THIS IS GOSPEL [CLOPIN]

Oh, how funny was this? It looked as though Talon had made his way slinking around through the village. Clopin watched him from afar, quite curious to what he was doing there. He did have a feeling that he was looking for someone though (a feeling that said that Talon was searching for him). Why else would Talon be out and about? And Clopin really could not say no to the opportunity of finding out first hand why he was here. After all, he did take quite a lot of delight out of poking good fun at the brute! Charming words and a sweet exterior apparently had not been reserved for the likes of Clopin Truand because with this one he hardly received it. That would not be a problem though.

When he finally decided to approach the man he did it in several leaping bounds from behind. Between his wide steps he pulled a satin scarf from his back pocket and pulled it around Talon’s neck as he spun around to stand before him. He took both ends of the scarf to pull his dear friend uncomfortably close and gave him a devious look.

“Lucky lucky me to find such a person walking through my end of town,” Clopin told him in a mockingly flirtatious tone all the while rolling his shoulders as if to invite Talon into a playful dance. “You wouldn’t happen to be out looking for me, would you? You need only to call, Talon, and Clopin will hear you.”

The relationship that he had with this man could have possibly been a dangerous one. He knew that Talon did not exactly enjoy his antics, but it was all the more reason to drive him up the wall. Clopin also did not fear the man. Even if he did try to hurt him, Clopin liked to think of himself as quick and at least have enough wits about him to outdo this one. Not to mention, he had a feeling that darling Talon wouldn’t dare to harm him.

At his reaction, Clopin smirked knowing that he’d gotten some surprise out of him. And how could he not look pleased when Talon looked so displeased? It really didn’t take much to bring a smile to Clopin’s face and his friend here could have made use in taking notes since he usually made a face like he’d had garbage glued to his upper lip – funny he looked that way around Clopin, no? Needless to say, when Talon forced one of Clopin’s hands loose the limber brunette made no fuss about it. He took his scarf and began to instead twirl it around his fingers, slowly.

He mimicked Talon and took two steps back. He cocked his head and dropped the grin to give a more thoughtful look now. “I do love the scent of complete disdain,” Clopin told him while using one of his fingers to point Talon’s way. “Suppose that makes me a bit overly eager to be close.”

The look on Clopin’s face did not change even when he found himself pleased at Talon’s question. He just found it so absolutely amusing that Talon would be seeking him out for some kind of information. To be honest, Clopin did not know much about anything that was going on just yet. He knew that most everyone he’d met seemed to be just as seriously confused as he was though. Nobody really knew how anyone had gotten here or even why they were here. And, other than that, Clopin had no knowledge of any shady or important business happening around the place. There was a far better chance of Talon finding out the interesting things in that palace.

His face became grim and his dark eyes wandered away from Talon’s blue ones. He made a frown as if contemplating whether or not he should say anything at all. Then, after just a moment, his eyes darted back in Talon’s direction.

“If it’s something of use that you want to hear then you’re hardly going to catch me saying it when you’re standing so far off,” he explained while motioning toward the gap between them now. Talon wouldn’t want any of what they were saying to be carried away on the breeze to another pair of curious ears would he? Clopin used one of his index fingers that was now wrapped in the scarf to beckon Talon over in his direction. “I might have something to say if you can keep your mouth shut about it.”

It was clear by the look on his face that Clopin was not so pleased with the minimal amount of effort that Talon had put in. The man narrowed his eyes and looked down the bridge of his nose at the large amount of space that still stood between the pair of them. Eventually the dark brown irises reached Talon’s feet and traveled up from there until Clopin managed to lock eyes with the other. He still appeared displeased and for a moment held his pose and remained completely still. He tilted his chin more upward after a moment, a grin coming onto his lips although his eyes still remained rather… emotionless.

Clopin tucked the scarf away into another pocket as he dropped his hand. He then placed his hand beside his mouth to create a barrier in order to whisper his secrets in the direction of Talon. His face had dropped by then and his eyes had finally caught up to the grin that had crept up onto his face. Then he breathed very (purposely) quietly, “if you really wanted to have any of my help then you ought to have put a little more trust in me.”

After whispering his words, Clopin moved one foot back behind the other and then slowly pivoted around to make it the leading one – leading away from Talon. It wasn’t always wise to turn your back on someone, especially those who were as misleading as Talon could sometimes be. But Clopin could hope that he would assume right in Talon pursuing him. When he wanted something, Clopin had no doubt that Talon would go barreling after it. Especially if one could find the right buttons to press.

He carried on walking away, lifting his hand above his shoulder and waving his fingers a bit to add to the whole “good day to you” effect.

It was no surprise that Talon was trying to stop him seeing as Clopin had expected it. Talon did not seem to be the type to simply… give up. No, he’d get what he’d want even if it meant keeping Clopin from disappearing off into the shadows of the village! However, Clopin did not have any interest in letting Talon win anything so easily. They both knew that and Clopin was curious to see just how far he could push this one. What exactly would it take for him to finally lose his patience – completely?

Rather than coming to a stop as Talon placed himself in front of him, Clopin brought a hand up and gently placed his fingertips on Talon’s chest. He only lightly pushed away from him to spin around and stand beside him. Clopin did not much appreciate having Talon standing in front of him – in his way. Since he now stood beside him, Clopin leaned over in his direction until their shoulders just barely touched, his dark eyes turning to gaze over at him while he furrowed his brow.

“Skip through town holding hands?” Clopin repeated to him skeptically. Clopin made a face at him then and gave a gentle, slow shake of his head. “Please, don’t be ridiculous. Skipping through town with the likes of you would bring me no joy.” He lifted his hand and gave it a delicate kind of wave while grinning. “You are more than welcome to skip about on your own, but I’ll have no part in the nonsense.”

Clopin then took a step backwards to continue on in the direction he’d been going before Talon interposed. “Now why don’t you scurry on back into your neck of the woods,” he suggested to him. “You’ve only wasted my time and offered nothing of use to me in return for my services. Go on, skip away.”