* ł ₵₳₦'₮ / 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖑 𝖎𝖙 .

“Mouthy.” She commented upon his request, a logical one indeed and thus she saw no harm in admitting so out loud. “But smart. That’s important.” A perfectly formed eyebrow rose, eyes scanning the man over. He was a bit taller than her mortal form, fit of course given the place that she had recruited him from as well as young enough to have potential to be formed to her ideas. Too young for any other interests really, a woman like her had no interest in boys. “I won’t disclose anything about myself until I know I can trust you, a boy with your wits will understand that. What I can say is that I am looking for an addition to my team, a bodyguard if you will, maybe an informant if it turns out that you are more than just brawn. So let’s stop fucking around and get to the point, I am filthy rich and you’ll get out of this shithole.” Legs crossed calmly as she leaned back, the black blouse dress she wore was hugging her curves nicely, leaving little to imagination for anyone. It had drawn other gazes from customers around, eventually being paid attention by herself with a glance, ideas sparking behind curious pupils. She didn’t need protection, this was all nothing but a game to her, she simply needed a few more pawns for excitement. “That one, make him leave.”

it definitely wasn’t the first time iago’s back talk had been called out, and he had a feeling it was far from the last. sure, he could tame things down a bit to be professional, but he wasn’t planning on changing who he was anytime soon. and why should he? clearly it was working for him, if he was getting job offers based just off first appearances. who else could say that? at least, who else in this stupid town? 

more than anything, her promise to get him out of here was what stuck out to him the most, about her offer. well.... aside from her body. as impressive as it was, however - and as many times as he may have happened to glance up and down it, appreciating the view - nothing beat the possibility of getting away from the mess he was currently trapped in. did he appreciate orders being barked at him? absolutely not. but the orders coming from someone as pretty as she was, paired with the hope of a better future... that was something he was willing to put up with. certainly beat the treatment he was getting at home, anyway. 

his eyes finally peeled off the curves of eris’s body to follow her gaze across the room, narrowing in on her target. thankfully, the guy was only about his own size, if not a bit smaller - someone he’d be able to take in a fight pretty easily if necessary. sure, he himself wasn’t often the largest guy in the room, but he knew how to take a punch, and fight back twice as hard. a bodyguard didn’t sound like a completely unrealistic job for him. especially if he was guarding a body as nice as the one beside him. 

without a word, iago grabbed the drink sitting in front of eris and finished off the rest of it, setting the glass back down on the table with a small clink before making his way across the room. a bit of liquid courage, to help him get the job done. the man he approached seemed pretty confused about the situation, a reaction that made iago wonder why exactly she’d wanted him to be removed in the first place, but he was smart enough to not ask questions. the less he knew about whatever her situation was, the better. it took a little arguing, and a good amount of shoving, but after a few, short minutes, iago managed to get the man out of the bar. 

Lately, life was too boring. Sure, terrorizing a few mortals here and there could be fun- but after a while even watching someone’s throat be slashed lost its peak. The weapon trade was as wonderful as ever, bringing in the big money, enough to have the goddess living comfortably on earth. Yet, something was missing. A woman like her would never admit it, but loneliness could not be avoided by the immortal, even someone like her. So she had played with the idea of forming a bit of a team around her, people of all kind with just the right amount of potential for chaos that would make for an entertaining time. Obviously, yet to be tested on their potential. “Iago, was it?” Ember eyes seemed to shimmer from behind dark shades, specks of gold dancing in them dim light of the dubious bar. Fingers with manicured, long nails motioned toward the seat beside her for him to sit, casual in the way she swung her glass before taking a swig. “One thing to know is that I never wait on anyone. You are perfectly on time, as to be expected.” The question of another drink was casually waved off, clearly she did not even have the need for proper greetings. “Have you thought of my offer?”

eris’s words stumped him. was this some sort of test? if he went to the bar to grab a drink, he’d be leaving her waiting, something she claimed she didn’t do. if this was a job interview, it could cost him the position, and he couldn’t risk that. a job could get him away from a situation he desperately needed an escape from, and if he fucked that up over some simple mistake, before he’d even managed to get a real chance for it, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. on the other hand, if her offer had been more... personal, well, he didn’t want to come off as some sort of simp. 

a compromise had to be made. somewhere in between, to test the waters, before he could figure out what exactly was going on here. he watched as she gestured to the seat beside her, but made no effort to sit, though he also didn’t leave the side of the table. “i’ve thought about it. mostly, i’ve thought about how vague it was. if i’m going to agree to... whatever this is... you’re going to need to be a lot more specific. i’m not a fool, and you’re not about to take me for one.” 

“we need to talk.” iago didn’t wait for a response from willow or the other man as took his ex by the arm, guiding her out of the crowd of partygoers and towards a slightly more quiet corner of the room. “what’s the fucking deal here, huh? you think that if you parade some loser around, i’ll be begging to get you back, is that it? i don’t play those stupid games, willow.” @silentcallng​​

this wasn’t how savannah had seen her life going, not at all where she had seen herself years ago when she thought of what her life would look like being married and having a house. because none of it was real. it was a fake marriage and a fake house. well, she supposed the house was technically real, but it wasn’t really theirs and she knew nothing of the man that she was “married” to other than he’d been a witness to something nearly or more disturbing than one that she’d testified against. that and the man just exuded former delinquent vibes. it was just something about his energy, she couldn’t pinpoint it, but the southern belle could feel it coming off of him in waves. there was no doing anything about that now, though, they were stuck with each other, so savanna tried to make the best of it and be as positive as she could. “well, hello to you too, sweetheart,” she replied to his non-greeting. “i’m good thanks for askin’, yeah the trip to the store was alright. they were out of almond flour, though,” the blonde continued as the man brushed past her. “hey, watch where you’re goin’ ya goon,” she scolded, but was grateful that he was at least helping with bringing in the groceries, carrying the bags in her own hands over to the kitchen and setting them on the counter. “could it be considered a guest bedroom if you’re usin’ it?” she asked once he had returned with the rest of the groceries. 

iago didn’t respond to her question until all the groceries had been brought in, and he’d begun unpacking the bags, thinking it over. “to any and all guests we might be entertaining in the home, it will be. as far as they know, it’s for when we have family come visit. everyone’s supposed to think we’re going at it in our own, shared bed every night. we’re newlyweds after all, right?” the eye roll he paired with the word wasn’t necessary, though it did show how he felt about the ridiculousness of this situation. why could he have just been... witness protected on his own? why did he have to put up with some chick who seemed determined to make conversation with him? if they weren’t going to fuck, what was the point? he didn’t need a roommate, and it didn’t seem likely that she needed his sarcastic remarks, which had been pretty much the only thing he’d provided for her thus far into their “relationship”. however... despite his best efforts to give savannah the cold shoulder at pretty much every opportunity, there was one question that he knew would bother the hell out of him until he got an answer. “what the fuck is almond flour?”