Witch Hunt [Private]

Bounding through the trees within the forests of her homeland, Anatasia mused on how times like these were the only times she truly felt clear-headed and as if she had full control over her own mind and body: While she was on The Hunt in search of a target with a bounty on their head. There was no calling of Aufero in her mind, nor was there any pain that typically was associated with such things:

"If only I could Hunt every day.." She muttered to herself, cursing the fact that it seemed that no worthy bounties came to her with a soft growl as she perched herself on the branch of one of the many trees and slowly scanned the area with her Tracking Patch until eventually detecting the faint signature of another person in the distance - If her information were to be believed, this person was none other than her target, a witch or something of the sort that had incurred a rather sizable sum on her head:

"Walking right into my claws.." She muttered with a small grin to herself as she moved carefully towards the distant figure, prowling about while weaving through the trees and bushes of the forest in order to conceal herself as she moved closer and closer.

Eventually, she got within a fair shouting distance of her target and would let out a small growl as she debated unsheathing her sword for a few moments before eventually deciding that she should instead relish the freedom that Hunting provided her and instead called out towards the stranger:

"Run! There is a Hunter after you!" She called out, hoping to instill a sort of primal fear response from the stranger or at least startle them enough to cause them to run, although regardless of the outcome she would begin approaching in her fully armored form and allowing herself to be fully seen if the stranger were to look behind them.


Inwardly, she really hoped that this person would put up at least some fight, she hated capturing bounties easily just as much as she hated not having them in the first place; Yet at least the former kept Gold in her pockets and food in her stomach. She would also be careful to ignore the temptation to draw the cursed blade on her hip, as she was when deciding to not bring along her Companion, both of these being for the same reason: The Darkness preferred to kill, and Anatasia preferred to bring her bounties back alive for the fact that her clients paid a handsome sum for the chance to dole out their own sort of vigilante justice upon whomever they placed a bounty on.

Armor:

Veralia wandered among the brush and trees of the forst, glancing down at a map in her hands as she followed a think-looking trail. Her expression was that of pure confusion as she seemed to be attempting to navigate her way through the wilderness. This just sucked, the mage thought to herself as she stopped her walk to look up from her map and look around the area. This was quite the distance to go for some spellbook. "Almost like it's a trap..." she muttered to herself quietly, doing so in a mocking and sarcastic tone. It was at that moment that the woman heard a voice calling out in the distance behind her. "Huh?"

She couldn't quite make out who it may exactly have been, but it seemed like she could assume it was the strange looking humanoid in the distance. She'd give the stranger a curious look, not quite being aware of what they were doing. Sure it clear that they were trying to warn her of a hunter of some sorts in the area, most likely looking for her or maybe even any and all trespassers of the forest. She'd raise a hand, waving to the individual and calling out back to then. "Thank you for your concern! I will be fine though!". She believed she would anyway, she was a pretty confident woman, but it wasn't like she had no reason to believe so. She was a woman feared on the seas, to see her would mean death to those unfortunate enough to be caught in her sites, or whatever those weirdos on the docks said. With that she'd, bring her arms back to her sides and continue on her way in the opposite direction of the stranger.

She was somewhat disappointed by the woman's obliviousness if she had to admit - usually, when one was told about being chased by a Hunter or the like, they were liable to flee or at the very least appear startled. However, this woman did not seem bothered in the slightest and worse yet she simply walked away from Anatasia without so much as an acknowledgement of the feline-eared woman.

Annoyed by this turn of events, Anatasia decided to cease her little pretend helping towards the mysterious woman and instead leaped up into the trees and bounded from branch to branch until reaching the stranger's location and swiftly dropping down beside them, her Tracking Patch giving off a soft yellow glow as she grinned softly towards the stranger: "I guess you cannot tell, but the Humans around here tend to refer to me as The Raven . . . And I am a Bounty Hunter contracted to take you in." She would explain, subtly licking her lips as she anticipated possibly a fight from this stranger whom she had not been told very much if any information about other than the fact that they were feared by many and furthermore were worth a sizable sum if brought in to 'justice'.

"I will allow you to have a head start if you wish to run, or perhaps the first attack if you wish to fight me." Anatasia would say as her grin grew upon her lips, the woman's feline ears perked up in excitement as she gazed towards the stranger and waited for her to make a move - any type of move - and was fully prepared to respond in force whatever the case may be.

