IT'S THEIR OWN FAULT FOR BEING TIMELESS / open

[CAIN]

Amren was a curious one. He knew that there was something dark and feral contained in that tiny body of hers, could read the darkness in her area just as surely as he could sense the tightly wound coil of energy radiating from her. She didn't seem outright hostile, even if he knew she had a selfish heart, and that was enough for Cain. As long as she didn't fuck with his family, she would be accepted into said family; as long as she kept that wild side in check (or better yet, aimed towards the royals), she was fine, in his eyes. Hell, the more savagery buried deep inside, the more useful she was to him when it came time to give Freddie hell. He didn't need her to kill those demons, per se -- he just needed her to keep them well trained.

In the meantime, she was an excellent character study. Cain was a highly analytic person, and it showed; one would catch him simply staring, studying their movements, and he was completely unapologetic about it. A startled glance would simply receive an arched brow in response, because the Commander frankly didn't give a fuck if they caught him tracking their movements. He liked knowing his people, liked knowing who he was dealing with: it made things more... predictable. He had a plan for everything, and that required knowing the people who answered to him. That, and he genuinely cared about them on an individual level. He knew their birthdays and what they liked just as well as he knew their weaknesses and how useful they were in a war.

Amren was no different. He picked up on a sense of apathy there, the general impression that she was a greedy little shit who was hanging around because this was a more convenient place for her to be. She didn't have a true sense of loyalty, not yet, but that didn't bother him. Selfish people could be extremely good members once you won them over, and Cain was confident he could win her over -- they were, after all, inclined to extend that selfishness to their group, and act in the group's best interest at all times, consequences be damned. Cain was incredibly selfish when it came down to defending his people; if someone had to be sacrificed, he knew damned well that he wouldn't hesitate to scapegoat a stranger over his own people. That was just cold necessity.

He was watching her now, leaning against one of the houses as his sea-green stare tracked her levelly. He was paying half attention to the conversations happening around him, but mostly he was just watching Amren, waiting to see what she would do or if she would notice. Or, for that matter, if she would care.

© MADI