Private Who's It Hurting?

[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |
Wearing: [xXx]

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Location: Theed, Naboo


The one thing that both intrigued and bothered Taryn about Naboo, was how peaceful it really seemed on the surface. Naturally, all places had it's problems, but for the most part there hadn't been any given reason for the blonde Mandalorian to lurk about in her armor. Which in hindsight was good; not wearing it made her look less threatening, more approachable, and that is how business was always most easily gained. It was how the job she had just finished had been secured after all...

An unhappy man, who had been in a committed marriage, and Tar had been all too willing to swoop in and play the part of attention giving, homewrecker. Granted, these things only went so far. Taryn was not the sort to get physically involved with those she was conning, not for the short game at least. She oozed appeal, and desire, the ever linger promise of affection and fulfillment, and then would deliver nothing but shame and threats by the end of it all.

Being a con artist was easy when your assets were desirable.

But now one job had ended, and it was time to find another - eventually. Right now Taryn was taking up space within one of the local cantinas, sipping a not floral tasting drink and watching the door only occasionally when a new body would come in. Rixa was supposed to be meeting her, to chat, to discuss new job opportunities, and truth be told? Tar wanted to hear all about the new friend he was making - the Queen of Naboo.

 

[Rixa Numeck]

It was all about the long game. Rixa had yet to be able to get anywhere near Queen Liviana to have a one on one conversation, there was supposed to be a naming ceremony soon and it was rumored she would be attending so he'd try to see if he could catch her there and further his plans. Right now he was more than content dealing with the Queen's Captain of the Guard though and making that man's life full of headaches for the moment. The man was in charge of dispensing bounties for criminals and Rixa had been bringing him a lot of business as of late.


The criminal element in Theed weren't exactly the roughest bunch of characters in the galaxy so even though Rixa didn't have the same hyper deadly reputation as some of his clan mates they were still child's play to apprehend for the Mandalorian. It worked out, he got some credits, got to see Captain Aeson's smiling face every other day or so and his name would be kept fresh in the mind of the Queen until they could have their meeting. He had other business to conduct at the moment now though, to check in with his partner and see how she was fairing with her ventures within Naboo's elite.


Rixa's armor needed a cleaning after his last bounty, the little chakaar had tried to scurry into the sewer network. Unlike most Mando'ade Rixa liked to keep his armor as pristine as possible and he wasn't entirely happy that he was going to have to give it a good cleaning when he went back to the room he had rented. He walked into the bar that he and Taryn had agreed upon and easily spotted her at the bar. Rixa slapped an armored hand down onto the counter beside her and removed his helmet with the other and examined what she was drinking.


"You're so uncultured." He grinned at her as he motioned the bar tender for a drink. "One of the most luxurious planets in the galaxy and you still choose to drink swill we could have gotten on Nal Hutta or Roon." He downed his more fancy cocktail in one go and motioned for another. "Don't worry, we'll make an upstanding lady out of you yet. Doing well so far? You don't look bored so you've had to at least managed to fleece a few poor lonely saps here."



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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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He was lucky that Taryn had heard him coming. She knew the sound of that armor, the way Rixa walked in it, and the way he didn't have a care in approaching her. Had it been anyone else? The blonde would have wrenched the knife from her thigh and jammed it to the hilt in the wrist closest to her. But, that wasn't the case, and as such she instead shifted her focus to her partner and loft an unimpressed brow at him. "If preferring to drink something that burns when it goes down over something that tastes the way a flower smells makes me uncultured?" she shrugged a shoulder. "Then I'll take it."

A smirk lifted one corner of her mouth and she looked away to pick up her drink. "Besides, the new friends I keep making seem to think I'm quite refined..." And that would of course answer his question about how she was doing. There were credits in her possession, but neither of them had seemed to catch a big break thus far. "And I'll have you know, I'm quite refined when the company is good enough for it."

