We spent a whole two cycles in the house which was to serve as our base for the foreseeable future. Loosh had taken the top floor and I'd taken the first floor which put a whole empty floor between us. Despite her looking incredible now, it was probably just as well. I didn't have the charm nor the ability to care enough to make any effort at romance and I was ready to kill someone with the heat.

The days were a living hell for me as she'd insisted I wore my full outfit as often as possible, including the boots. While there was magical air conditioning, not to mention the fact that she could cool the place down herself, she left it hot as hell. To say I was ready to kill her at any misstep was an understatement.

Every day when she popped down to demand I sat out on the balcony to acclimatize my skin, she took her life in her own hands and I suspected she knew it.

But to her credit, she'd been right. I was no longer overheating or sweating like a pig, and I'd also bulked up some more in the shoulders, chest, and belly from continued good eating and heavy weight training. It all culminated in another point of Toughness:

Name: Earl Henshaw

Title: ---

Level: 17

Class: Warrior / Tradesman

Stats:

Toughness – 33 +10 (43)

Mental Acuity – 19 + 5 (24)

Harmony- 0

Total: 52

Progress in Class:

Warrior Level 31: 16/300

Active Boon's:

+10 Durability

+5 Reaction speed.

Tradesman Level One: 0

Mage: 0

She came down that afternoon to make sure I went out on the balcony to find me already out there, sitting enjoying the sun, with a drink and my coat off. I raised the bottle to her. "Been getting easier for a few days, but I just leveled Toughness and I feel a hundred times better."

"It's about time," she said coming to sit next to me. "This is the first time since we got here you haven't looked ready to throttle me."

I nodded. "This is the first time since we got here where I haven't looked at your throat and imagined my hands around it."

She laughed. I laughed. We left the subject alone. "Well if you're ready to go out and about, I'll make a few arrangements and we can start doing some business. You feel ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Arrange away. Just one thing though."

"Yes?"

"I've lost my Tradesman level. What does my identifier say?"

She eyed me for a moment then smirked. "Yep. It's gone."

That didn't sit well with me. "Why? How? I spent hours chipping away to get that."

"Use it or lose it, and honestly Earl, saying hours isn't half as impressive as you think it is. The longer you train the harder it is to lose levels but… Don't worry about it. You can take it up later. For now just focus on the mission."

I nodded. "Sure thing. Might choose something else. Wasn't really feeling the Stone Mason vibe."

She stood up, laughing. "Whatever. I'll drop in later once I've solidified our plan."

I raised the beer again, and she left.

The day turned into evening, and the evening was old when I realized Loosh wouldn't be coming back today, so I took myself to bed.

No sooner did my head hit the pillow than the door from the stairwell opened.

"Earl?"

It was Loosh. "Yeah, give me a minute. I'd just gone to bloody bed. I pulled back the covers but before I'd even swung my legs off the bed she was at the door to my room.

"It's fine, we can talk in here. There's little to report at the moment other than that our first attempt at a deal will be in two days."

I fought my eyes wandering over her, though admittedly, I didn't fight hard. She was wearing a night dress that was terrified of her knees, and shoulder straps that a gentle breeze could snap. I was concerned.

"Hmmm, you look good." Was not the response I intended but the one that came out.

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"As do you. The extra weight looks well on you." She pointedly looked me up and down like a prime slab of meat on the butchers block and sauntered further into my bed room. Then averted her eyes to look around. "You've kept it cleaner than I expected."

"I don't like mess or clutter," I replied wondering what the fuck was going on.

"An admirable quality," she said turning back to face me.

Her expression was hard and unyielding, but it didn't detract from her attractiveness. Shut up Earl!

"I chose you to come because you are an incredible tool for the Siroth."

I nodded along, sitting up.

"But you are not Siroth. I know this. Onlan knows this. Everyone who you've had any meaningful conversation with, knows this. But those who don't know you whisper about you as if you're the rebirth of the Siroth cause. Mired in weakness and lacking in direction, your name is being whispered throughout our networks. Your name is loved even if you could never be."

I grinned. "Harsh, but fair."

"What I have found is that you are a selfish, self-serving psychopath who has a special taste for causing pain. You live to fight, you have no fear of death, you are in essence the very worst kind of enemy to have. But the best kind of weapon to wield."

I pulled my eyes up from her breasts, hardly realizing they'd even dropped their. "Is there a point to all of this? Because it's starting to border on the insulting."

She closed the distance and prodded a bone white finger into my chest, massive black eyes seemed to look straight to the core of me. "There is a point. I am Siroth. I work tirelessly for our cause. I love our cause. I will die for our cause."

"Yeah?"

"I have no time for impractical emotional attachments."

"Understood."

"Yet, I still have needs." Her finger dug in deeper.

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying what I think your saying?"

Her face was close to mine now and she almost whispered. "Try, and find out."

"No attachments?" I asked utterly disbelieving.

"None at all." She grinned, a mix of fear and excitement in her eyes. I grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the bed, no longer caring If I'd misread the situation or not.

Not only did we spend most of the next two days on the same floor, we spent it in the same room, making the most of the time before our work had to begin properly. It ended with a slap on the chest as Loosh got up on the second night leaving me exhausted, abused and very fucking happy.