Although, as with before, she hoped that this target was more than the oblivious woman that she had observed thus far - or better yet, that it had been some sort of ruse and this woman was much more intelligent than she first let on. Either way, she wanted some excitement, she wanted to feel the adrenaline rushing through her body and all thoughts of the dark blade on her hip to fade away as if they were never there to begin with - She wanted the Hunt to continue, so that she could feel normal, or as normal as someone such as herself was capable of feeling.

Veralia continued on, looking down at the map in her hands as the feline stranger suddenly jumped down from a tree, landing beside her. It would take this to startle the blonde causing her to throw her arms up, her map flying out of her hands and drifting through the air, back down to the ground. She'd let out a startled shriek, bringing her arms in front of her in a defensive manner, looking back to the feline as she did. Upon seeing her though, and recognizing them as the person who warned her about the apparent "Hunter" out in these parts, she'd lowered her guard, bringing her hands back down to her side and give a simple wave with one. "Oh, hi there." she'd speak simply, albeit with a slight bit of confusion in her tone. What was this person doing here? Was there like some elaboration needed on the whole "Hunter in these parts" thing?

To her disappointment, it became very clear that this person wasn't trying to help her, but rather seemed to be trying to claim the bounty on Veralia's head. For a moment, the Witch's eyes darted to the side, then coming back to meet with the one of the woman before her. "Or like, you could just maybe not." The blonde suggested with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "You don't think that maybe you could just-" the woman bent her back over slightly, her lips curling into a small smile as her arms came up to her own waist level and begun to make small, circular motions with her hands at one , her fingers pointing towards one another as she did so. "-let me keep on goin' that a'way?" she asked, her hands ceasing their motions so that her left came back to her side while her right pointed father down the path she had been walking.

A small laugh escaped the feline's lips in response to the stranger's behavior in response to all of this - truth be told, she had to admit that this person did not seem nearly as dangerous as she had been told; Perhaps the one whom had given her the contract gave a wrong description, although this woman most certainly matched the one she had - and the odds of it being completely wrong were not too high.

Her blue eye slowly moving up and down over the woman's form, she attempted to determine her chances if she were to simply attempt to fight this woman here and now - Anatasia was strong, but so was perhaps this stranger. With a small grumble to herself, she decided that simply mentally determining her odds again and again would get her no-where and that she should act first before giving the other woman the opportunity to do so.

Thus, Anatasia would gaze into the other woman's eyes and whisper a strange, unknown language as a fog would begin to cover the other's mind in a dark haze as visions would begin to leak in through the haze with Veralia and Anatasia being the focus:

If she were able to see the visions, she would see a hazy mental image of Anatasia on top of her, fangs delicately moving along the skin and likely eliciting a shiver of a response as the huntress roamed her hands along the woman's sides slowly before the vision was then replaced by another of Veralia being held up against a tree with Anatasia's blade pierced into the tree's bark near her head as the woman kissed her and held her hands intertwined with her own, whispering a few soft words as the vision faded away: "Don't run.."

Outside of the vision, Anatasia would hopefully be able to use the distraction of the woman's Darkness fogged mind in order to grasp her by the waist and pull her close in order to attempt and keep her from fleeing as her other hand rested upon the hilt of her blade, just in case she were not able to keep her still or the woman decided to still strike her after having seen the thoughts implanted into her mind by the Darkness which Anatasia held.

Veralia felt herself become somewhat anxious as the woman didn't really seem to react to her question. She'd straighten her back, keeping her eyes met with the one she could see belonging to the feline bounty hunter. She only seemed to laugh and then look her up and down. "Like, I'd really rather not-" the woman tried to speak, only to feel her thoughts slipping from her as her mind became fuzzy. Being so distracted, she'd be left unable to do anything in response to being pulled closer to her, not even noticing it happening to her for the moment.

She'd find herself lying underneath of the woman she had just met. How she'd see the scene play out before her was extremely different to how he'd anticipate an illusion of this nature to be. The feeling of this woman's fangs rolling over her skin as her hands moved up her sides. It was an extremely sensual vision, how drastically different it was to her expectations only added to how weird this was. She anticipated visions of torture and things of that nature, not having the moves put on her. Soon though, it would fade, only to be replaced by yet another vision, close to what she was anticipating, but would still end up being extremely subversive. She expected the knife to stabbed somewhere in her torso region, the tree part was fine however, a common intimidation tactic. What was very weird was the part where the feline came forward to kiss her. The feeling of her soft lips meeting with those of Veralia's. The comforting sensation of her hand being held by this stranger, their fingers intertwined with one another. ..