The drink in her hand was tossed back so that she could polish it off, then the cup was set down firmly in front of her. "What about you?" Tar shifted in her seat so that she could look at him once again. "How are things on the upper tier of Naboo looking?" her smirk broadened a little. "Still flirting with the Captain of the Guard?"

 

[Rixa Numeck]

"Is refined the word they're using now?" He teased her and then let out a tired sigh. He hadn't done this much bounty hunting in years. In fact he hadn't done any bounty hunting in years. He was sore and tired and needed a nice bath, but it was nice to know that the skills he had practically killed himself to learn hadn't dulled at all, or at least too severely that it was noticeable. "I think me and the Captain are hitting it off quite well actually, always curses when he sees me walking into the palace."


That seemed to happen a lot after he found himself a place to hole up for a long term stay. People seemed to think he was a bit of a smug bastard but hey, he could back up whatever he said....mostly. "Its slow going in the palace though, haven't been able to get near the Queen yet. They keep her pretty busy but I've been making sure my name is always on the lips of someone close to her. I've probably brought them more criminals than the local security forces have been able to catch in years." he said as he slid her a container full of credit chips. "Not exactly the hardest of criminals here, Tyran would clean this place up real nice if he ever decided to take it easy."


His older brother would never do that though. He was a traditional Mandalorian to the core and wouldn't ever want to coast by on easy contracts despite the fact that he was getting older and their way of life was geared more towards younger men and women. He motioned for another drink and he and Taryn chatted for a while. Rixa told Taryn about his plan to go and try and get a private meeting with Queen Liviana during the naming ceremony and gave her some of the gossip he had picked up from the palace and from the underground.


"Guess there's some kinda cult out to get the new Queen. A naming ceremony would be a good place to get to her, so if we're lucky someone will take a shot at her while I'm nearby. Give me a chance to prove I'm the real deal that my dear big brother so loves to point out that I'm not."



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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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There was an amused noise made in Taryn's throat and her eyelids drooped just a bit. "Oh no, refined is most definitely not the word they're using now..." she stated, though did not by any means go into detail over whatever words they were using. Tar was busy more or less escorting and entertaining the higher class morons in town, and they most certainly had many things to say about her - and plenty of things to call her both affectionate and not.

The container of credits that was slid to her was examined and she gave him an impressed look before propping her head up on a fist with her elbow braced on the bar. There wasn't a lot that she said over the matter, but as the chatter between them went on, Tar took the time to detail one of the jobs she had done and the fact that she would continue to get paid by this particular individual just to keep her mouth shut. It wasn't nice of course, but who had time to play nice when it came to making credits?

But the subject rounded back to Rixa's new little project - target? - and the blonde's brow creased. "A cult?" she questioned. That clearly drew her curiosity, and it was most definitely something to start trying to dig up some information about. "Your brother has no room to talk," she rolled her eyes. "Look at all of the things he's screwed up for himself. Whether you started it or not, he just kept the ball rolling."

But that was getting off track and Tar drummed the fingers of her free hand against the bar. "So, I guess we need to do some digging for this Queen of yours, hm? If there's anything to dig up..." it could very well be nothing but rumors and hearsay.

 

[Rixa Numeck]

"That's what the rumor says, some kind of cult...Immortal Fire or Eternal Flame....something vague and ominous sounding." He shrugged as he got another drink. "I'll keep my eyes and ears open but you'll probably be able to get some information before I do. If there is a cult after the Queen they'll need people in places of power, the kind of people drawn to the kind of...attributes you posses." He grinned at her before knocking back the drink.


There was always information to dig up, they both knew that. Usually where there were rumors there was truth buried somewhere under them. You just had to be persistent enough to dig it out and both he and Taryn were more than willing to do that if there was a good payday at the end of it. "I'm sure Tyran would strongly disagree with you if he was here, but its a good thing he's not. He'd no doubt already be in the ear of the Queen and ruin any chances of a big score."


