Skin in the Game [closed]

[Zhavi]

Zhi went stiff, and her face screwed up in annoyance. Right. That. "Nnn," was her initial comment, couched in a wellspring of reluctance.

 

She waited, lips pushed out in an expression somewhere between a pout and a scowl, and finally relented with another, "nnn," though this one held a growl. Her options were slim, indeed. Oh, she could go to the bard, but she had a feeling he might turn her in for his own twisted version of fun. He was a mercurial ally at the best of times; put money in the picture and, well, she had his measure, but that was too much for even her to predict.

 

"Fine." The word was cold, and bitten off, aimed at Flit as if he was to blame for her predicament. "Ye go an' deal wi' th' woman. If she wants t'meet wi' me, we'll arrange a meetin' place. Fer now, ye go t'her, an' ye . . . lay low." Threat was implied in the snarl she put up on display; her doubt and her unease clear. "Don't ye dare be leadin' none back t'me door, flittermouse."

[Melodia]

The lalafell grinned and nodded, taking his leave from Zhi, considering what she'd said. He was a bit concerned and had done his best not to show her while in her presence but to him she'd seemed distracted, flustered....almost scared. Over what?

 

The Yellowjacket? He'd seen her about and she was no danger. If she were, she'd have had a talk with him already and yet, she hadn't. Not a hint that she even knew he existed in Zhi's world. And if she was such a big threat, she'd have known. He shook his head and scowled at his..(what...)...partner's...nerves. This would do them both no good. She needed focus. Hopefully with some backing and and perhaps some coin, Zhi would be in a better place to figure out what the next step was.

 

Besides, seeing Grace again would be nice. It'd been too long and besides, didn't she still have an open offer of companionship with one of her ladie---

 

He almost fell onto his back, his sword clanging a bit against the stone walkway. As he'd turned the corner, she'd run smack into him rounding from the other direction. A complete accident. And a poor one.

 

It was the Jacket. Her blue hair was unmistakeable and her eyes...looking right into his face.

 

"Oy! Ye all right, lit'le man? I did no' mean t' trample ye. Let me of'er ye a han'." She was polite. Still staring right at him...through him, almost.

 

He stood on his own and brushed himself, stupidly unable to look away. His distinct single eye and face surely being etched into her mind.

 

"Ah....no..no I'm fine, ma'am. Thank you though."

 

MOVE YE DAMNED FOOL! Zhi scolding him as he stood there still. STILL!

 

His anchored legs finally found some control and he shuffled a moment before nodding and moving along, silently cursing himself as he headed to the Wench.

 

He'd stepped in it, for sure.

[Zhavi]

Zhi heard the clangor, and she was instantly paying heed to the voice that rose, one lifted foot away from heading out to see what had happened.

 

Shit!

 

She started to walk, and then started to climb. She'd go up a level on the spire, double over, and hang low until Flit made his way back to her. Or until she needed to take a leak. Or eat. Or got bored. Her irritation hung about her, ready to latch on to any convenient target; though that damn jack's appearance was not explicitly Flit's fault (not his fault at all, really), she still felt annoyed with him for how spooked she was.

 

She was right tired of hiding and skulking.

 

Suck it up, buttercup.

[Enteris]

((Per Ruru's request. No, I'm not editing it, so there.  ))

 

[18:32]Rurutani Sasatani looked at Andralyn Thatcher and grinned. "Been a while stranger."

[18:32]Johnathan Winters eyes the lalafell. "Mm..."

[18:33]Andralyn Thatcher turns to the voice, "Ah, so it has." She eyes the lalafell a moment, "Time seems to have had some effect on you, hm?"

[18:35]Rurutani Sasatani: "So it has....you look the same beauty as ever Grace. Mind if I take a seat? I have some business to discuss."

[18:35]Johnathan Winters perks a brow, falling silent and sitting back once more.

[18:35]Andralyn Thatcher lofts a brow, "Business, hm? Looking for love? Perhaps someone to warm your bed for the moment?" She motions to the open seats.

[18:37]Rurutani Sasatani chuckled and shook his head. "I wish it were, gods know it's been too long since I've lain with anyone. No...this is regarding a mutual friend of ours....who's come back."

[18:38]Andralyn Thatcher sits back in her chair, shifting to face the lalafell, "Oh? "

[18:39]Rurutani Sasatani furrowed his brow as he thought and then lowered his voice, leaning in. "It's Kink. Zhi. She's back. Hells know where she's been but she's back."

[18:40]Johnathan Winters rolls his eyes and grunts, muttering, "Wonderful..."

[18:41]Andralyn Thatcher nods, "Mm. I'm happy to hear she lives, but my business with her has been wrapped up for quite some time."

[18:42]Rurutani Sasatani: "Aye....true. But she....well I'm here on her behalf. She's not exactly her old self. And she needs..."

[18:42]Rurutani Sasatani coughed

[18:42]Rurutani Sasatani: "...help."

[18:42]Andralyn Thatcher lofts a brow, her head canting slightly, "Mmhmm. Of what sort?"

[18:43]Johnathan Winters glances toward Andralyn a moment, then back to Ruru.

[18:44]Rurutani Sasatani folded his hands and spoke. "The financial type. Seems she's got something up her sleeve, but she's got nothing on her.....and I'm in no shape to cover her. Of course we'd...she'd....pay you back."

[18:46]Andralyn Thatcher smiles politely, "Surely you can understand the need to know where my money is going and more importantly -why- my money would be going there. I'm afraid I need much more information."

[18:46]Johnathan Winters blinks and looks back to Andralyn, "Surely you can't honestly be considering this, Grace. Offering money to the runner that, quite honestly, proved no more useful than a simple stroll down the streets..."

