"I know. I'm more of a tail man myself, though."
Miranda laughed. "Well, I think I can give you something to look at, then," she said, sweeping her very, very thickly furred blond tail around and brushing it up against his side.
"I do love that tail," Tarrin mused as they closed the chest holding the scrolls, threw canvas over the chests and table, then left the tent.
It was a cold blustery day everywhere but in the garden. There, though it was still overcast and blustery, it was pleasantly warm, and the flowers and green plants continued to thrive and bloom. On cold days, the garden became a very popular place, as katzh-dashi, servants, guards, and Knights visited it to feel warmth on their skin not made by the dry heat of a fire, and to recapture a bit of spring green when surrounded by leafless trees and winter-browned grass. The blustery day brought many into the garden, and its white gravel pathways were crowded with many people as they walked along the flower-lined pathways and marvelled at the Tower's one true vanity. One of those pedestrians was Miranda, wearing a lovely little gray maid's dress that offset her white fur and blond hair and tail perfectly, and her passing caused more than a few heads to turn. Unlike Allia's ethereal beauty, Miranda's cuteness seemed to awe and sweep away everyone who crossed her path. Where Allia's intense beauty inspired jealousy in women, Miranda's cuteness only made them treat her like an old friend. Miranda always left a trail of whispered "how cute!" remarks wherever she went, but she was careful to always dress in clothing that showed a bit of fur-clad cleavage, or hugged her curves, so that the onlooker firmly understood that he or she was dealing with a woman, and not a little girl. She could easily change her clothing to look like a younger teen-she was only nineteen, just a year older than Keritanima-because her type of cuteness was always associated with youth. And like Jervis, Miranda had learned how to use her appearance as a weapon. Nobody-nobody-ever associated such a cute, precious little thing with activities like spying, extortion, blackmail, even such grisly things as interrogation, and even murder. People tended to say things in her presence that they normally wouldn't say, for they were disarmed by her cuteness, and the trend in both human and Wikuni alike to treat someone like her with inordinate friendship than they would with others. Miranda had learned from her employer in how to raise vapidness to an art, for few associated people as cute as her with intelligence either. A few little eyelash flutters, a couple of breathless, brainless remarks, and a whole world of priviliged information was opened before her. Sometimes it took a bit more, and more than once she'd had to trade kisses and even more in darker alcoves in the palace…but such activities in themselves were occasionally quite enjoyable. Provided she was trying to get information from a handsome young nobleman.
It was a meeting of deceptive importance, on more levels than people who witnessed it could possibly understand. The foppish rabbit Wikuni, Jervis, happened to cross paths with the mink at a meeting of pathways, and they travelled on in the same direction at the same pace. At first, nothing was said. They were merely travelling in the same direction. But then the rabbit Wikuni took out his most treasured pocketwatch and began to wind it, hanging his hooked cane on his forearm as he went about his task.
"You're looking well, Miranda," he said in his lilting, slightly squeaky voice. "Could you kindly ask the fellow with the crossbow to stand down?"
"Only when you order your man with the flintlock to do the same," she replied in a calm, almost friendly voice. "Really, Jervis, why bring a man with a musket on the grounds? They're much too noisy."
"Not when a priest casts a spell of silence," Jervis replied.
"Clever."
"Thank you," he replied modestly. "Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about?"
"Yes," she replied. "How many men have you lost?"
"Nine," he said with a grunt. "You?"
"Fifteen," she replied calmly. "We have to put a stop to this. Good men are hard to find."
"Indeed. So, you wish to call a truce?"
"We were never really opposing one another, Jervis," she said calmly. "We just work in different ways to the same goal."
"True. But if we weren't opposing, you could have been more open in your activities. And you didn't have to buy one of my men."
"Jervis, that's like asking a canary not to sing," she told him with that cheeky smile. "How else do you expect me to find out what you know?"
Jervis chuckled. "It's just not polite," he told her.
"I'm not one much for pleasantries, Jervis," she told him.
"True, true. So, you wish to combine our actions?"
"Just along this task, old friend. I do have other operations going. No need to bog you down in those."
"Yes, yes. I do too, to be honest. So, what plan do you have in mind to put Ahiriya in her place?"
"I have a very simple one," she replied with a cheeky smile and a wink. "It's time for us to play a game of Beri Bally Bell."
Jervis laughed. Beri Bally Bell was a children's game where one person was blindfolded, and everyone else wore a small bell. The blindfolded person had to catch someone else, using the sounds of the bells to guide them. But many times, the number of bells and the sounds they made made it difficult for the blindfolded person to single any one out. A coordinated group of bell wearers could utterly confuse the blindfolded person.
"And what will lure Ahiriya into taking the blindfold?" Jervis asked with a smile, a smile that showed his bucked front teeth.
"Nothing short of a little misdirection," Miranda replied with a smile. "Our bells will be information. We pretend that we find something very damaging to the Tower, make sure she hears about it, then set out agents to give her a bit of confusion. The activity should draw out her people, and then we can deal with them."
"Simple, yet very thorough. Now I understand why you're such a worthy opponent, my dear."
"Thank you. It's always nice to be respected by one's peers."
"I think we can work together, my dear. When do you want to start?"
"Tomorrow seems a very uneventful day," she replied with a smile.
"It does indeed. I have a very empty calendar. I think I can pencil in some time."
"I'd appreciate it."
"When are you going to take up my offer and come work for me, Miranda?" Jervis asked. "You're wasting your talents protecting Keritanima. You need to be working for the Crown."
"I'm just not interested, Jervis," she said politely. "I'm happy where I am. Let's leave it at that."
"Well, the offer is always open," he told her.
"I appreciate that."
"I go that way. Have a good day, my dear."
"You too, Jervis," she said mildly, and they parted ways.
A few moments. That was all they were together. To the casual observer, it seemed nothing but a chance meeting, a moment of polite conversation, then a parting of convenience. But the casual observer would never comprehend the titanic magnitude of the simple arrangement that had been formed between the pair of spymasters. A formidable arrangement indeed.
Tarrin had no idea what they wanted him to do that day. He thought that he'd probably be in limbo while they talked things out, but that turned out to be a daydream. They were waiting for him when he returned, and it took a few minutes of fast talking to explain why he wasn't in his room, why he wasn't in his Initiate uniform, and why they'd never seen him leave. But it was fortunate that it was Koran Dar that had been the one to come fetch him, and the man's mild nature and respect for Tarrin's privacy kept him from pressing too hard. That the Council members always came for him themselves was a fair indication to Tarrin of how important they thought he was.