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[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette had spent the better part of the last two days trying to find out exactly who she had been going to see for the last month. She was helping a ghost learn to fight, it seemed. There was no real record of who Jasun actually was and it was incredibly frustrating.

Until now, it didn't really seem to matter who he was. They had spent a fair amount of time together though, and Lysette was actually starting to grow fond of him. She liked his company. She wasn't expected to be perfect or girly. He was good company, and she felt like she could actually be herself for once.

Even though she hadn't actually told him her name or anything about herself.

But he lied about who he was or something. She couldn't seem to piece it together. She decided to confront him about it rather than letting it fester even more.

They were supposed to meet on their roof, where they always saw each other, so Lysette showed up a little early. She was dressed in training clothes, as she usually was. Everything seemed normal. She sat cross-legged on the roof and waited for Jasun to show up.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun landed lightly on the rooftop, not really sure why he was there. Lyn was an amusing girl, of course, but he was not quite sure why he kept coming back. Sparring was nice, but it also was tiring to be beaten again and again by someone half his size. He did thinking he was learning something, however, so perhaps that was why?

It was simply he wasn't really getting anywhere. Nothing more than words or blows had been exchanged in their time together. He wasn't even sure he wanted something more to happen, at this point. She was a noblewoman after all, and suspicious and closed off as all hell as well. Given, at first he'd wanted to know her name so he could sell the information off and make a nice profit. It would only mean he couldn't meet her anymore, and if she was from a high ranking house outing her could earn him serious cash.

So why, then, did he have the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't do that anymore, given the chance? He'd thought about it and he was pretty sure it wasn't fear, he could always leave Luthadel if he was that worried about retribution, and anyway she only knew him by his real name, not the alias he went by in the underground. Not that she even knew he was part of the underground...

Alright, so maybe he was keeping quite a few secrets as well, but she could at least tell him something. He had, after all. They spoke, but never of anything that could give things away, or they fished or poked or prodded to try to get something out of the other. Still, he would see where this went. It wasn't as if it was costing him anything, and he always welcomed the chance to learn how to fight better.

He had walked around the rooftop and saw Lyn sitting on it. He dropped into a gallant bow, as per usual, "Hello, dear Lyn. How are you tonight?"

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette had almost gotten used to being called Lyn. She almost preferred to put on Lyn's clothes to come sit on a roof in the middle of the city for no reason other than the talk to Jasun.

But something had changed. She couldn't find anything about him. She searched for ages. No one with the first name Jasun was his age or fit his description. Most of them were either drastically older or younger than him.

The one who did seem to fit was still up in the Northern Domninance somewhere. His family's ancestral home was there, and they had never made a bid for Luthadel according to her source.

She was visibly irked by her thoughts as her nighttime companion approached. She couldn't just push this aside, and if he didn't give her a straight answer, she was going to have to stop seeing him. It was as simple as that.

She only wished she hadn't grown fond of his company.

"Who are you?" she asked after he was done with his flourish. She didn't bother answering his question because he would see how she was in a moment anyway. She didn't have to answer.

"Jasun, the Mistborn. We've been meeting at ni-"

"That's not what I meant," Lysette snapped. "I want to know who you really are. I've spent the better part of two days trying to track you down and I found nothing."

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun felt a twinge of something, and he wasn't quite sure what it was. Betrayal maybe? But he hadn't felt that in years, and the last time was when someone had tried to kill him. He couldn't feel betrayed by her just trying to find out who he was, could he?

He frowned at her, "You know, I didn't go and try to find out who you are." He said impudently, and Lyn's disbelieving look annoyed him to no end, "I didn't! There have to be at least a thousand women in Luthadel fitting your description to a T, it would have been pointless."

"But fine, fine," He sighed, waving a hand dismissively, "If you simply must know, I'm from a fallen house, Vallace. Everyone in it was killed twenty years ago, except me, because, you know, Mistborn." He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Although why you think you deserve to know who I am when I don't even know your bloody name, I can't even begin to fathom."

