[Jaykobell]

Senervel didn't know whether he was supposed to be surprised or insulted that Sayashin didn't seem to know him. He gave an amused look as she looked him over, tilting his head patiently. "Fairly well-known, if I do say so myself," he added with glintering white teeth, his smile that of a skilled killer, but one that had since then forgotten the thrill of the job. "I fought in the Imperial and Purine war, and I killed a good amount of people in my time… You, on the other hand, seem to be quite the little amateur." It was hard to say if he was just mocking her, since his smile and tone lead to believe that he was both serious and mocking. But one could assume he was most likely teasing Sayashin, most likely to get a little fun out of this.

Her reaction when he gave back the bag of gems amused him as well. Well, he couldn't blame her, admittedly. After all, weren't they both from the same world, this world of trickery and deceit, and blood baths? Obviously, so it was no wonder that she was so reluctant to take the bag back. "No trick," he assured, lifting a paw as if to swear on his name that he wasn't lying. "I would have some more fun, but I think this kind of terrain might be too much for your level." Well, it had taken him a few years to get over this kind of terrain. Jumping from building to building wasn't the easiest of things, taken, considering you also had to have a bunch of other valuable skills to make it all work out. Without powerful limbs, you can't jump; but without stamina to run steadily, you can't jump, either; and without balance, you can't land correctly, which puts you to a disadvantage right away. It was an art, in and of itself. Or so Sen thought.

He chuckled, a dark, light sound that dripped with darkness. "You guess?" he echoed, taking a few steps towards her. "If you intend on going down, I would plan my way down carefully," he advised, walking right beside her. It seemed like he wasn't afraid of her trying to attack him. How overconfident; but perhaps he was right to be confident. "Your claws are a huge help in anything you want to do. Always rely on your claws and your muscles. Let your body guide you down the building…"

[Thunder]

Sayashin frowned at his teasing tone of voice. If he had fought in the Purine and Imperial War, and if he was actually that well known, then she had definitely made the right choice not to pick a fight with him. Something about Senervel made her feel warier around him than anyone else. The aura of a seasoned killer, perhaps He was unarmed, and he came up right next to her without any worry. That sent warning signals everywhere. Sayashin decided that she should stay on this male's good side, and so far, as it seemed that she was a merely source of amusement for him, she should be rather safe. But the assassin kept her guard up as always, eyes darting to the side so she could keep note of where Senervel was.

But when Senervel started directing her on how she should make a jump, Sayashin just grew more confused. She shook her head and blinked her icy eyes, trying to keep her mind clear. Stay focused...don't forget about your mission. He was helping her...but why? Maybe so she would be even more entertaining to mess around with? Sayashin let out an annoyed huff and eyed the roof on the other side of the gap.

"Let my body guide myself down..." she muttered after him. She took a deep breath, calming the tension she felt around this guy, and in the next second, she was soaring across the gap and landed smoothly on the other side. Sayashin stared at her paws for a moment, then looked over her shoulder to see what Senervel was doing.

[Jaykobell]

There was a single thing that he never tried, in his life, thus far: training someone. Most people took in pupils, young aspiring youngsters, and they trained them until they would reach their highest level, in every skill the master could teach. And those who had succeeded in reaching an acceptable skill in anything, can be proven by the victory of the pupil over the master. And then the line continued, the pupil, now a master, finding a pupil of his own... It went on and on, and this was the sort of thing Senervel had gone through, with his family butler. Only, he still couldn't beat the butler in question. But this was a detail that wasn't worth mentioning, now was it...

But this was to say, perhaps trying to give hints to this young assassin would be interesting, perhaps it would prove amusing to see the level of skills she had. It wasn't often that you got to see a female assassin, let alone one that looked good. So he might as well hang around a little, yes? He could be surprised, or so he kept telling himself. He grinned at the thought, watching ahead of him towards the next building. And then next thing he knew, Sayashin was murmuring something to herself, and she bounced and landed on the other building shortly after she'd talked to herself. He tilted his head curiously to the side, watching the female Lucain on the other side. He took a few steps back, and a few heartbeats later, he was also jumping and landing on the other side of the building, his movements making the jump seem like a walk in the park.