The Witch snapped back to reality at that moment, only to find herself in the arm of the bounty hunter. A dark red came over her cheeks as she'd be left in a state of pure confusion. Did this woman not want to kill her for her bounty? Was she planning on toying with her before doing so? What was even going on. "Uhh..." was all the blonde could say for the moment. How did she even react to this? Everything was moving so quick. Her eyes moved away to break her eye contact, no longer meeting with the one eye of the stranger.

Anatasia was pleased to see that the visions she filled the woman's mind with had worked well enough to allow her to grab her with relative ease and pull her close against her own armored body, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she spoke towards the woman - seeming to enjoy her confusion in response to all that had happened:

"Truth be told, I think I may find a reason or two to delay my contract.." She said in a softer voice, looking down to the woman in her grasp as she spoke. "Surely, you can give me perhaps a short while of your time in exchange for not being turned in." She added in a near whisper, leaning down so that her lips were near the woman's ear as her free arm now moved away from her blade and reached up to delicately hold the woman's cheek and direct it so that the woman was looking up towards the feline.

"I cannot even say why myself, perhaps it is the loneliness of my profession - Or the fact that I have not seen another person whom has not drawn their blade on me in months . . . Perhaps it is something about you yourself, but I believe that I may fancy you more than just another Bounty." She would sad quietly, her visible eye narrowed in a soft gaze with its blue feline hue. "Though, I do not expect you to feel anything for me - And so I will only ask for a few moments like this . . . And then perhaps we shall part ways and I will simply say that you escaped my grasp this once." She continued to speak, her feline ears lowering in relaxation as she seemed to have lowered her guard for the moment, staring into the other woman's eyes if they would make contact and using the hand of the arm that held the woman to gently begin rubbing along her back in what attempted to be a soothing fashion.

Veralia smiled nervously up at the feline as her head was turned so that she was once more gazing into the eyes of the feline woman. Her hands came together in front of her chest, her fingers idly tapping together as she began to try and piece together a proper response. "I gotta say, this is certainly the most memorable way I've been asked out for drinks."she spoke, doing her best to sound cheery in this very strange situation she's been put in. "But ya know what, I'll give ya a shot." she finally answered, giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"And hey, I'll stick around if I have a nice enough time, it's not like there's anywhere I need to be." she continued to speak. It wasn't like she was making a regrettable decision. This bounty hunter was pretty damn cute. "And-and I'm not a super picky person, I'll just say a head of time. I don't like need to have the most perfect day of my life, ya know, just uh - not losing my things or my life I would say are probably my only requirements."

Anatasia's ears would perk up in excitement as the woman had accepted her offer, a wide and admittedly somewhat silly smile as she leaned down and perhaps would make the woman believe that she meant to kiss her - however she would instead rub her nose against that of the other woman in a gentle manner:

"Then, allow me to take you to my camp - I would offer a meal at a restaurant in the Village, but seeing as they cared enough to send me after you, I doubt that would be the best of plans.." She said, her ears lowering somewhat as she said this, although she would soon return to their happy state as she swept the woman up into her arms and carried her in a bridal fashion as she began to move through the forest towards a cabin that was truthfully not too far from this location which served as her temporary base of operations while in the Dead Forest, though it was not her real home - She had none, being a roving Bounty Hunter as she were.

"I believe I may have some liquor, or water if you are not that type - And a bit of stew and meat if you want something to eat.." She would say softly as she walked with the woman in her arms, only putting her down if the woman requested it and otherwise continuing to cradle her in this fashion while her soft blue eye gazed down occasionally and even her Tracking Patch seemed to have ceased glowing as if the woman had disabled it or something of the sort, though the true eye beneath was still not visible.

"I-.." She began, after a few moments more of walking, giving a bit of a nervous smile and a blush as she spoke further. "I believe that I never gathered your name - On the Bounty it only listed you as a Witch.." She said, averting her gaze briefly before returning it onto the woman in her arms - given that she had not moved out of such a position already. "My true name is Anatasia, if you wish me to introduce myself first." She added, falling silent and mumbling to herself in a somewhat awkward fashion afterwards - something that seemed out of character for such a previously confident and cold Bounty Hunter such as herself, though with how quickly she seemed to be willing to accept the other woman as . . . whatever they may consider themselves in this moment, perhaps there was some underlying issues with this feline woman.

