Even without a fox's senses, Jigano was not completely oblivious to the world around him; to the little creatures that went squeak and then crunch in the night... or the day. He had reached the end of the bridge by the time he finished his song and the silence settled into the little pockets of stillness the teasing wind left behind, and in that silence...
Tap... tap... tap
Tilting his head, frowning thoughtfully, the lorekeeper turned slowly, trying to find the direction of the sound as it grew closer. He wasn't frightened, precisely, but he was wary. Beneath his cloak his hand shifted to rest on the hilt of his rapier--
The voice behind his shoulder was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. The bard's heart did, indeed, jump and his immediate reaction to it was to snap an elbow backwards at what sounded like solar plexus height before he spun, dancing back out a little ways onto the span of the bridge to put distance between them and drawing his rapier in one elegant move.
"Did your parents fail to teach you about respecting personal space?" Jigano spoke, voice even and dry as he warily took in the appearance of the dark stranger. He'd been a bard far too long - used the trick himself, more than once - not to recognize what the intruder was doing with his voice.
And the white-haired man was not having it, blue eyes taking on a chill even colder than the wind across the stones. He didn't back up when Archebold stepped closer but he did move the point of his sword in line with the other man's heart, a gesture that spoke as loud as words.
"All songs hold significance to someone," he returned, voice as cool as his gaze as he took stock ofArchebold. "As you say, a means to draw forth emotion from those who hear it. So, stranger, what emotions did it draw forth in you?"
Tap... tap... tap
Tilting his head, frowning thoughtfully, the lorekeeper turned slowly, trying to find the direction of the sound as it grew closer. He wasn't frightened, precisely, but he was wary. Beneath his cloak his hand shifted to rest on the hilt of his rapier--
The voice behind his shoulder was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. The bard's heart did, indeed, jump and his immediate reaction to it was to snap an elbow backwards at what sounded like solar plexus height before he spun, dancing back out a little ways onto the span of the bridge to put distance between them and drawing his rapier in one elegant move.
"Did your parents fail to teach you about respecting personal space?" Jigano spoke, voice even and dry as he warily took in the appearance of the dark stranger. He'd been a bard far too long - used the trick himself, more than once - not to recognize what the intruder was doing with his voice.
And the white-haired man was not having it, blue eyes taking on a chill even colder than the wind across the stones. He didn't back up when Archebold stepped closer but he did move the point of his sword in line with the other man's heart, a gesture that spoke as loud as words.
"All songs hold significance to someone," he returned, voice as cool as his gaze as he took stock of
