COLT
I wish words were like little toy guns
No sting, no hurting no one
Just a bang, bang rolling off your tongue
No sting, no hurting no one
Just a bang, bang rolling off your tongue
Without meaning to, Colt has braced herself for the skulking retreat of someone who would paint refusal as civility. It is often the case for those who have been found out and are accustomed to a notion of higher standards, despite their own morals long ago being hollowed out. Instead, she's pleasantly surprised that the Luminary stands her ground, holding as firm as any filly resisting her first halter and rope. Better the stubborn lean of one unwilling to be led than the slippery flash of an eel in the murk.
Colt nods along to the fact that Soh and Flora spoke, because that conversation on its own is not something she begrudges in the slightest. It's the alleged contents of what was said that have proven caustic. Even the notions of the challenging offer Colt accepts without blinking, because despite the gleam of doubt that she could lift off that phrasing from Soh, Colt will be one of the first to admit it's a longshot. She just happens to believe in her aim and the power in her bow. All the while, she hums and generally demonstrates understanding as the explanation unfurls.
Her expression of forced pleasantness doesn't hide her genuine curiosity, much as she'd prefer to appear indifferent enough that none of this can truly matter, that she is untouchable. Unfortunately, Colt's face sits differently from her tongue, and all but the edges of the brightness she's forcing on taper away into a tight line of her lips. It begins when Soh says she didn't think she wanted to move to Hak Etme, but it really takes the lead for her appearance when Soh says, yes, she did tell Flora that Colt was poaching her.
It hits her like a kick to the chest. Everything curls in on itself and tightens, bearing down like armor could be made from nothing more than the curvature of will and body. It's an audible thing, the last bit of her breath being stolen, the click of her teeth just setting faintly together behind the dismayed arch of her mouth. Her gaze glitters flinty, and it's a caution that not much should dare strike her now and be surprised that a spark is delivered.
The caution that Soh could be lying dissolves rapidly. With no truth ring to burn her fingers or serum of honesty snuck down Soh's gullet, the risk is certainly a possibility still, yet it seems unlikely to lie by owning up to the exact shape of the ugliness that her words had borne. Secretly, even to herself, Colt had been hoping for a different kind of truth, to discover something more complex than pure betrayal, or more unique than carelessness.
"I see," Colt says at last, when Soh has said her peace and the weight of it has settled in Colt's gut, rancid and slick. She steps neatly past the apology, her tone thin and dry as grass at the end of Longheat, and just as flammable. "You thought," she starts, volume low. "Poaching, was a good word to use? To describe the fact I offered you a position in a known hellhole, with zero pressure or expectation, just because I saw the merits of your past experience and potential?" One of Colt's brows ticks up, her head tipping a touch to the side, like maybe skewing the world would help her make heads or tails of this. "If you didn't mean to use such a vile word in the presence of Caido's strongest queen, especially on the heels of saying you didn't want to go. I'm just curious, what the hell did you mean to say?" Because from where Colt's standing, this doesn't seem like the easy blunder of someone with diplomatic experience. This seems like Soh didn't mind bitching about Colt behind her back to someone who could actually do something about it.
Colt nods along to the fact that Soh and Flora spoke, because that conversation on its own is not something she begrudges in the slightest. It's the alleged contents of what was said that have proven caustic. Even the notions of the challenging offer Colt accepts without blinking, because despite the gleam of doubt that she could lift off that phrasing from Soh, Colt will be one of the first to admit it's a longshot. She just happens to believe in her aim and the power in her bow. All the while, she hums and generally demonstrates understanding as the explanation unfurls.
Her expression of forced pleasantness doesn't hide her genuine curiosity, much as she'd prefer to appear indifferent enough that none of this can truly matter, that she is untouchable. Unfortunately, Colt's face sits differently from her tongue, and all but the edges of the brightness she's forcing on taper away into a tight line of her lips. It begins when Soh says she didn't think she wanted to move to Hak Etme, but it really takes the lead for her appearance when Soh says, yes, she did tell Flora that Colt was poaching her.
It hits her like a kick to the chest. Everything curls in on itself and tightens, bearing down like armor could be made from nothing more than the curvature of will and body. It's an audible thing, the last bit of her breath being stolen, the click of her teeth just setting faintly together behind the dismayed arch of her mouth. Her gaze glitters flinty, and it's a caution that not much should dare strike her now and be surprised that a spark is delivered.
The caution that Soh could be lying dissolves rapidly. With no truth ring to burn her fingers or serum of honesty snuck down Soh's gullet, the risk is certainly a possibility still, yet it seems unlikely to lie by owning up to the exact shape of the ugliness that her words had borne. Secretly, even to herself, Colt had been hoping for a different kind of truth, to discover something more complex than pure betrayal, or more unique than carelessness.
"I see," Colt says at last, when Soh has said her peace and the weight of it has settled in Colt's gut, rancid and slick. She steps neatly past the apology, her tone thin and dry as grass at the end of Longheat, and just as flammable. "You thought," she starts, volume low. "Poaching, was a good word to use? To describe the fact I offered you a position in a known hellhole, with zero pressure or expectation, just because I saw the merits of your past experience and potential?" One of Colt's brows ticks up, her head tipping a touch to the side, like maybe skewing the world would help her make heads or tails of this. "If you didn't mean to use such a vile word in the presence of Caido's strongest queen, especially on the heels of saying you didn't want to go. I'm just curious, what the hell did you mean to say?" Because from where Colt's standing, this doesn't seem like the easy blunder of someone with diplomatic experience. This seems like Soh didn't mind bitching about Colt behind her back to someone who could actually do something about it.
No smoke, no bullets
No kick from the trigger when you pull it
No pain, no damage done
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