Rix ordered some finger foods and thought about how his brother might have handled the situation. For all their disagreements Rixa couldn't deny that his brother was the more superior when it came to this type of thing. Tyran would probably just go sniff out some cult member in a low level tier of the group and then scare the living hell out of him with some kind of primal method of pain delivery. Rixa didn't have a taste for that kind of thing, there were far easier and cleaner ways to get people to talk without them every knowing they had ever revealed information.


"Keep your ears open and if you think you got a worm on the hook who might know something let me know. You can introduce me and we'll have some words."




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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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There was a scoff from Taryn, "Your brother disagrees with me about most things," she point out to Rixa with a shake of the head. "Doesn't make them any less true just because of the fact." Rixa may have been trouble personified, but Tyran was a stick in the mud who had way too many of his own problems to be pointing fingers at anyone else. But for the moment, the blonde let that bit of conversation wane, if only because talk of this cult piqued her interest.

The idea that an entire movement was coming together said a lot about this place she and Rixa were temporarily hanging their helmets. The cup Tar was holding had her fingers drumming against it idly and she wore a thoughtful expression as the details - what very few there were - were laid out for her. Between the two of them, Tar had no problem beating the information she needed out of someone, she just usually didn't have to. Maybe that was why she could get along with both brothers; she knew how to tolerate Rixa and work the system with him, but she also had no problem doing what needed to be done, and had the stomach to do it.

She sighed through her nose and finished off what was in her had-been refilled cup before setting it down for more. "Well, I haven't heard anything so far," she informed him, focusing her gaze to look at her partner rather than through him while she had been thinking. "But I also hadn't been listening before now either." Tar hadn't even known something like this was going on, much less that it was something she had needed to be listening for. "So I'll keep my ear to the ground, see if anything gets brought up anywhere. These men of Naboo do like to talk when they think they've found a topic that's impressive." And now she knew what sorts of subjects she needed to pretend to be interested in.

 

[Rixa Numeck]

"Right or wrong, Tyr'ika would still disagree with you." Rixa laughed using the affectionate term of his brother's name that so irritated the man. He didn't want to think about Tyran though, the man had been on his mind for long enough during their issues on Roon and now that Rixa had finally been able to get off that backwater planet and to somewhere with real civilization, he just wanted to relax and have a good time. He certainly had the right company for that. He looked around the bar and surveyed the people within it, plenty of good marks to fleece for some credits tonight. What caught his eye though was a sabaac table at the back of the room.


"Alright, I'm going to go back to the hotel and change into something less intimidating...and wash the sewer smell off of me." He said as he looked down at the disheveled state of his armor and frowned. "You go and check out the sabaac game over there and feel it out. We could run the flirty bar patron and the strange gambler routine and make a killing here tonight."


It was a well practiced scheme they had run in cantinas across the galaxy. She pretended, sometimes, to be drunk and would cozy up to one of the gamblers at the table for a while and then after a few hands and someone bowed out of the game Rixa would come in and take that guys place and be fed information through a series of signals on he and her could read. It was a pretty simple scam, but it worked and usually netted them a pretty good profit. "Give me an hour, that'll be plenty of time for you to get one of those player wrapped around your tiny finger." He smirked at her as he stood up from the bar to leave. Those poor bastards at the table never had chance.


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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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There was a slow nod from Taryn, "You do smell like a sewer." she informed Rixa, turning her attention towards him once again. It didn't remain there however, not once she had caught him looking past her and towards the back of the room. Tar shifted around in her seat so that she could see as well, and an almost wicked grin lined her lips as soon as she found what he had been looking at. Oh how easily the old schemes just fell into place from time to time, and this one was not only insanely easy, but made credits quick as well.

But the blonde swiveled in her chair so that she was facing her partner once more as he got up to leave. "Alright, I'm all for you going to get cleaned up and changed before you start emptying the place out with your smell. However, I think this time you should be the flirty patron, and I'll be the intimidating, broody gambler." now she wore a broadened smirk, clearly amused with herself and the playful idea of a switch up.