Unless interrupted by the other woman, Anatasia would continue walking for ten or so more minutes before eventually reaching the front-door of the Cabin she had mentioned earlier, putting the woman down if she had not moved out of her arms already and opening the door to reveal a rather plain yet still homely interior of the cabin within before moving inside, waiting for the other woman to do the same.

The blonde was taken by surprise by many of the actions by the bounty hunter. Just moments ago she was talking about fighting and giving head starts to run even, but now she was acting like a loving house cat, rubbing her nose against her own. Was this really all just because she was having a remotely positive experience with another person? Or was Veralia so undeniably desirable that this woman felt compelled to drop a job for her? She figured the latter, surely there was no other possibility. The woman's face brightened even more as the feline woman gently rubbed her nose against that of the Witch's.

"I mean I wasn't being literal with the drinks, I mean any kind of date would be fi-AGH!" the Witch shrieked in surprise as she was suddenly swept off of her feet, finding herself now being carried in a loving manner by the one who was hunter her only moments ago. She wrapped her arms around the neck woman for some sense of safety as her face began to glow an even brighter red than before. Her head tilted up so that she could still look to the feline woman, her lips still taking the form of a somewhat anxious smile.

"Well, water is fine, the whole drinks thing was just sort of a metaphor." The woman began, a hand moving to her face to bring a lock of hair behind her ear. "As for names, mine's Veralia, or just V for short if that's your style.". Anatasia, the blonde began to think. Bit of a strange name, but to be fair, this 'Anatasia' wasn't your typical girl either. She was a cute and albeit a little awkward, but typical. As they made their way into the forest, towards the supposed Cabin, the Witch found herself relaxing in the felines arms. Being carried after having walked all the way into the middle of a forest for a book that probably didn't exist was a little exhausting

As they finally reached Anatasia's abode, Veralia allowed herself to be let down, letting go of the feline as she was set back on her feet. She'd step inside of the wooden home, looking around at what she could see of the first room. "Nice little place you have here, I gotta say." she'd comment.

"It serves its purpose well enough." Anatasia noted softly, closing the door after they had both entered the home and gesturing to a nearby couch which was placed a short distance away from a fire which crackled softly in a chimney nearby. Truth be told, the cabin itself consisted of only this room and two others, one being the bathroom and the other being a bedroom where Anatasia slept with the kitchen being a sectioned off area of the living-room that they were currently in, having enough room for a stove and a place to clean dishes - It was not much, but it was all that she had ever found herself needing while out on a Hunt and was cozy to the Hunter who preferred places such as this to larger ones that many Humans seemed to like:

"Water - I shall fetch you some water." She said mostly to herself, quickly moving herself to the kitchen area and finding a cup, filling it with fresh water that she stored in a water-skin and then moving back to the living-area and offering it to Veralia. "I apologize, if I have difficulty with all of this - It is my first time having a.. ah.." She paused momentarily, seeming to struggle even speaking the words from her mouth all of a sudden. "A-A date.." She finally said after a momentary struggle with herself, sitting on the couch and if the other woman had taken a seat, she would reach out to gingerly take the other woman's hand in one of her own.

"I honestly cannot even say why I am doing this - It just all feels so right in this moment . . . I usually kill, slay without remorse or even so much as a thought." She said, biting her own lip softly. "Yet, something about you - Your Soul or perhaps something else - keeps me from wanting to harm you." She explained quietly, averting her gaze for a few moments before looking back to Veralia. "I want to know you, a-and possible even more.. But capturing the heart of another person is a lot different from the typical Hunts that I do.." She admitted, blushing a faint red on her cheeks as she ran a hand idly along her Tracking Patch in a somewhat anxious manner as she seemed to be looking towards Veralia with a mixture of awe and concern - Awe simply from the presence of the other woman in her home, and concern as she was uncertain as to how to proceed further or if she would ever be able to have the other woman feel for her as Anatasia suddenly felt for this woman who so many wanted dead.