He sat down upon reaching the other side, his tails flicking before lying down beside him. "Not too shabby, for a female." The comment was neutral, clearly not intended to mock her for her gender, but rather to state a fact. "You rarely see the females try this. And the males who do try, are overconfident and are caught by inexperience..." He grinned with amusement and lifted a paw. "They jump, miscalculate it, and then..." He drew a sharp invisible line with his paw, "... snap. There goes their spine, and their whole career, for that matter..." He put his paw back down, tilting his head. "And something would've happened to you if I hadn't dragged you back up." And then there came a mocking grin, as if to say, 'Aren't you lucky?'.

[Thunder]

Sayashin could see Senervel grinning on the other building. Her eyes narrowed a bit. What could he be up to now? She backed up a bit, unsure if she should continue to leap across the rooftops and leave him behind, but something about Senervel's look told her that he wasn't quite finished with her, and Sayashin knew she wouldn't be able to escape from him with the difference in their skills. And then a strange thought occurred to her. Perhaps she wasn't finished with him, as well?

Suddenly, Senervel was on the roof with her. He had made the jump so swiftly and smoothly that she almost missed it. Sayashin's muscles tensed up a bit again, but once he began to speak, they relaxed. Was that supposed to be...a compliment? And that grin...she didn't know what to make of it. The assassin could tell he was mocking her, but it was true. If Senervel hadn't saved her, Sayashin would have been a broken pile on the ground below.

"Tch," she snorted, flicking her three tails in slight annoyance. "Well...I suppose..." Then she gave him a good stare right in the eyes. "Why are you still here? You still want something, I can tell."

[Jaykobell]

From the looks of it, Sayashin was still doubtful of him. Which was a good thing: you can never be too sure about anyone in this part of the world. It was dangerous to trust anyone, especially if you were a woman. People would stalk you, since women are a rare sight in these sad, deprived parts... Go figure why prostitution rates were skyrocketing in this specific part of the Evelon world. Even children were involved in that sad, miserable lifestyle.

Senervel chuckled when Sayashin just 'tch'ed and stared at him, so very doubtful of him. "You suppose?" he echoed, amused. "I've seen enough in my life to know how you would've ended up," he added with a chuckle, one without any remorse for the lives that he'd seen, wasted on that pavement that seemed so far away, from up above. And her next comment intrigued him. "Oh?" He tilted his head, the monocle shining slightly. He chuckled a little, his tails twitching. "Keen eye." But it was hard to see otherwise, he figured. He was pretty... clingy, wasn't he? He laughed to himself at the mention of that silly word. "I told you. You're not too shabby, especially for a female. Not old, either." He craned his neck towards her a little, tilting his head a little more so he could look back into her eyes. "I've never tried that before, but you would be... how would you say... a good student. Wouldn't you agree?"

[Thunder]

Not shabby...not old... What was this other killer getting at? Sayashin growled a bit as Senervel took a closer look at her with those sharp eyes of his, staring straight into her being...

"...you would be... how would you say... a good student."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She let out a hiss of shock and staggered back a bit, clearly not expecting this statement from the other Lucain. "A...student...?" Sayashin repeated. She tried to regain her composure, not wanting Senervel to judge her reaction. Hm...if this male wanted to teach her, obviously his opinion of her leaned towards the positive side. And if he was as famous as he claimed...then she would only benefit from being his pupil.

Sayashin shut her eyes, thinking over his offer. She had only just met Senervel, and it wasn't the most pleasant of encounters either. True, she was still a bit wary of him, but... Her eyelids flickered open again, and she looked up at him again. "Hmph. I think it would help me. So I will take your offer...at least, for now."

(Suckish late post x3x)

[Jaykobell]

[[ Oh. My. Holy. God. I am so sorry. x D X I just noticed your last reply was back in March. I never noticed. Muuuuuh. ]]

Senervel tried to contain his amusement, but unfortunately, a large grin on his face betrayed him. Sayashin's reaction had been so amusing to see; so jittery and doubtful. Eventually his grin showed teeth, and then he burst out chuckling, amusement dripping in waves. Watching the reactions of other people towards his words or actions was always amusing, and full of surprises. After repeating his words, he watched as Sayashin tried to regain her composure; which amused Senervel, too. On the other hand, he was satisfied with her reaction; while shocked, Sayashin didn't bounce around excitedly like a child afterwards. Instead, she regained her composure and even continued to be doubtful of him. Meanwhile, his grin refused to disappear.