"So you'll have to make sure that you put on something eye catching," she continued without so much as batting an eye, though her smirk remained in place. "Otherwise this routine is just going to go downhill fast. And we'll be more likely to end up in a messy brawl rather than raking in the credits like we should be."

 

[Rixa Numeck]

Rixa smirked at his companion and then looked back at the gambling table. There was a lovely green skinned Twi'lek in a shimmering dress only a few shades darker than her skin tone and judging by the stack of credits in front of her...she had some pretty deep pockets. "Keep the Twi'lek at the table, I'll be back soon and we'll clean these shabuire out of everything down to their socks." He gave her a wink and left the bar to return to the hotel.


It didn't take him very long at all to get cleaned up and dressed into a sharp black business suit. Something that would impress as well as intimidate, but not overly so. Just enough to get the job done. On his way back to the bar he stopped and cashed out a few thousand credits, enough to keep him in the game for a while until he and Taryn worked out the weak players at the table and he'd charmed his way through the Twi'leks defenses.


It didn't take long at all to spot Taryn at the table. The male gamblers gathered around it all seemed rather pleased by her company at the moment and she seemed to have a pretty decent stack of credits in front of her already. Rixa just stood there against the bar for a while and waited for a spot at the table to open up for him. It wasn't a long wait thankfully and one of the gamblers at the table tossed the last of his credits away as he cursed and left the establishment. Rixa stepped up to the table, charming as ever and the Twi'lek took notice giving him a wide grin.


"Mind if I play a few hands?" He asked the table in general. The men were all less than interested in him and focused on trying to charm the blonde but the Twi'lek motioned to the seat beside her and began dealing out a fresh hand to the players.


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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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Once again Taryn's gaze followed Rixa's to the table, and immediately she rolled her eyes. Didn't lose her amused look in the least little bit, but oh did she feel sorry for the Twi'lek now. Tar knew all too well about her partner in crime's charm and silver tongue, especially when it came to dealing with women. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for Tar, she alone seemed to be immune - or perhaps she just knew him too well to be swayed by pretty words. Either way, this night at the table could only end in two ways now; deep pockets for the pair of them, or the Twi'lek getting pissed and having some sort of guard lurking in the shadows of the establishment.

"I make no such promises." Tar let out when he told her to keep the Twi'lek at the table, but once he had left the blonde waited a good few minutes before she made her way over to the table. No sloppy steps or slurs were needed, there had been curiosity and interest the moment she had gotten close enough for the gathering to get a look at her. Poor things....if only they knew what had really just strut up to their table.

But it took no time at all to play the part of the flirty woman who had never played this 'silly little game before'. Taryn had done this more times than she could count, so by now it was second nature to her. Add laughing at ridiculous jokes and looking far too pleased with flirty comments, and it was easy to keep the table complacent as well as learn the way these guys - and girl - played the table. So by the time Rixa was able to join them, Tar did little more than flash him an approving look before refocusing her attention to the table.

"Well, considering we just lost one, I think it'd be alright for you to take his spot." the others seemed to agree, and that was that. Game on.

 

[Rixa Numeck]

Rixa smirked at Taryn as he got comfortable behind the table beside the Twi'lek and gave her a toothy smile. The attractive female had quite the pile of credits in front of her, the largest one at the entire table to be exact and Rixa couldn't wait to liberate her of ever single credit. Rixa wasn't used to playing the tease, he was good at it but it wasn't as natural to him as it was Taryn. The woman was an artist at making a man go stupid with nothing more than a smile and a few words. Rixa worked his charms though and after a few witty jokes and a couple drinks he had the Twi'lek eating out of the palm of his hand. Just some subtle signals to his companion and a few thrown hands of his own and soon the pile of credits began to grow in front of Taryn over the course of the game.


