[open] Dangerous Practice

The Strigoi was sure that this person was a dhampire, that instantly made her very dangerous to him. But she wasn't raising the alarm or even looked frightened. Curious but also cautious, Aries sniffed the air and the scents of the girl in front of him reached him easily. She was a Moroi! Any Strigoi could smell that, obviously the girl was using compulsion or something to make her seem like a dhampire. Aries also didn't smell the metallic but alive smell of a stake. This dhampire was unarmed.

This was not only interesting but extremely interesting. He glanced at his cloak and cursed loudly. Whoever this girl was, she knew exactly what he was. He ended up saying a string of curses actually because the only way to make sure she did not give him away was to kill her. But he could not and would not kill her simply because she was obviously a teenager and she was a woman.

That girl had better be counting her lucky stars for today was her lucky day. He hissed again in anger, baring his teeth at her, his red rimmed eyes narrowed. "You have ten seconds to tell me why you look like a dhampire yet you are not, Moroi, or these daggers will make sure you stay put." To add to the threat he wasn't going to carry out unless the girl did something stupid, he started lightly tossing one of his daggers in the air and catching it, hilt in hand.

Aries almost smiled at the girl, almost, not many people would think up jokes when confronting him. But then again, not many people lived to tell the tale of meeting him. Though he was slightly starting to get worried though, only slightly. He was suddenly making it a habit of talking to random people, what was up with that? He was an assassin, not a talk show host.

He continued to toss the dagger, not really to show he knew how to use it, but quite frankly, it was fun. "Like you, I will also, what did you say, plead the fifth. Now we are even." Aries too could also make the occasional joke but as a Strigoi, they were far and inbetween.

"You do realize though that I cannot let you get behind those wards. Not to worry, not to worry, I will not kill you. But I cannot allow you to escape." Aries spoke very clearly with no anger in his voice. He slowly took a couple steps forward, closer to her and to the wards. Aries did not really want to scare the girl but like he said before, she would not be allowed to escape behind those wards. Aries had never failed a mission, not a single one, and he was not going to allow this girl to make him fail.

There is was, Aries smelled it, the fear. His Strigoi side suddenly came alive but his stuggling dhampire side beat it down and reminded him of his rules. Aries indulged himself thoug by breathing deeply, he sighed. "You smell so good." He took a couple steps closer and suddenly remembered that he hadn't meant to frighten her in the first place.

Aries quickly ran through what had been said and realized his mistake. "Oh no, no. no. I am not going to hurt you at all. I am not like other Strigoi. I don't kill women or Moroi or dhampires, whatever you want to be called. I promise you that no harm will come to you." Aries placed put one of the daggers in the oppisite hand and placed his free hand over his heart. "I give you my word. I just cannot risk you raising the alarm in the middle of a mission. I will let you go as soon as it is complete." The Strigoi continued getting slowly closer to her.

Anger swept over Aries, this girl needed a lesson about how he was different. He hated being compared to other Strigoi! Abandoning his slow walk, he rushed over to her until he was face to face with the young Moroi. His eyes narrowed and his fangs bared with every word he spoke, "I have rules I follow by, girl! Do you really think any other Strigoi have rules that they follow? Do you really think that I will harm you in any way, especially beings I have already have more then enough opportunity to? I will release you as soon as the mission is completed, which will be well before sunrise. I am not stupid enough to stay until sunrise!"

His anger vanished when the girl blocked her fears with something he couldn't identify. He watched as the girl walked over to a tree trunk and crossed her legs. Aries' was even more shocked to find that she soon almost seemed asleep. To him, it seemed almost like the girl was showing trust in him that he wouldn't hurt her.

Aries started working, he quickly grabbed all his weapons from the trunks of the trees, careful not to disturb the girl. Then Aries started to walk away but he went back for his cloak. He paused, staring at the girl for more then a few seconds. Then without a word, Aries carefully placed his cloak around the girl's shoulders to keep her warm and left two shruikens and a dagger for her.

~-~-~-~-

More visible then he ever was in missions, Aries was carefully staying in the shadows. He stayed away from the wards and waited. Then he got inside as a Moroi truck went through the gates. This mission was extremely dangerous and the girl was the least of his worries.

Once out of the truck, Aries started scanning for the guardian he was supposed to kill. It took him two hours just to find the guardian, he had long black hair and his clothes showed he was just a regular one. But the back of his neck showed otherwise, it was as filled up with Monlja Marks as his had been when he was awakened. He was fortunately standing guard.

The Strigoi attacked silently and quickly, throwing his shruikens to stop all the surrounding guardians from helping the one he came to kill. They fell silently or with a soft thump, Aries' shruikens wouldn't kill them but they were tipped with a kind of sleeping poison that would make sure he had plenty of time to get away. The target spotted him and yelled, attacking with his stake. Aries easily dodged it and the two exchanged blows until one of his daggers stabbed him in the chest. The target went slack and Aries picked him up.

Now the hard part, actually getting away without being seen. He retrieved his used shruikens and hid dagger from the target's chest. He stole sunglasses and thanks to his guardian clothes, Aries almost seemed normal. But that was not going to do him good if he was caught. It took him another hour to get passed the wards and on the outside.

Coming back to where the girl was, he carefully placed the body down and out of site of the Moroi. Then he went to her and softly said, "It's ok, you can go now, Moroi. Or if you wish to sleep some more, I will guard you as long as I can." There was almost kindness in his voice as he whispered, but his face was unreadable.

The girl made no movement to shrug off his cloak, so he very slowly reached across her shoulders and gently slid it off of her body. Then he put it on himself but left the hood down, she already knew what he looked like, no sense in hiding his face now.

But her statement shocked him, pain entered his entire body but espeically his eyes. "Yes, I was... Aries picked up the dagger and shruikens he had given her but suddenly he held his hand out with one shruiken still in one hand. "Do you want this?" Aries didn't know why he wanted the girl to have it but something about the fact that she didn't have a weapon bothered him.