[Lysette Hasting]

Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. She wasn't sure what to expect. And now he was annoyed with her, and she shouldn't have gone poking her nose in where it didn't belong. They apparently didn't know each other well enough yet to even begin talking about their true identities.

Except he just outright told her. She was confused. First he was annoyed with her for having looked and then he just told her outright. He survived his house's fall? Being a Mistborn was one thing, but surviving that kind of massacre was something practically unheard of. How had he lived these two decades without the protection of his house?

It was suddenly clear why he hadn't had proper training.

And then she felt immediately guilty. She bit her bottom lip and looked at the roof, pushing some ash into a small pile as she thought for a moment.

She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them and finally looking back up at him. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have..." She paused and sighed. He wasn't going to take this apology seriously unless she offered something with meaning.

"Lysette," She said quietly. "Lysette Hasting."

[Jasun Vallace]

He hadn't really expected her to tell him her full name. Perhaps her first name, or perhaps she would have just gotten that amused smirk on her face and said that of course she deserved to know, for whatever reason. But she seemed quite contrite about it, and her obvious displays of apology took him out of his ill temper.

Then he realized he knew exactly why he had kept coming back here, "No." He said, pleading with her, "You are not Lysette Hasting. Lysette Hasting is nineteen." Because he wasn't really attracted to someone a decade younger than him, at least, not to this degree, right? Because if he was then that made him a horrible, horrible person.

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette looked at him, utterly confused. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she told him her name, but she wasn't expecting her to say that she wasn't Lysette Hasting.

"... Yes," was all she could think to say. She thought for a moment. "How old did you think I was?" she asked.

She tilted her head. "What does it matter how old I am, anyway? It's not as if I'm a child." she said.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun just looked at her for a moment, studying the lines of her face beneath the ash, and then sighed heavily, "No, no I suppose you aren't." He admitted, still very uncomfortable, "But I am eleven years older than you..." He nearly kicked himself after he said that. He had basically just said he was attracted to her in the stupidest way possible. What was it about her that seemed to awaken his inner idiot?

[Lysette Hasting]

There was obviously something that Lysette didn't understand. What did it matter that he was thirty? She shrugged her shoulders and looked at him quizzically.

"I don't understand. Are you upset that you have been beaten up by a girl who is eleven years younger than you?" she asked. "Considering your past, the obvious lack of training is a lot more forgivable..."

She wondered if that was too harsh to say, but it had already left her mouth before she truly thought about how he might take it.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun bit back a grin, she couldn't be that dense, could she? That did not fit the mold of a proper Great House lady. Weren't they supposed to twirl men around their fingers? Then again, they also weren't supposed to go about as little waifs in the mist, hiding their gender.

With a smile he bent down and offered her a hand up, he was only mildly surprised when she took it, and as he pulled her to her feet he said, his smile turning into a smirk, "I was rather talking about the fact I like you."

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette had made great leaps and bounds this evening in trusting Jasun. He had told her his entire story just because she had been looking into who he was. In return she gave him her name. That was something incredible for Lysette. She never thought she would be here simply because she yearned for a sparring partner to share the nights with.

She accepted his hand and let him help her up. Once she was on her feet she felt like she might fall off of them again. He what?.

Lysette blinked a few times, hoping that might help her grasp what he just said.

"You... what?" Lysette said, feeling a deep red blush come to her cheeks. "I don't ... I dont understand. Why?"

She shook her head. That was the dumbest thing she could have ever said. She stuttered and tried to redeem it. "It-it's just that nobody has ever said that particular thing directly to me." she said.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun bit his lip, oh this was just precious. His scary, mysterious Mistborn sparring partner was blushing, just because he'd said he'd liked her. Obviously she liked him as well, a little, or she would not be quite so flustered. He had a feeling she didn't know that yet, however, and her next words set him up perfectly for a bout of very sincere, and mostly likely very blush inducing, flattery.