Veralia had indeed taken a seat on the couch as she caught sight of it, leaning back and letting out a relaxed sigh upon doing so. "I mean, hey. Does it need to do anything else?" she'd ask rhetorically, talking about the cabin serving its purpose. She never thought she'd receive such hospitality from someone who originally wanted to kill her or even just bring her back to someone for money.She hardly received invitations to other people's homes, but this woman was letting her do so AND even carried her here. She was probably just extremely eager to have her over.

The Witch took the water from Anatasia, giving her a nod and a comfortable smile before taking a sip of water. She'd set her cup down and turn herself to better look to the other woman as she took a seat next to her. "Well, just don't stress it, everyone has to have a first time." Veralia replied, giving the feline's hand a firm grasp as her own was taken into that of the other woman's. She had a bit of a hard time believing that this was the woman who was sent out to track her down, the same woman who had been offering her a free head start to run or the first hit in a fight. "Yeah, I mean, killing a person is a lot simpler than winning their affection. But just try and do what you think is appropriate, I'm sure your instincts wouldn't lie to you." . if allowed, the Witch would bring her free hand up to caress the other woman's cheek, doing so in an attempt to comfort her as she appeared to be in a state of confusion, as if she really had never been in a situation like this.

Anatasia seemed to relax upon feeling the touch of the woman's hand on her cheek, a shiver running through her body briefly as she carefully would reach out to return the gesture with her own hand delicately placing upon Veralia's cheek as Anatasia leaned forward and hesitated for a few moments before she spoke:

"I think I could get used to this.." She said quietly, before then leaning back and pausing for another few moments and hesitating again, her hand moving to the Tracking Patch on her left eye. "I cannot stand this thing.." She muttered, before then carefully removing the patch and keeping the eye closed for a moment before opening it to reveal a soft red eye that seemed to change to flicker between this and an amber color occasionally with the light of the fire.

"I ah - Hope that you do not mind it too much." Anatasia said, referring to her red eye. "A side-effect of who I am, sadly.." She muttered, ears flattening and her expression seeming anxious after having revealed this little detail of herself, as if she were afraid that Veralia may shun her for it or think less of her somehow in regards to it.

"B-But, there are more important things than myself - Such as you.." She said, trying albeit a bit weakly, to change the subject. "And I would like to get to hold you - ah..!" She stopped herself, ears perking and a blush forming on her cheeks as she quickly added. "I mean know you.." She said, averting her gaze. "And perhaps we could spend some time closer to the fire, and, ah.." She continued, beginning to ramble and seeming fairly flustered as of the moment as she fidgeted in her seat.

"N-Never mind.. I-Is there anything that you would wish to do? Anything at all? - I will do all that is in my power to make sure you enjoy your time here." She said, trying to give Veralia a serious and confident look although still seeming to be fairly anxious about this whole ordeal - Judging by her expression and mannerisms, dating was something far outside of the feline hunter's comfort zone.

Veralia couldn't help but giggle as the feline woman seemed to trip over her own words in her attempts to speak. In those visions she had just a few minutes ago, Anatasia was so confident, almost to the point of being overwhelming. It was a little hard to believe that they were the same person. "Hey, hey. Look, I've been around, and I've seen much weirder things than some flashing eye." she said in a reassuring manner, moving herself slightly closer to the other woman. "You don't need to move the moon and the sun for me, let's just try and enjoy ourselves for the moment, take some pleasure in each other presence and get to know one another." the Witch went on to explain. After doing so, she'd then lean forward, and if allowed, would plant a gentle kiss on the cheek of the bounty hunter in a further attempt to perhaps calm her down.

"Though if you'd like, perhaps you could hold me while we lay by the fire?" The Witch cooed in a quiet voice. "I'll admit, it is a but cold."

Anatasia once again composed herself as Veralia reassured her - It was definitely good to know that she would not be judged by the condition she suffered as a result of being a wielder, more-so that her new partner of sorts did not want Anatasia to do anything impossible or grand - She seemed to merely want to enjoy their time with one another which was something that the Bounty Hunter could agree with wholeheartedly.

Her heart leaped however at the suggestion coming from the other woman and she felt her cheeks warming as a blush formed upon them: "Of course - I would not want you to be cold." She said as smoothly as she was capable of, a soft purr rumbling along with her words as she took this time to stand up and remove the remainder of her bulkier pieces of armor and left herself in what was essentially the undergarments that she wore beneath it so that she would not accidentally harm the other woman with the many sharp points or blades that adorned the hunter's attire.