All of his credits had been blown fairly early but that was fine, the Twi'lek had grown fond of his company and had asked him to sit with her, but as the woman began to lose more and more of her credits, her focus drifted from Rixa and more towards Taryn. When it was over with the Twi'lek was so infuriated that she shoved Rixa out of the way and swore at him in Huttese as she stalked away from the table. Rixa sighed and looked back to Taryn as she stacked up the mounds of chips in front of her. "Another one bites the dust I'm afraid." He said. "Could you use some company madam?" he grinned at her.


"Surely I could at least give you hand carrying some of those credits at the very least?" He stood up and walked over to her side of the table and scooped up their winnings and decided to get while the getting was good. About fifteen minutes later Rixa was sitting on the corner of the bed in her housing unit counting out the credits into two equal piles. "We've got ourselves quite the little haul here, this should set us up nicely for another month or two."



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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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There were moments when it was almost impossibly hard not to laugh. Taryn knew all too well that between the two of them, she was the better flirt, especially in these circumstances. Now, that's not to say that Rixa was without his charms. That silver tongue of his did it's job when it came to a fair few women. Tar however was one of the few who could see right through him, who knew more than even she cared to know about him, and despite the bickering and blow outs the pair of them could (and would!) have? She always had his back - unless it was something completely stupid or she didn't know about it in the first place.

So, to be sitting across the way, knowing Rixa the way she did? There were a lot of moments Tar had to take to get a drink, or shift in her seat, or do anything to pull her focus away so that she wouldn't laugh. Maybe not even so much so at her partner, but at the Twi'lek who was stupid enough to eat up everything that was being said to her.

At least...until the tables turned heavily in their favor. This was a game she and Rixa played often, and they had mastered it and their routine by now. Vague gestures here and there, and before too long, the table was busted and left Tar the winner with the spoils. "Well, we'll all have to do this again sometime." she crooned out to one of the last departing men who had been seated beside her. He scoffed, but reached down to cuff her chin before walking away. The blonde's attention then drifted lazily to Rixa, and she did indeed look smug in her winnings. "Why I do believe I would enjoy some company, thank you."

From there it was a matter of gathering up the credits and getting the heck out before anyone caught on and/or got so pissed off that they came back looking for either of them. Luckily that didn't seem to be the case this evening, and once the pair of swindlers were holed up in Taryn's stay room, it was easy enough to just kick back. Shoes had been abandoned as soon as the blonde had crossed the threshold of the little home-away-from-home, and then she helped to count up credits to split.

That however seemed to come to a halt when he spoke up. "Another what?" she quipped, eyes narrowed just a hair as she looked at him now. "I think maybe I had a stroke, because I thought I just heard you say another month or two..."

 

[Rixa Numeck]

"I said a month or two, you heard me right." He laughed at her. "Hey, this Queen may be new to the throne and a bit naïve, but she's not surrounded by idiots. Some of these people are pretty sharp and its not going to be a cake walk getting into her inner circle like some of these other royals we've fleeced." He said as he counted out some credits into his pile and did a quick count to make sure they were still more or less even. It wouldn't ever be full 50/50 but they always tried to get as close to it as possible. "I'm sure you'll find a way to keep yourself entertained."


Taryn was not an unattractive woman by any species standards and she knew that. She was going to run through the men here quicker than a Hutt would Twi'lek dancers. Whether or not she could do it without making some enemies or not for that long was a different story. As clever as she was Rixa had noted in their time together that she could have a bit of an attitude at times, and it didn't always work out in her favor. "Look at it this way, you could be stuck on Roon helping clean up that whole mess. I don't know about you but I'd much rather be here on Naboo...even if the drinks aren't as stiff."


