Godspit, he sounded so young. She grunted, turned and said, "Follow," as she started to walk away.
She kept their feet groundside as they walked through the city, not trusting him to be a good climber and not willing to waste time confirming her assumption. He was a wildcard. She didn't like those. Not at all.
Zhi needed Flit. He didn't need to know that. She needed him to play a part. She needed him to not feck it up beyond recovery.
She was rolling the dice. Again.
She took him down to Fisherman's Bottom, explaining the rules of Her Highness as they walked. Don't stare, keep your coin close, neutral ground, don't start fights you can't finish, and most of all: keep your mouth shut on politics, be they city politics of gang politics. Play dumb if any sensitive questions got asked. Always defer to the employer. It was all common knowledge, and common sense, but as far as she was concerned he had neither.
They arrived at Her Highness half a bell early. It was a boat docked up tight between the rock that housed the fishing guild and the spire behind it. Money was doubtless exchanged to keep it unseen, whether or not the jacks regularly kept eyes on it; Zhi figured running such a place on the water like that wasn't strictly legal, but its proprietor made it well known that he paid his taxes like any other law-abiding merchant.
The bar itself was down in the belly of the small ship. It was narrow, dingy, smoky and smelled of too many bodies and alcohol. It was unheard of to see it empty, less it was closing. Neutral ground like it where the 'neutral' part was so ruthlessly enforced was popular.
Zhi lingered on the outskirts, avoiding the plank that lead up to the ship. "Questions?" Her voice was low. She wasn't looking at Flit, was smirking at some dolled up doxy under the arm of a drunken pirate. She nodded to the lass, who blew a kiss back to her with a, "Resin! See me in a sun, I got gossip what'll make yer ears red!"
Zhi winked back, her return smirk a promise all its own. The lass giggled: Zhi never dallied with doxies. It was empty. Most of her promises were.
She kept their feet groundside as they walked through the city, not trusting him to be a good climber and not willing to waste time confirming her assumption. He was a wildcard. She didn't like those. Not at all.
Zhi needed Flit. He didn't need to know that. She needed him to play a part. She needed him to not feck it up beyond recovery.
She was rolling the dice. Again.
She took him down to Fisherman's Bottom, explaining the rules of Her Highness as they walked. Don't stare, keep your coin close, neutral ground, don't start fights you can't finish, and most of all: keep your mouth shut on politics, be they city politics of gang politics. Play dumb if any sensitive questions got asked. Always defer to the employer. It was all common knowledge, and common sense, but as far as she was concerned he had neither.
They arrived at Her Highness half a bell early. It was a boat docked up tight between the rock that housed the fishing guild and the spire behind it. Money was doubtless exchanged to keep it unseen, whether or not the jacks regularly kept eyes on it; Zhi figured running such a place on the water like that wasn't strictly legal, but its proprietor made it well known that he paid his taxes like any other law-abiding merchant.
The bar itself was down in the belly of the small ship. It was narrow, dingy, smoky and smelled of too many bodies and alcohol. It was unheard of to see it empty, less it was closing. Neutral ground like it where the 'neutral' part was so ruthlessly enforced was popular.
Zhi lingered on the outskirts, avoiding the plank that lead up to the ship. "Questions?" Her voice was low. She wasn't looking at Flit, was smirking at some dolled up doxy under the arm of a drunken pirate. She nodded to the lass, who blew a kiss back to her with a, "Resin! See me in a sun, I got gossip what'll make yer ears red!"
Zhi winked back, her return smirk a promise all its own. The lass giggled: Zhi never dallied with doxies. It was empty. Most of her promises were.