After removing her outer armor, Anatasia then reached out and if allowed would take the woman gingerly into her arms and bring her closer to the fire, laying down on a soft fur rug that was placed there and hold her carefully against her own body while curling slightly as to give them the maximum amount of warmth shared between their bodies and also as a way to allow Anatasia to be close to the other woman as she held her:

"Is this more comfortable..?" She would ask, nuzzling softly against the woman's neck with another little purr coming from her throat as her ears flattened once more in a relaxed manner while the crackle of the fire filled any silence between them and gave and over-all relaxing mood to the room's atmosphere if one were to attempt and categorize it as such.

Internally, the bounty-hunter was absolutely delighted by all of this - she had never had someone else so close to her in her entire life, especially since beginning to serve the Cursed Sword she wielded. If she could, she would throw away everything just to keep feeling like this forever and to hold this woman close until she no longer was even capable of doing so, yet, she knew that as wonderful as this all was - There was little that this other person could do to change the path she had already doomed herself to, though she hoped to forget about all that if for only a night.

Veralia was once more taken by surprise by the other woman's actions, giving a small squeal in shock as she found herself once again in the arms of the feline woman, this time as she was down to the clothes she wore under the armor she was previously dawning. Truth be told, she was lying. It was pretty humid, and her large, black robe didn't exactly help with that. Now she was curled up next to a fire in the arms of another woman, it was fair to say she was feeling more than a little warm art the moment. That wouldn't stop her however from wrapping her arms around Anatasia's waist to bring her closer to her.

"It's perfect." she'd coo in a gentle tone into the feline's ear. She never expected to find a lonely cat-woman out in this part of the forest. She came out here to look for a supposed spellbook that was out in these parts. Whether or not that was related to the fact that someone in a nearby town had sent out a bounty for her was related to that rumor, she didn't know. What she did know was thatnow she more than likely had a girlfriend, assuming the bounty hunter stayed interested in her beyond just today. A thought crossed the Witch's mind at that moment. This person, they were feline. How exactly did they feel about the sea? If Veralia were to go through with this, would be be able to go back to what she considered her home?

Being this close to Veralia was definitely helping to soothe the bounty hunter's mind, holding on to the woman gently as wisps of Darkness from her body seemed to move over their bodies as if a blanket of sorts and being accompanied by a soft chill - just as Anatasia's skin itself would hold the same coldness to it that was likely a result of this strange magic that covered her body.

Although, judging by the fact that the feline did not seemed alarmed by it, nor did she seem to even pay it any mind - it could be assumed that this dark aura was normal to the woman and that it was harmless, or at least in its current state:

"I am so glad.." She whispered to Veralia with tears beginning to form in her arms, leaning forward to give the woman a brief kiss on the cheek followed by a gentle nuzzling of her cheek against the other woman's own - rubbing against her in such a way that a cat may indeed do if they possessed a humanoid form. She smiled, warmly, taking a moment to just gaze into the other's eyes as she paused momentarily before deciding to be brave for a moment and lean forward once again, this time briefly pressing her somewhat cold yet soft lips against those of the other woman's own unless she would be interrupted - moving away after only a short second or two of contact just in case the other woman disapproved of her somewhat forward gesture.

Afterwards, she would close her eyes and let out a soft sigh, attempting to enjoy the relaxation of the moment as a faint pounding would begin inside of her head as the soul of the Cursed Sword she wielded would begin to speak menacingly into the Hunter's mind while attempting to persuade her into killing the woman she held so closely in her arms at this moment, the reason being that the blade itself despised anyone who may prove to cause its Wielder to turn on the blade at some point in the future.

Though, for now, Anatasia would do her best to pay it no mind and instead keep her focus on Veralia, the robed woman being her link to sanity in this moment and her anchor to her own mind.

While she never found herself lost in it, Veralia was no stranger to the Dark. The misty wisps emanating from the other woman and covering both her and The Witch did very little to make her feel more or less uncomfortable.She'd simply let out a sigh of content through her nose as she found herself becoming more and more comfortable in the arms of the Bounty Hunter who moments ago had planned on either murdering her, or capturing her. Now they were cuddling on the floor of a cabin next to a fire, like something out of a cheesy book. Losing out on a spellbook for this was a pretty good trade.

