Every subtle movement the strangely alluring woman made was not lost upon him. Even in relatively relaxation she was ever the warrior. The strategic distance she set between them, the slim target she afforded him, it was all careful calculated. But even in such attention to detail, he was quick to notice the flush of crimson against what little of her tanned skin was not covered with either tattoos or the dented plate-mail. Despite it all, she was anxious. The promise of the other half of the map had already cracked a small little chink in the armor of her fierceness, wide enough that her exuberance burst forth. She made no attempt to deny that she indeed possessed what he sought, almost certainly kept somewhere safe upon her...Curvy person.<br/><br/>“Something lioke tha', anyway,” he muttered quietly to her query about the map's true purpose. “Near as I can figger, th'riddles on this act lioke a sort 'o scavenger hunt. Puzzling out th'first part will lead tah th'next, an' sah on.”<br/><br/>Her near-nakedness was a distraction. One she wore well. It was almost impossible to not catch a glimpse of the perfectly trimmed shape above her womanhood through the sheer scrap of fabric so audaciously masquerading as undergarments. The lilt of her shoulders displayed the  eye-catching swell of her breast perfectly – she might have turned side-on to present a smaller target, but all it really did was give the gigantic man an eyeful of her buxom curves, jutting outwards like mountains begging to be scaled. He realized quietly that he was, in fact, staring – and carefully slid his gaze back to her pale blue eyes, admonishing himself silently.<br/><br/>“Sorreh fer th'theatrics,” he grunted, nodding his head towards the door as he tucked his half of the map away, “Though yeh did do ah number on ol' Horatio, an' anehone wha' ken walk intah his place an' leave in one piece deserves a bit 'o caution.”<br/><br/>He was staring again. Dimly, he wondered that if he'd waited another minute or two, if she would have allowed the breastplate to join the leggaurds laying in a pile across the floor...<br/><br/>Clearing his throat, he paced in a slow circle around her, away from the door and deeper into the room. He had to duck under several low-hanging beams as he did so, her room being closer to the eaves of the small lodge than his had been. He needed to refocus his attention on something less...distracting. There was a wooden bucket by a small table, filled with a murky mixture of what appeared to be blood and water. And, upon further inspection, several large fangs. He grimaced internally, being well familiar with the unpleasant business of digging out Charr teeth from his person.<br/><br/>“Well, a'least mostleh in one piece. I 'ave tah say, I wasn' expectin' yeh tah beh a lass. Th'onleh girls wha' go intah Horatio's ten' tah beh ones getting' fucked, not th'ones fuckin' shit up. I'm impressed.”<br/><br/>Her proposal of partnership floated at him over his shoulder, causing him to turn back to face her. The small table creaked ominously as he leaned his considerable weight back upon it, gauntlet-clad hands splayed over it's wooden surface. He had been envisioning a slightly less balanced agreement, more along the lines of him walking out of this inn with both halves of the map, and her either incapacitated or otherwise convinced. He worked alone, always had. Partners did nothing but slow you down, they were unnecessary baggage that just got in the way and complicated things. Never mind the fact he knew absolutely nothing about this strange woman...Other than he'd rather like to toss her up against a wall and fuck until she couldn't walk.<br/><br/>“Yeh'll fergive meh iffin I don' trus' yeh, lass,” he began, “Nor do I much imagine yeh trus' meh.”<br/><br/>His hand drifted up to scratch at the shadow of stubble on his broad chin, doing a fine job of keeping his gaze above her neckline. Unfortunately, with other options thin on the table, there wasn't much else he could offer. It seemed, much to his chagrin, that he'd have to play along for the moment.<br/><br/>“Sah...How ken we each beh assured 'o th'other's cooperation?”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>