Eight Intertwined

122 - Susanna

H'aanit observed Alaic from afar for a few seconds, a small frown on her face. She needed to get past him, but she wasn't entirely sure as to how. H'aanit was confident she would be able to put up a good fight against him, but that didn't feel like the right choice either. Somehow, the idea of starting a battle in the middle of the street for the sake of seeing Susanna didn't feel like it would make the best first impression. Reasoning with him wasn't going to work either though, so all H'aanit could bring herself to do was stare at him. It was difficult to say for sure if he had noticed her yet or not, but she chose to not question it.

The rest of the travelers were watching H'aanit carefully to see how she would respond, and Therion stepped up beside her with his hands shoved in his pockets. "So what's the plan?" he questioned. "Something tells me a simple 'pretty please' isn't going to work."

"Truth be told, I do not knowen," H'aanit replied with a deepening frown. Alaic, meanwhile, continued to look straight ahead. The crowd had fully dispersed now with everyone deciding to go their separate ways once they realized they would find no further entertainment from watching Susanna's bodyguard. It was no doubt a regular occurrence for them, though that did little to soothe H'aanit's thoughts on the matter.

"I wonder if the stubborn oaf has any weaknesses to exploit outside of battle," Therion muttered. "It doesn't matter how tough someone is in a fight. There's always going to be a way to work around their vulnerabilities to make things a little bit easier."

"For example, thou has a habit of sneaking in when committing a theft," H'aanit hummed. She may not have been there during the initial heist at Ravus Manor, but she had still heard the stories. Therion had been quite smart with his plan to sneak inside as a merchant even if it was all for nothing when faced with Heathcote's raw wit. It had fooled the guards at the gate, at the very least, and that was the first step Therion had needed.

Therion nodded. "Exactly. People have weak points no matter how much they try to hide it. You just need to figure out where to look and where to pull," he said. He thought about it for a moment before glancing up to H'aanit. "Hard as it may be to believe, I've known my share of big, burly types who were spooked by beasts. They can fight other humans easily, but when faced with a monster, they back down almost immediately."

"Beasts, thou sayest...?" H'aanit murmured. She glanced down to Linde, and the snow leopard stared back up at her. Linde tilted her head slightly to the side, already understanding what H'aanit was trying to get across. Her tail flicked behind her too as she waited for the inevitable command to rush toward Alaic and distract him from his mission.

"No promises that this one's the same, of course, but it's worth a try, wouldn't you say?" Therion questioned. He looked back over to Alaic and the man's stubborn expression. Unless the group wanted to try to fight him in full in the middle of the city, this seemed like their best option. It may not have been a foolproof plan, but it was at least something.

"'Tis curious advice..." H'aanit whispered. She couldn't even begin to imagine being afraid of monsters given her profession, though she supposed not everyone had the same experience she did when it came to fighting beasts from across the realm. Perhaps this really would be the perfect weakness for her to exploit when it came to pushing past Alaic. "But I seen no better options. Let us try it."

H'aan't glanced down to Linde again, and the snow leopard watched her eagerly. The longer she thought about it, the more H'aanit was convinced this was going to work. She had used Linde and Hägen to scare off a man harassing Natalia back in Stonegard, and that had given her the perfect chance to swoop in and help before things could get any worse. If Alaic was anything like that man had been, then he would no doubt back down the instant he thought he was in danger from Linde's roar. It wasn't as if Linde would actually attack without H'aanit's permission, but it would still be enough to turn the tides in the travelers' favor. Who was H'aanit to object to that?