He chuckled when Sayashin added, "for now" to her reply. "For now?" he echoed amusingly, getting up and walking over to the edge of the building. He then looked over his shoulder to continue his answer. "I don't remember mentors offering insurance," he added as he turned his head back to take a look below. He remained silent for a while, looking at the streets down below. Streets buzzing with poor homeless people, petty thieves, and maybe your typical mercenary; among other citizens and pets. Without looking back at Sayashin, he proposed, "How about starting with this?" He turned his around again to look back at her. "One skill a killer must achieve is that of a good eye. Body language can give you clues about someone's intentions; but just someone's presence can help determine someone's goals. Being wary is good, but being too wary can also put you at a disadvantage." He looked back below at the crowded street, tails flicking slowly. "Clothes also help, specially when it comes to amateurs. Can you pick out some criminals down there?"

[Thunder]

Sayashin flicked her ears and tails in annoyance when Senervel burst out laughing. She wasn't sure if she could stand being this guy's apprentice, but she supposed that she would have to start learning how to bear with him starting now. Mentally growling to herself, she followed him to the edge of the building and gazed down at the streets below. The Slums were quite a disgusting place, but it was perfect for shady figures like her. At the same time, everyone knew how dangerous the area was, so blending in was a must.

She listened closely as Senervel went on to talk about body language. What he was saying was very true. You could tell what a person was like by how they acted, or by their appearance or presence. It wasn't just important for an assassin to keep their own profile low. The skill to detect other suspicious figures was just as necessary. Sayashin took a good look at the figures below her, watching each and every one of them carefully.

"There is one man down there," she said after a bit. "He has a dark cloak, and he keeps fiddling with it as if he's hiding something inside."

[Jaykobell]

Well, admittedly, Senervel was disappointed Sayashin hadn't reacted to his reaction. That had been a reaction to her reaction to begin with! Yes, watching and listening to others was always an amusing activity for him. But, ah, back to the matter at hand, yes? He couldn't, as a brand new mentor, start daydreaming on his lady pupil... now could he?

Chuckling to himself, Senervel continued to look down at the streets below. Vast, dirty as a dump, stinking like a stunk or two: so were the streets of the Slums. So very despicable, ah. It was quite sad, to imagine people living in such conditions. Senervel often wondered what would've happened to him if life had treated his mother differently. But, ah, there he was, daydreaming again, wasn't he? He couldn't afford to dwell on such things. Were you getting old, Sen? Thinking of such things, heh.

He grinned when Sayashin spotted an amateur criminal down there. He could spy a few; not too many of them, but a couple. "Well then," he started as he turned to look at her, "how about you show me how you'd handle this? Try to steal whatever they have under that cloak of theirs..." He got up and walked along the edge of the building just a little. "Get down the building, steal their prize — killing them as well, if you feel like it — and then climb back up. Climb any building, and I'll meet up with you." He looked over his shoulder, a grin on his face. "Are you up for it?"

[Thunder]

Sayashin frowned down at the man with the dark cloak, calculating how to get down to him as stealthily as possible. She had no problem stealing the man's hidden object in front of people, but she was a bit more uncertain about killing him in plain sight of others, as she was used to tracking her victims to a more desolate location and then ending their lives there. But if it came down to it, Sayashin could kill the man if she had to. It just meant that she had to be careful not to be seized by someone else.

She proceeded to walk around the building they were standing on, scanning the sides for routes she could take. At the north-facing side there were a couple of old, rusty stairs, but they only got as far as halfway up the building. Above these stairs were windows that were shaded by tarps, which Sayashin could perhaps leap onto without much risk of the cloth giving away. She decided that she might jump onto the tarps and then onto the top of the stairs, then descend from there.

Taking a deep breath, the assassin bounded off the side of the building and felt her paws hit the cloth. It bent a bit under her weight, but it didn't give. It wasn't the quietest leap, however, and Sayashin made a mental note to work on her silence.

[Jaykobell]

Senervel watched quietly as Sayashin did her mission. Ah, how intriguing. He'd never really watched another assassin's work. After all, he was the one who would always get to them first. Poor little things.

He observed as Sayashin explored the building they were standing on. Since she was just starting, he figured it was acceptable, but at one point, he would need to teach her to get down buildings... by just gliding on the sides. It wasn't as scary or life-threatening as it sounded, truly! He watched as Sayashin opted for the tarps, her leap far from being quiet. Since her victim wasn't necessarily targeted by the two of them, he figured it didn't really matter; but he did hope she'd made a mental note to work on that. Leaping quietly was an art, and a skill that any professional assassin had to possess.