After counting out their credits Rixa took his half, leaving her the bigger portion since she'd done most of the work this time. "Remember, let me know if you hear anything about some weird shadow cult while you're...conversing with the rich and mighty of Naboo. I know the goal is to rob this queen blind, but I'd rather not get a plasma round in my back while trying to do that." He grinned at her as he pocketed his take and stood up to leave her room.


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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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For a time, Taryn sat still and just stared at Rixa. Yes she heard what he said, what he repeated, and it was the reason she was staring. And then she scoffed and grabbed one of the pillows from her bed and threw it at him. "Honestly, Rixa! We don't belong here, and sooner or later the people around here are going to catch on to what we're doing." They never stayed in any place as long as he was talking about right now. It wasn't safe for them to stick around and keep running jobs - especially when it was Taryn who was going to be taking the risks on the outside this time around.

"I get that you have you cushy job, and only have to worry about running one scheme. But staying here means that I have to keep running jobs, and eventually that is going to catch up with me."

Tar sighed and lifted both hands to run them through her hair. This was typical Rixa, and she really shouldn't be so surprised about it. "I don't know, right now the idea of helping clean up the compound sounds like less trouble." she added before getting up from where she had sat down before. "I don't know, I think some part of you likes the idea of me having a rough time. If I get beat down, or shot, then you don't have to share profits." It would of course be hard to tell whether she was just being ornery or not, especially since there was no tell on her face one way or the other.

 

[Rixa Numeck]

Rixa rolled his eyes at her. "Hey you know that this job is going to be incredibly lucrative for both of us. You're a smart cookie, you know when to lay low and when to be out there scamming people. Only run scams when you need the credits, make them stretch as long as you can." He gave her that Numeck grin. "As much as I would like to keep all the creds to myself and for you to be the one with shebs in a sling instead of me for once, you know that anyone who gives you a problem would have a far bigger issue once I get involved." Rixa may not have been the big and imposing force that his older brother was, but he still had that Numeck temper and wasn't above doing some deranged stuff to someone who had wronged him or hurt someone close to him. As much as he and Taryn bickered, she was closer to him than anyone else. Anyone who laid a finger on her with bad intentions would not have that finger, and maybe a few more digits and limbs, when Rixa was finished with them.


"If you want to, you can come in on this job with me?" He offered her. "Maybe you could charm that captain of the guard some and get him off my case so I can focus on the Queen. I mean even having another woman around might make her soften up a bit." Not that he was having trouble when he was with the Queen, it was just getting time alone to talk with her that was the issue. When they did have a few moments alone with each other things always seemed to go swimmingly up until one of her minders showed up and pulled her in another direction.



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TAG: Taryn Alvor

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[Taryn Alvor]

Tags: | Rixa Numeck |

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The expression on Taryn's face did not soften any. She did listen to what was being said to her, and added a scoff here or a roll of the eyes there, but overall her expression didn't change any. This was one of those moments where she wasn't being heard, and because of this there would always be some quick witted, frustrating response that Rixa deemed was a 'solution' to the problems Tar presented.

And then there was the talk of him championing for her, were anything to go wrong. That at least softened the hardened edges of Taryn's gaze and she had to look away in order to keep the hard set of her mouth in place. If there was ever a solid truth between her and Rixa, it was that the pair of them could give each other hell all day long, but if anyone else were to step in and try to do so? It wouldn't end well for that person. "Like you would have time to leave your fancy galas and council meetings to come and put some overly accusatory noble back in their place on my behalf."

Tar's arms folded across her chest and she sighed slowly through her nose. This was such a bad idea for a multitude of reasons. Most of which Rixa was blind to due to his ambitions about this job he was convinced he could do. "As for your Captain of the Guard, from what I've seen, that man doesn't have eyes for anyone but his Queen. It would be a pointless and wasted effort to even try, and then he would be even more suspicious of you than I'm sure he already is." her head shook. "You're gonna have to keep at it on your own, but don't be surprised if you come back here to find me, and I've gone back to Roon without you."

And that wasn't sarcasm or orneriness.