"Surely you jest. You are beautiful and interesting, and while I didn't know you were high ranking, all the men you talk to must. So how could you have possibly escaped having a multitude of admirers?" He paused, and then grinned, "Or perhaps you do and have been too dense to notice. That is probably the case." The fact that she was so much younger than him had not left his mind, but it had become less important. It was not as if he was going to bed her, so what was the harm in liking her a little? Plus he wanted to see how red he could make her blush. He finally had the upper hand, he would not relenquish it easily.

[Lysette Hasting]

Beautiful and interesting. She had never actually heard anyone say that about her to her face. She looked away from him as the blush continued to color her cheeks. She couldn't even think of a response and all she wanted to do was punch him and run away... hoping that he'd chase her.

Lysette realized that she had feelings for him too, in that moment... but she didn't want to admit them. She wouldn't admit them any more than she already had by blushing at his obvious attempts to flatter her.

"Lysette Hasting as a noblewoman is inaccessible and quite rude. I'm sure that keeps them from saying anything of the sort about me," she said, looking back up at him.

She wanted to ask him if it was just flattery. Would he say it if it wasn't? She didn't know him well enough, obviously. She couldn't let him think that she believed him.

"I do think that you're just trying to flatter me, now. Just to see if you can get me to blush more furiously."

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun looked at her with a wounded expression. "I mean, of course I am. You are quite cute when you blush." He hopped a step back preemptively before she could punch him, he had a feeling they were approaching the point where she stopped forming words and just started swinging until he shut up and stopped making her blush.

"But does that mean it can't also be true?" He spun and started to walk away, hands behind his back as he talked to the night, "I mean, would I let you pummel me so often if I thought you were inaccessible and rude? I think I can do that just about anywhere, don't you? Why would I keep coming back if I did not enjoy your company?" He turned back around, confident he'd gained enough distance that she wouldn't be able to launch herself at him to get him to shut up, "Just as you enjoy mine, no?"

[Lysette Hasting]

Why would I keep coming back...? She supposed that did explain why he kept returning to their spot to be beaten up by a girl who was apparently eleven years younger than him...

She honestly didn't know why she kept coming back. It was at least partially because she was utterly alone in the daytime. Sure, she had Colette, but Colette didn't truly understand Lysette. No one could. It was a very solitary life, and the only Mistborn Lysette ever talked to was the most infuriating man in the world. He treated her like she was less-than, simply because she was female.

Meeting Jasun was the only thing she had to look forward to because she could simply be herself. And he didn't treat her any differently because she was a girl. On the contrary, he seemed to delight in it. Perhaps a little too much.

Lysette tried not to let him get to her. She tried to push down the feelings she had and center herself. She burned pewter, trying to stabilize her emotions -- which she knew was pointless. The metal didn't have any true effect on her mental state, but it made her feel better to burn it.

"I think you come back because you're a masochist," Lysette said. "Not because you're interested in me."

She ignored his comment completely, and she wouldn't have acknowledged it at all if it weren't for the new blush covering her cheeks.

"Perhaps you dont have anyone else who can make you realize you're vulnerable in your daylight. Or maybe I just do it better."

[Jasun Vallace]

"Ye-es." Jasun said, dragging the word out, "Obviously I am a masochist, I mean feeling your fist hit me in the face just brings unmatched bliss. You are so right." His voice held not a trace of sarcasm, in fact he sounded quite sincere, but it was obvious he didn't mean a word. "Still, if I am a masochist, my dear, what does that make you? A sadist, right?" He grinned cheerily at her, taking another unobtrusive step backwards.

"Still I'll have you know that I am surrounded by criminals in the daytime, all of whom would gladly stab me in the back and take over if they didn't know I was a better leader." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "You don't make me feel vulnerable, not at all." His grin broadened and he bowed to her in gratitude, "Here I feel safe, it's a nice feeling, really."

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette was definitely and most decisively not a sadist. The implication struck something in her and made her want to take back every hit she had ever landed on Jasun. For a split second she wanted to take back ever encountering him in the first place, but she had been so much happier in the last month than she had been in years. She hated that his words could get underneath her skin so easily. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just let him continue. He seemed eager to talk -- but also eager to be far enough away from Lysette and backing up with every sly comment. He was getting ready to run. Lysette recognized that posturing.