The cloaked man suddenly disappeared from the crowd, and slipped away into a dark alley, fortunately for Sayashin, maybe. If it came to killing the thief, she would have the opportunity to do it in an alley, which would give her enough time to run away. But, truly... did people care that much that another thief was going down the drain? Down there, in the alley, the thief was looking over his prize. Small bags filled with what seemed to be powder of some sort. He had some smaller packages as well, mostly likely containing pills. It seemed he dealed with questionable substances.

[Thunder]

Sayashin saw the man duck into a nearby alleyway. Narrowing her eyes, she bounded down a few more tarps, making sure she landed and quietly as possible, before she finally got to the last one and hopped down onto the ground. She pressed herself against the building wall and peered over the corner. The man wasn't in sight, and hopefully he hadn't moved. Sayashin decided that she'd use her human form again, so her golden markings wouldn't give her away. There was a quiet rustle and a dark haired girl stood in the Lucain's place, dressed entirely in black.

After confirming the coast was clear, she darted over to the building straight across from her, which was right next to the alleyway the man vanished into. Still keeping close to the walls, Sayashin inched towards the alleyway, knife gripped firmly in her right hand. She stuck her head around the corner to see if the man was still there...

[Jaykobell]

Although Sayashin was moving quietly, Senervel felt like she was taking too much time. Perhaps he had high expectations; but Sayashin seemed to be the quiet, but relatively slow type. This small exercise allowed him to access what kind of assassin she was. The loud, quick type? The quiet, slow type? The sneaky type? The forceful type? Senervel moved as quickly as possible while being as silent as possible. It was all about execution. He kept his eyes on Sayashin, watching as her prey remained in that alley, perhaps only from pure luck... Thieves usually didn't stop at one spot for too long.

The thief — still unaware that he was being hunted — used this time to look over his prize. The powder was most likely drug, and the pills had to be something similar. The bags were very small, but considering the substances at hand, it was understandable. While the thief was looking around — he was probably looking for his client or a dealer, who knows — he moved around the alley a little bit, checking every spot possible. He couldn't afford to stay here too long...

[Thunder]

The target was still there. The man was walking around the alleyway, searching for something, the bag of drugs still in his hands. If Sayashin didn't move fast, who knew what would happen next? Maybe the man would run away if she continued to hesitate. She waited until the man's back was facing her, and then...

Sayashin leaped from behind the corner, running towards the man with her knife readied. She knew that Senervel would be watching her performance, and she realized that she didn't want to disappoint him, which was surprising as she usually did not care for others' opinions on her work. She ran up to the man, hoping to slash his throat, which would most likely be the fastest way to kill him.

[Jaykobell]

The thief was still unsuspecting. He was probably too busy dreaming of the money he would finally be able to make, of all the fancy, expensive things he would be able to buy. In his focus, and his carelessness, he never saw — or heard — Sayashin coming. When he felt someone moving behind him, he turned around to take a look, but it was already too late. The thief only had enough time to make a dumbfounded, terrified expression before Sayashin's blade got to slit the throat like a mail opener forcing a letter open. The thief gargled some nonsense as blood gushed out from his throat, and his body slowly fell to the ground in an awkward slump, twitching until the man had died. Just a puny, inexperienced thief. Another nobody.

Senervel's ears twitched as he watched Sayashin jump into the action without even thinking twice about it. That was good; excellent, even. He wouldn't have to worry about any sort of hesitation, any sort of remorse, or any sort of emotion that could potentially keep Sayashin from being a good assassin. If you want to become a big one in the field, you had to learn how to let those emotions roll off your back. You had to let them come and go without so much as a second thought; without so much as acknowledging them. If Sayashin could deal with that much, then training could go from novice to beginner. Good.

He jumped down the building by scraping his claws against the wall. It was done in a way that allowed for his claws to prevent him from falling without scraping the building loudly enough to alert potential targets. By sliding down the wall, he reached Sayashin soon enough, ruffling his fur to shake off tiny pellets that had detached from the wall. "Somewhat loud, calculating, quick on her feet, and... rather reckless." His teeth shone in a grin as he said the last part. Jumping out like that and just dashing at your enemy was rather... well, yes, reckless. She had been lucky the thief hadn't reacted sooner and retaliated.
He then tilted his head. "What did you do wrong?" Something she would need to do, from now on, if she wasn't doing it yet: taking mental notes on her performance, and figuring out what she needed to work on. Oh, he knew, of course; that wasn't why he was asking. It was to make sure she knew.