"Sleep well tonight Joren, we leave two hours after sunrise tomorrow. Be ready."

"Your pillow talk is second to none, Malika. What weapons do you suggest?"

"Do you need more than knives and fists? Would a Warhammer or a broadsword serve you better?"

I chuckled, "You might have wanted to make an impression."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I've always found you make quite an impression with your fists."

Until that moment I'd completely forgotten that our first meeting had ended with a broken nose for her. It was enough to make a man wonder why she would spend the last two days rolling around in a sweaty bed with me. Not this man though. I'd long since realized Loosh was bat shit crazy, and that suited me down to the ground. I raised my fist and kissed them both. "Seen me through a lot of trouble these fellas."

"Most of your own making," she said, waltzing silently to the door. "This." She made a circle gesture with her hand at me and the bed, will have to stop for a while now. I don't need things getting confused out there."

I sighed. "Damn shame, but yeah. Probably for the best once were working."

She looked a little disappointed.

"If you ever want another roll, just let me know. Hell, you don't even have to let me know. Just hop in whenever you want, if I'm not ready it won't take me long."

Those delicate hands planted on her perfect hips. "You're an animal Joren."

"That's why you keep coming back, isn't it?"

She cackled at that and left the room. I could hear her laughter all the way down the hallway and I smiled to myself. Then I slept like the dead.

The next morning I stalked after Loosh, along the busy city streets, alert, wary, and not a bead of sweat in sight. It meant I could truly marvel at the design of my long leather coat. Random thought, but I had a selection of knives tucked into the numerous loops and pockets inside, and not one of them clinked or rattled. If I wanted to move silently I could, and in my current line of work that was going to be essential.

Our target was a small antique shop, and while I didn't have a lot of experience with shops or buildings on this planet, I was definitely getting antique dealer vibes when we came to a stop in front of a tightly packed shopfront, wedged between other buildings. From the weathered, wooden sign, complete with faded calligraphy, to the arched entranceway covered with a beaded curtain instead of a door.

We headed inside to find overburdened shelves laden with trinkets, jewelry, old scrolls and dusty relics. The scent of incense and dust would have stung my eyes in my past life.

Loosh walked through the shop with purpose. Her big dark eyes not lingering on anything for longer than a second. I followed dutifully, rotating my shoulders as we waded through the aisles.

At the back of the shop a scrawny man with incredibly wrinkled dark green skin looked up from his work, a thin screwdriver in one hand and a geared clock on the counter in front of him. I'd seen a few of his race but had no idea what his race was.

"Mistress Malika?" he asked as we approached.

"Correct," she said primly, shoulders back, full of dramatic pride. I fought the smirk. She was proud enough, I knew that, but it was quiet thing. Not this ostentatious showing.

He pointed to a side room. "Through there. The muscles stays here."

She stopped dead. "No, he goes where I go. Always."

"Then I'm afraid there's no business to be done here."

"I am in full agreement if such tactics are to be used. Goodbye, sir." She spun, her cape billowing out with impressive pizazz as she strode back through the shop barely acknowledging me as she passed.

The shopkeeper began shouting after her, all but begging her to stay. If she heard she showed no signs of it.

I followed her so he started shouting after me in the hopes I'd bring her back. Like Loosh, I ignored him, but I did knock an expensive-looking statue from one of the tables as I passed. It shattered on the floor, and though it was a petty act, it made me smile, and what was life if not the pursuit of happiness.

Once outside, Loosh didn't stop. She didn't explain. She just kept on walking all the way back to the apartment. Once at the apartment, she headed up the stairs as if heading to her own room in a mood. She stopped at the doors to my quarters and waited for me to catch up.

"Care to explain?" I asked.

"I do, yes. You should know my thinking. This is a dangerous business, as we've already covered. Do you think they would have asked an Archon to enter that room alone if they were doing business?"

"Nope."

"A Velorian?"

"Doubtful."

"Anyone they had any respect for?"

"Very unlikely."

"Exactly. So why would they ask me?"

"Because you're not one of those races and they don't know you because we just started doing this shit."

She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "You're ruining the reveal. But yes, in essence, as an unknown, if I agreed to such a thing they would know I was desperate. They would have tried to fleece me, or worst case scenario kill me outright."

"Totally agree. It was an insult. Walking away means they have to respect you when they deal with you again."

She beamed from ear to ear. "So astute for one so brutish."

"I don't know if I agree with either of those descriptions, but what can I say? I see things like this as obvious when others seem confused. They were going to diagnose me with high functioning Autism at first, but the shrinks in prison settled for schizophrenic psychopath. Not sure where the schizophrenic part came from. I think I'm pretty consistent."

Her face creased, dumbfounded by my words. "I barely know what any of that means, but I'm glad I found you. Your perfect for what I need. Just… don't kill me."

"I'll try not to."

She laughed.

I laughed.

We left the subject alone. "So what's next? Go back?"

"I have other meetings planned. We're going off world in two days to a seller on Kabola. The one today was a minor player, good to get things started and build my name a little. Word will spread quickly that I was offended and rich enough not to do any further business. It will put a little bit of respect on my name in future dealings."

"You act like you expected it."

"I prepare for everything. I expect many roadblocks in our first interactions. Until we build up a reputation it will be difficult, but honestly, being treated like that was a good thing in the long run.

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