Surrounded by criminals... She stared at him questioningly for a moment. How did he spend his whole day surrounded by criminals? What did he do? How did he survive all these years. She was desperate for answers. It seemed like every time he spoke he created more questions and would never answer them. She thought back to when she confronted him. All she had to do was ask...

She was so wrapped up in figuring out what he did during the day that she almost missed the compliment he paid her at the end. While she didn't blush, she did smile. It was a rare true smile, one that she seemed to only give to Jasun these days. She usually had to fake it. It was painfully obvious when she did if she was with people who knew her well.

"I... What do you do during the day that surrounds you with criminals?" she asked, glad for a change in subject.

[Jasun Vallace]

"I am one, my dear." It slipped easily from his lips, and he paused for a moment, shocked, then rolled his shoulders and just went along with it. He didn't feel like lying, and really, what could she do with the information? She'd never find him.

"How else do you think I could have survived my house's fall? I hid among the skaa. It is quite easy. They look just like nobles, after all." He failed to mention the fact that they were people, just like nobles as well. It had taken him years to realize that, living among them, he didn't really expect another noble to take it at face value. Especially when she was so much older than he'd been when he first was among the skaa.

"Mistings... in the underground, there's really only one way to make a living for them." He grinned at her, shrugging, "And it's not as if I knew anything else, so I just eventually ended up a conman. After all, combat is not exactly my forte, but zinc and brass have always come easily to me."

[Lysette Hasting]

He was a conman? Conman. He lived with skaa. He fit in with skaa. Of course she knew they looked just like nobles, but ... ashier. She had spent small amounts of time with them for training. It was important that she learn to blend in with different kinds of crowds...

Her eyes narrowed. She had just told her identity to a fallen noble who had also spent the last two decades among skaa. He wasn't to be trusted, and Lysette realized that she had to kill him.

She should have done so the night she met him. She was angry more at herself than at Jasun. She was an idiot. Why did she think that she could meet a Mistborn, fight him, and then have a best friend who understood her forever? Things were never as simple as that all sounded in her head.

Lysette's blood boiled, and she couldn't even think of anything to say. She immedately, instinctively started to burn steel, looking for sources of metal. Her coppercloud never came down (and now that she knew who he really was it never would), but she started to burn a little more pewter. She would need it.

Lysette surreptitiously slipped one of her daggers from its sheath, and gripped the familiar handle tightly. Her knuckles went white and she leapt at him, hoping to catch him before he could run away. He had been posturing to take off since he helped her up, but she hoped she could make it in time.

[Jasun Vallace]

He had not thought, when he told her what he was, he would get such a violent response. He'd been sure she'd be mistrustful, after all learning someone was a conman was a shock. But he'd figured she'd see that by admitting that to her, he was no danger to her. After all, if he wanted to con her, why would he give himself away and make her trust him less to boot?

When she leaped at him his first instinct was to run. It was what he was hardwired to do when faced with such a situation. His fight or flight response was always switched to flight. It was only when backed in a corner that he didn't run. Still, it only took him half a breath to realize that would not help. Not only would that make him look guilty, but he was positive she could catch him, being Mistborn as well. So, instead he did not move as all, just letting her tackle him to the ground.

She slammed into him and he landed hard on the rooftop, barely managing to keep his head from slamming into it. Before he could think to recover, he felt something cold prick the skin of his neck, and went still. Lysette was holding her dagger to his throat, she looked confused, but her arm was steady.

He looked directly at her, his face was unusually serious as he did his best to quiet his fears. Somehow he kept his heart from pounding in his ears and his body from breaking out into a cold sweat, but he could not keep a bead of it from running down his temple. She could kill him, easily. But she had not yet, even though it would have been the perfect time too. That told him everything he needed to know.

"So, my dear," He said, locking gazes with her, "You know who and what I am now..." He smiled faintly, it wasn't a charming or happy smile, it was humorless and slightly nervous, "What do you intend to do about it?"