it was more of an attitude than anything. She was essentially saying there was a guarantee she would not strike back unless pressed, because they had more power. She was meeting the leader, at least, as someone lesser than the leader. She could have approached them with the manner of an equal, portraying something more like I have no intent to harm, but it would probably not be as easily accepted when she had apparently attacked.
The bangaa cannoneer already had the hand cannon trained on her, as expected. She couldn't tell exactly if he was aiming at her head or chest, but it would be fatal either way. She was much more surprised, though, when another bangaa sprang onto a roof and leapt toward her, moving rather quickly.
"If you're too close, you'll hinder your cannoneer," she told the leaping bangaa, with the tone of edged patience, but it didn't matter. She removed the earplugs by the string when the clan leader made the signal. Hawkeye guessed correctly, because the leader began to speak.
"Moogle," she said. "Come down from there so we may discuss this matter without alerting the spies in this town. We already have the problem of having some of our members out the survey the area, we don't need more fireworks to alert them further."
"Everyone," the rev said, "be at the ready, but don't attack." He looked at Hawkeye and addressed her. "Listen to the lady. It would be best to speak of this in lowered tones."
Hawkeye gave the rev a grim smile and hopped off the roof, using her wings to slow her descent. She landed lightly, though her shell pouch thumped against her more forcefully. Revs and vieras both had very good ears, so their whispers were quieter than a hume's, but she could still hear snatches of the conversation.
"They should already know," Hawkeye said, at normal volume. "I'm a competent tracker, but not a professional, and it was not difficult. You couldn't hire anyone if you didn't spread the word. Clan Khamja does the same, except they hire entire clans. I heard from both, because you cannot control the spread of information you freely released. Others have heard from both clans, and several are both interested and intelligent enough to realise the connection. That's not the only way to find you, but it was an easy one."
