The feel of Sloane's shoulder against Fallon's arm was surprising to say the least, though outwardly Fallon showed no sign of being surprised. From what she'd seen with Kanu, this Sloane woman was not much of a talker, let alone someone that would touch someone else. Fallon was a bit proud of herself for making Sloane feel comfortable enough to even speak with her, let alone discreetly offer her comfort.

Fallon waved off Sloane's words with a smirk. "It wasn't much, as is the city still isn't nearly as developed as I want it to be. We have development plans though, and I'm excited to see this place grow more." Fallon truly did seem excited, with a sudden passionate glow in her eyes. She quite obviously cared about this town and it's people.

"Well," Fallon's face turned to Sloane as she spoke, "I will be happy to give you that tour. Is there any particular place you might want to skip? I know there are some people who feel uncomfortable in the crowded places like the town square or the markets and I would not want to take you places you won't like." Fallon had already begun the descent down the steps, though she continued to look over at Sloane's small form whenever she got the chance.

"As long as no one minds that I'm not from here, then I'm good with going anywhere." Sloane wasn't always keen on crowds, but she had gotten used to them. So, if the townsfolk wouldn't mind a foreigner walking among them, then Sloane would enjoy walking through the town square.

Plus, the markets may have the XXX (the plant they are looking for). It was unlikely, as Sloane was pretty sure it was a rarer herb, but it wouldn't hurt to look.

-

sorry it is short, i have no inspo for this rp (or WSHAB and knights)

Fallon immediately waved off Sloane's worries, shaking her head with a small grin. "Don't even worry about that, the people of the underworld are very accepting of practically everything. As long as outsiders don't deliberately try to start something, the people will open them with open arms." Fallon quieted for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before continuing.

"Most of us have had...complicated pasts. We would be the last people to treat someone differently solely because they come from another realm. So please don't fret Sloane, the people will be kind to you. Especially since I'm your tour guide." Fallon winked at Sloane as they approached the end of the staircase.

The town was all around them now, the sounds of laughter, voices, and coins spilled out from all corners of the town. The bright silver orbs from before danced atop black steel lanterns, and they seemed to grow brighter as Fallon passed. "Now," Fallon turned to Sloane suddenly, "would you prefer to see the tavern, inn, or town square first?"

Sloane didn't hesitate in her response, "The town square. I want to see what sort of goods you sell, since I've never been here before." Perhaps the explanation was unnecessary, but Sloane felt compelled to keep talking with Fallon.

"How is it that you became Captain of the guard? Your actions must have been impressive in order to get such a high ranking position."

Fallon led the way without looking, giving most of her attention to Sloane beside her. The sudden question seemed to catch Fallon off guard, though she recovered quickly enough and released a soft chuckle in response.

"I must say, for being a complete stranger in an even stranger land, you must have lots of confidence to ask such a direct question. Not that I mind of course, I quite like curious minds." Fallon have Sloane her signature sultry grin.

There was a short pause in the conversation as a passing demon brightened at Fallon's approach and began urgently asking her in Demonic for help with a... light? Fallon finally nodded and the woman thanked her vigorously before giving Sloane a curious glance and walking off.

"Sorry," Fallon spoke as she returned her attention to Sloane, "the residents often ask me for help with the orbs whenever I'm around." The woman gestured at the nearest lamppost where the glowing silver ball danced. "Anyways, as to how I became the captain of the guard, well to be quite honest it's all because of Kanu." The name made Fallon grimace for a moment before she shook off the expression.

"For many thousands of years I roamed this hellscape with no real goal. Most of my people have been killed off and I grew up without anyone's help. Learned how to protect myself from thieves pretty damn quick, and started using my...abilities to my advantage. Fast forward a few thousand years and I stumble across a fucked up dragon-kin, and what do ya know, it's the Crown Prince or whatever." Fallon paused as she moved out of the way of a passing carriage.

"Anyways, by that time I'd already made a name for myself as a pretty good assassin and was living decently enough when there weren't stuck up nobles chasing my ass. Mind you, I'd never met the crown prince before so I just assumed the dragon-kin was some rando. I ended up taking Kanu back to my place and helping him out while he recovered. Of course I figured out within a couple of months that the dumbass I'd picked up was Crown Prince Kanu Akmad and then I proceeded to kick him out of my house once he was healed because I didn't want any trouble. Unfortunately the crown prince is a stubborn shit."
Fallon released a heavy sigh, her shoes kicking rocks off the stone streets with a loud clatter. "He ended up coming back before long though, and we got.. friendly. Before our relationship got too far though, he recognized my talent and told me that I should sign up for the King's Army. I told him that I'd rather sit in a pile of surflag (hell's version of a cow) shit for 12,000 years before serving that demon but he eventually bothered me enough that I joined. After that I climbed the ranks pretty quickly, and when I cut off the head of the demon who'd killed the previous captain... well I got the role. It's not that interesting of a story to be honest, I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time." Fallon shrugged, she knew very well that the only reason why she'd joined the army, and progressed so quickly, was because of Kanu and she'd thanked him enough.