What did throw her for a loop was Anatasia coming forward to kiss her. The little kiss on the cheek was fine, doing so much as to draw a small chortle from the blonde. She didn't expect to feline to follow up with a proper kiss. For but a moment, she was frozen in her surprise. Though after the initial moment, she'd be quick to return the kiss, keeping her arms wrapped around the other's waist as she did so. She'd even lean forward very slightly as the other woman began to pull away, trying to elongate their kiss for even a single beat. As the Bounty Hunter did pull away, the Witch looked up to her with a pleased smile before resting her head on the other's shoulder. This was definitely something she could get used to, she thought to herself.

"So tell me a little about yourself cutie." Veralia spoke up, deciding to see if she could get to know the woman who was currently holding her. "You're like a bounty hunter, right? What got you into that, and did someone send you for me or did you just see a flyer or somethin'?"

"I have been doing this for much longer than just a night." Anatasia would say in a quiet voice as she responded to Veralia's words. "I have Hunted for nearly five years now, and I only lucked upon your bounty as I had decided to visit my home for a rare occasion." She would say, before then adding. "I typically stay far away from here, seeing as I am well-known within these lands and I prefer to remain anonymous."

As she spoke, Anatasia would run her hands in a slow massaging motion along the other woman's sides, her red and blue eyes gazing upon the other woman with the same gentle smile that she held before and falling silent for a few moments before then speaking once more.

"There is not all that much to tell - I travel from city to city and Hunt to provide for myself." She would say, before then taking a moment to question Veralia. "But what of yourself? - All I know of you from the Bounty is that you have apparently made quite a name for yourself and that you are 'a danger to the public'." She would say, raising a brow towards the woman as she allowed her time to respond and, in the meanwhile, would continue to gently massage the woman with her hands.

She would continue to ignore her blade during this time, her mind feeling clearer once again as she gazed upon the woman and clearer still when speaking to her - something about this woman vanished the dark thoughts of her mind and allowed her at least a while of reprieve from the constant mental bombardment that the cursed sword she carried assaulted her with on a daily basis.

Here and now, all she cared about was Veralia and, for the foreseeable future - She believed firmly that she was all that she would.

"Mmm...People pay me to go out at sea and sink ships." The woman replied with a simple sentence, taking a moment to enjoy the gentle massaging motions of the other woman's hands on her sides. After all this time of wandering around alone with the occasional job or rumor of treasure in the area, it was nice to have a little downtime. Even if it was with someone she knew for less than an hour and had the intent on maybe murdering her. "I'd go on a ship with whoever was going to pay me and sink whatever ship they told me with my powers. It was usually pirates looking for an easy time stealing from trade ship. Not a whole lot of people try to stop you from looting out of the water when they're busy trying to not drown." Memories flooded back to the Witch. It was such a simpler time, when she didn't have some foreign need to respect a deity she hadn't known until months ago. She felt so free in comparison to how she was doing now. There were times that she wished she could go back, and yet at the same time thought it'd probably be dangerous to do so. Making a god that probably gave you your powers angry didn't sound like the best thing to do with said powers.

"I don't really do that anymore though. When it comes to going with ships, it's usually to stop theives and the like now with a bit of treasure hunting on the side. Though I can't really escape my past, nor do I really try to. Hence the bounty." Veralia moved her body slightly, allowing herself to better rest against the feline. A small chuckle escaped from the blonde as she'd begin to speak up again. "Oh! Oh! It was great, back then when I'd come up on docks, I could hear fisherman talking about me like some folktale." She said with some excitement her her voice before she'd clear her throat. "Beware of the Sea Witch, for all those who meet her at sea meet with only a watery death! She'll break your boat in two, leave you to drown, and let Pandora herself fish out your soul!" The woman intentionally lowered her voice, making it sound masculine and somewhat gruff as she'd speak, doing so in a mocking manner.

It was then that she broke out into a fit of laughter for a few seconds, seeming quite energetic and genuine. She'd even give a small snort through her nose before she'd take a moment to calm back down and breath. "They'd say stuff like that and sometimes even say they've seen glimpses of me and talk about what I looked like. My personal favorite was the one that said I had of an octopus with the tentacles being my hair, it was more creative than everyone else who just listed of random features of a Sea Hag."