Risky Business (Cassius/Viktoria)

[jarahamee]

The evening light seemed even dimmer as it filtered between the leaves of the tall pine trees at the trail head. Few cars were parked in the parking lot at the entrance, which meant that most of the hikers had already gone home, and those that were still on the trail were probably on their way back. This meant that they would have the entire place to themselves.

Cassius kicked the driver’s side door open with his foot, and stepped out onto the meager gravel covering the dusty surface of the parking lot with a resounding crunch.

It had been a while since he had been out on the trails, and he missed it. Much less erratic than following scents and sounds with Sarkany, or searching the woods for Hunters and predatory supers. No, this was just a perfectly ordinary trail, and today he was a perfectly ordinary man, and definitely not a WDSA agent in civilian clothes.

He brushed his hair back, combing his fingers through the now-long front, and gave Viktoria a cocky, toothy smile.

“We’re here, and look, it’s almost all to ourselves.”

The scarred man gestured to the steadily darkening forest and the weaving path through the trees. 

He was dressed inappropriately for this activity, wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a leather jacket. He played with his sunglasses, wondering how dark it would be before he wouldn’t be able to see through them.

[tsukikoko]

Viktoria's gaze swept across their surroundings, her nostrils lifted to the breeze in order to catch any wayward scents. It was a standard ritual for the feline whenever she entered a new area, regardless of how well she knew it, or who she was with.

Old habits and all that.

Given the nature of the trail and the variety of animals that regularly travelled across it, a pulse of predatory excitement spread through the feline's body. Though her expression didn't change, there was a distinct swell to her pupils that spoke volumes to any who knew her well.

She glanced down at Cassius and asked,
"Somezing iz, ah, imporrrtant, herrre? Orr iz just arrrea you arrre lyiking?"
Viktoria herself certainly preferred the pine woods to the city, even though she was perfectly capable of dealing with any place her companion decided to take her. He hadn't yet explained why they'd come out here, but given previous trips had been just to spend time with one another, she wasn't particularly concerned.

[jarahamee]

“It’s just a nice view. I used to come here with my son, years ago.”

Cassius pulled the bottom of his jacket to straighten it out and started walking towards the trailhead. He frowned, thinking of how best to frame what was coming, but the scar about his mouth seemed to twist the right side into the suggestion of a smile. He did seem a little…off… the last few days. More thoughtful, slower to smile. His usual cheery and amorous nature seemed… diminished.

The thin trees seemed to grow in height the closer they came to the edge of the forest. No wonder those on the trail were eager to return. He could see that Viktoria was excited to explore, and perhaps, to follow the now fading trails of the beasts who had been through the area earlier that day.

As they wandered onto the trail’s head, his eye caught details that he knew didn’t matter. The way that the footprints were layered, indicating that several groups had come and returned, and one had not. The very very soft sounds of speaking, far in the distance. The brush sounds of small animals moving away from the approaching pair.

“I did want to discuss something with you. I realize I’ve done you a disservice by…not talking about it before, but I thought I had more time…”

He turned towards her, his expression almost sheepish, holding both hands out, palms upward. Cassius had proven himself almost impossible to shame and very difficult to embarrass, which made this unusual for him.

“Everyone thinks they have more time than they really do. I suppose, I am no different.”

The scarred man shrugged idly, as if he was discussing something as ordinary as the weather. At the very least, he could expect her to be direct, and not dance around any questions she might have.

“I told you about Beast and I. Our deal… I think, she is going to try to take my body soon. I notice she’s become much stronger. I can feel her thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, she acts through me. I think these are signs that I am nearing the end of my part of our bargain.”

[tsukikoko]

Viktoria's gaze slid sidelong in a slow, steady appraisal of the man walking alongside her. She'd noticed the subtle shift in his demeanour, though she hadn't pointed it out as of yet; should Cassius wish to tell her of something, she figured he would do so in his own time and she was not one to pry when there was not yet need. If his mood had continued to diminish, or his work abilities were faltering, or he was being placed in more danger than was necessary because of it, then she might have said something.

Still, even the Terrine was reaching a point of pondering if she should at least mention his recent emotive state.

As it turned out, however, he took the initiative.

She listened, attentively, green eyes focused upon his face. Though, as ever, her expression gave little to nothing away. It was only the slightest tilt of her head, a tightening to her muzzle that wasn't quite wrinkling or a frown, that might have suggested she was disquieted by the subject of conversation.

Only when she was sure he has finished speaking, did Viktoria ask simply,
"You arrre.. dying?"

Even to her, the feline wasn't certain she had phrased the question quite right. But it was the closest and easiest approximation she could make, given the nature of Cassius' situation and trying to parse it within her own head. When the topic of mythical entities and otherworldly deals, anything magic or outside her scope of knowledge, came up, it could be difficult for the scarred feline to articulate or puzzle out, given just how fundamentally different the subjects often were from her scientific, military or space-faring backgrounds.

[jarahamee]

“Yeah…”

Cassius took in the phrase, and then nodded subtly. It was a close enough comparison for him. Both were nonexistence at its finest. Was it really death? Not really, but if the word was good enough for inanimate things like planets and stars, it would be good enough for him.

He shoved his gloved hands in his jacket pocket and stalked up next to her. He was decidedly and uncharacteristically somber as he stood in the night air. How ironic, he thought, that Atol, his magi, armed men, werewolves, wendigos, ghosts, and gods could not kill him. In the end, it was his longstanding bargain. True irony.

His ancestors would have loved the classic tragedy of it all.

“I have been looking at my options, but… It really isn’t looking good. There are some methods I have used before, which I stopped using and never perfected. I am going to revisit them… I want to explore every option before I call it, but I think… I’m running out of time.”

The scarred man made a soft hissing sound between his sharp teeth and then looked up from his boots. Even less characteristic of him. He was always alert and scanning their surroundings, even idly. Looking at the ground was just unheard of.

“Anyways, this isn’t all about me. I wanted to… make sure you were taken care of; in case I can’t be there. I want to give you a fragment of my uh… stone. It will help extend your life. And some… other things that will help you if I’m not around anymore…”