....

Was what Sloane wanted to say, and, in an ideal world, what wuld have happened. Instead it came out more as: "You did the work, so you got the job. I don't see a lot of luck in that." It was paired with a serious look, though, and Sloane hoped that look communicated her feelings better than her words had. She was seriously impressed with Fallon, and the head guard deserved to know that.

"You've probably heard all that before, though, so..." Sloane trailed off as a stall caught her eye. It was filled with plants native to Hell, and the mix of fierce yet achingly beautiful flowers interested her.

oopsie

What the hell happened to your post lmao

____

Fallon couldn't help but grin as Sloane put it all so bluntly. To be quite honest, the straight forward talk was welcomed after thousands of years of manipulative pricks. It was nice to see someone who genuinely said what she was thinking, something that even Kanu failed to do more than half the time.

Sure, Fallon was positive that Sloane was not by any means a very emotional person, but she didn't seem to hold back her thoughts like so many others.

"No actually," Fallon suddenly spoke, "I don't actually hear such genuine things very often." A smirk slipped onto Fallon's face as she stared curiously at Sloane for a moment.

Within moments she snapped out of it though and looked to where Sloane seemed to be looking. "Oh, that's the florist's stall, he has some of the best flowers in the entire kingdom. Come, I'll introduce you." Without waiting for Sloane to reply, Fallon walked on over to the stall, where the man appeared to be glad to see her. He spoke a loud greeting and gave Fallon the traditional greeting (pointer and middle fingers touched lightly against his lips and he makes a circle with those same fingers, it's hard to describe sorry).

After speaking eagerly with the florist for a moment, Fallon pointed at Sloane and then towards a flower the size of her hand. It was golden and shone with the light of Earth's sun. The florist nodded eagerly and handed it over to Fallon, trading it with a few silver coins. The man grinned at Fallon before turning to address Sloane. "It is nice to see Heavenly folk walking among us again, if you ever have need of my services I'd be happy to help you ma'am."
Despite being a Demon and obviously never having left Hell, the man's Common Tongue was very good and he seemed very friendly. "Here Sloane," Fallon grinned and handed the flower to her. "A golden flower for a magnificent woman, who shines just as brightly."

tbh? i have no idea

-

When Fallon started walking away, Sloane stared after her for heartbeat, before internally saying 'fuck it' and following the taller woman. The florist interested her - probably not for the reason Fallon thought - but Sloane was check it out in any case. Sloane then watched the two converse curiously - her knowledge of demonic wasn't great, but she could pick up every couple words, although that didn't do much to provide context for the situation.

When the florist turned towards her, Sloane's eyebrows crept upward in surprise. Not wanting to be perceived as rude, Sloane nodded awkwardly, "Uh... thanks. I'll... keep that in mind."

If it was even possible, Sloane's eyebrows raised even further when Fallon handed her a flower. There were many retorts on the tip of her tongue - not all of them kind, and many accusing - but she swallowed them down. This wasn't like the Heavens. Hell was probably more like Earth in its flower giving customs. At least, Sloane hoped that was the case.

She turned the flower cautiously in her hand, examining it with a critical eye, "This is very nice. Thank you." Sloane waited until they were out of earshot of the florist to ask Fallon the question that was on her mind, "I am assuming this is not a threat. In the Heavens, giving someone a flower means that you want to fight them to the death, or are threatening their life as a warning. It depends on the flower. That is why I was curious about the florist - it is strange to see flowers being sold in a market.."

This was all said casually, as Sloane continued to examine the flower Fallon gave her, "Murder is illegal and all, so no one wants their purchasing of a flower to be tied to someone's death, and get arrested for it."

=

ahh yes. cultural differences.

The reply that slid off Sloane's tongue was not the one Fallon was expecting to hear, nor one that she had been hoping for. Instead, the words made her stop in the middle of the street and stare at Sloane with a relatively horrified expression. It eventually faded as Fallon slowly but surely regained her composure, shaking her head with an embarrassed grin on her face. "I'm uh, really sorry about that then. Down here it's meant as a gift, for happy occasions only I thought this suited the occasion but I did know about that. I've never left this realm before so I really wouldn't know anything about your customs. I'm sorry." Fallon winced at her stupidity.