Blood from Stone [AU]

[Coquette Blacquin]

"That was a warning," she says, and her voice drops in pitch, becoming darker, more menacing -- more masculine. "The only one you'll get. I was sent to a sanitarium, and my father ordered my death. I let him believe he had succeeded. As a matter of fact, I burned the place to the ground as I escaped. You think you paid a high price? Mine was higher. And I'm not afraid to do what I must to keep my secrets. Not anymore."

[Shannon zi'Marass]

"He ord- that miserable bastard," Shannon seethes, evidently too infuriated to really catch the threat. "I knew I should have- ugh! I should have pushed with- damnit!" She spins in place again, then begins to pace. "Naugrix's golden balls, that goat-faced, black-hearted, shit sniffing, duplicitous cesspool of a man. I-" 

The rest of what she said starts to sink in. "Warning- What is going on?" Her eyes narrow. "Are you in danger?

[Coquette Blacquin]

"No. Not anymore. Rather say that I am danger, and you'll be closer to the mark." Still, her face softens a touch.

[Shannon zi'Marass]

Shannon finally slows, turning to face Cindy with narrowed eyes. "...a danger?" She arches an eyebrow, one hand resting on a curvy hip. "C-" She pauses, rolling her eyes. "Alright, fine. Give me a name or I'm going to start calling you Princess Lacebottom again."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Cindy," she says, fighting briefly to keep a smile off her face. "Cindy Black."

[Shannon zi'Marass]

Shannon rolls that around in her mouth for a moment, then shrugs a little. "A bit plain, but..." Her lips curve wickedly. "I can work with it. So. What the fuck is going on, Cin?" Her eyes harden and sparkle a little, two challenges being levied at the same time.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"If I tell you, it's your life if you tell anyone," she warns, making the lie of her earlier words. 

[Shannon zi'Marass]

"Who would I tell?" Shannon asks, tone suddenly bitter. "The only one I can possibly think of is dear old Harrod's corpse just before I piss on it."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"No worries there," she says, bitterly. "He already knows." 

She turns away a moment, as if to check the door, as if to gather her courage. Then, when she turns back, she's wearing That Mask, her eyes blazing with a bit of that unearthly green fire. "I'm the Silver Scale," says Cedric, voice dipped all the way into menacing.

[Shannon zi'Marass]

Shannon jerks back a step when Cindy first turns back around, then holds herself still. "Oh."

[Coquette Blacquin]

She lets the mask evaporate away in a puff of green smoke, changing back to her natural face, her lovely gown -- but her eyes stay hard, dangerous, calculating. 

[Shannon zi'Marass]

Shannon takes a slow breath, her eyes expression shifting to a pensive, analytic one. Well. This... explains a fair bit really. No wonder I... hmmm. The noblewoman hums softly, then shifts her stance, one hand coming up to press her liquid crystal dress against her breast. "La, what a surprise, Cin. I do declare, I never would have guessed you were hiding that little secret." Her voice softens from that bright, almost breathy flirty tone to a more somber one. "But... but it fits like silk tights."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"And now? What will you do now that you know?"

[Shannon zi'Marass]

Shannon doesn't answer her question, not right away. "Cindy Black... I know that..." She scowls. "Pale blonde? Your hair is not 'pale blonde' by- your hair is silver! Platinum in the right light, maybe mithril. But pale blonde? When I get home, I am firing whatever agent complied the dossiers on the zi'Tethras family," she mutters darkly. With a Burning Hands, I think. "What? I- well, I hardly know what I shall do, do I C- Cin. I only just fucking found out." She reaches up to rub her temple.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"My hair varies from honey-blonde to silver, leading most to believe the natural color is a pale blonde, and the silver an affectation," she says, tone quiet, watching Shannon.