[18:47]Johnathan Winters glances back to Ruru, "Nevermind the fact that she's not here in person to beg on her own behalf."

[18:48]Rurutani Sasatani shot a glare at Johnathan Winters before looking back to Andralyn. "I understand....and I will get the information you need. Just....tell me that there's a possibility of your assistance....that's all I need at this point."

[18:49]Johnathan Winters tilted his head at the glare, offering his own with a sly grin.

[18:50]Andralyn Thatcher smiles, "Following the gaze to Johnathan and back to Ruru, "There's possibilty that I do any number of things, friend should they be in my favor. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to speak anything more at this point."

[18:50]Johnathan Winters: "Or you could simply say no and leave trouble where it lay."

[18:50]Johnathan Winters: "Let the runner rot in her ditch, Grace."

[18:51]Andralyn Thatcher offers John a smile, "No worries, love."

[18:51]Johnathan Winters: "Yeah, plenty of worries. You don't need to get roped in with this tuco shit again."

[18:51]Rurutani Sasatani nodded again. "Fair enough." He closed his eye at the comment and then took a deep breath before smiling and opening his eye again. "I will meet with you again once I have the information. Thank you. I appreciate it."

[18:52]Andralyn Thatcher: "I would suggest that she meet with me also."

[18:53]Rurutani Sasatani: "Aye....seems it would be beneficial. Now if you please...I must excuse myself. The tuco shit awaits my return."

[18:54]Johnathan Winters grins tauntingly at Rurutani Sasatani.

[18:54]Rurutani Sasatani fixed a hard glare to Johnathan and smiled. "She's wanted.....didn't want the heat on Grace here."

[18:54]Johnathan Winters: "The heat is welcome to come play."

[18:55]Andralyn Thatcher offers a small thoughtful noise as she looks between the two.

[18:55]Rurutani Sasatani: "So you say. Pleasure as always Grace....until next time."

[18:55]Andralyn Thatcher: "Fair winds."

[18:55]Johnathan Winters tilts his head in thought, "Good idea, though. I could tell said 'heat' about you and her..."

[18:55]Johnathan Winters shrugs, "Settles my worries."

[Melodia]

Ruru walked away from the Wench, cursing under his breath and punded his fist into his palm. He let Grace's man get to him, get under his skin. That wasn't a wise move on his own part and Ruru swore aloud.

 

Ye had to go an' piss him off Flittermouse?" Her voice in his head again.

 

"He was being an ass. And I was just trying to help you, so thanks would be nice." He mumbled to himself as he walked back to a more secluded area of the city, and far way from the Wench.

 

But yer makin' the wrong enemies. Losin' yer cool over th' small shit an' losin' focus on what matters. Knock it off. 

 

He nodded, a smirk on his face at the scolding. "Aye. You're right." He looked around and saw no one around. He'd had conversations like this a lot over the moons she was gone and he'd grown fond of the voice in his head. Her voice. His mentor and friend.

 

He continued, waiting for her to find him.

[Zhavi]

The city was ill-fitting.

 

Zhi moved away from Melodia, her limbs leaden and hesitant. It looked familiar enough, as she circled its spires and skulked over its rooftops, but it didn't feel right. It wasn't the same. Somehow, in her absence, something had changed, something important, and she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

 

Well, the price on her head didn't help.

 

The fact that most of her contacts were avoiding her didn't help, either.

 

Truth was, she saw no reason for Thatcher to help her. She had wanted Flit out of her hair for a little while, so she could think without his expecting little eyes pinned on her. She knew what she had to do, really. Had known. Yet, she'd been independent for so long that the thought of it made her retch.

 

The city had never really been hers. It owned her. It always had.

 

She was still in a bad mood by the time she circled around to find Flit, ready to tell him who they were going to visit and cringing internally at its necessity. All the same, she did things in a certain order, so as she dropped down beside him the one word that passed her lips was "talk."

[Melodia]

Ruru flinched slightly at her sudden apprearance but regained his composure. He heard the word "talk" and his frown had said it all.

 

"She wants to talk to you. Face to face. In person." He paced closely around her. "Says she needs to know more details. She was very adamant about seeing you and not the messenger." He scoffed at the last.

 

"And that man that's with her all the time...Johnathan....he's lucky I didn't gut him right there. He did nothing but insult you threatened to report us to the Jackets. He's a a problem. I can deal with him if you want. "

 

He was seething talking about and looked back at her waiting for a reply.

[Zhavi]

Zhi gave Flit a look like he'd just gone and pissed on her boots. Her tail lashed side-to-side behind her. "What rat gone an' bit yer tail, then? Ye'll do no such, an' ye can go take a dip in th' harbor if ye so much as think o' liftin' a blade while yer dealin' fer me coz ye got some fly in yer ear." Her mouth twisted up in a sneer, baring a fang at him.

 

The reprimand was second nature; her mind was elsewhere.

 

"What's Thatcher's movements, o' late? What's she gettin' to?" Suspicion colored her tone.

[Melodia]

The words stung, hit hard and while his face had been hard of late, it softened a bit at the scolding. He turned as if contemplating something and frowned. He'd only been trying to defend her. To support her. And here, he'd gotten into trouble for even suggesting it.

 

He mumbled, "I was just saying. Course I'm not going to kill him." Grumbling he closed his eye and shook his head.

 

"Look...regardless, I don't fully trust them, particularly him. She seemed too keen on knowing what you want to do, and while I get that, he seemed more interested in burning you. Meaning we can't work with them if we need to be looking over our shoulders every day. He will bring that Jacket in if he feels he can leverage that against you."

 

He turned and shrugged at you, trying to sound tough and dismissive.

 

"But it's your call. Whatever you want to do."

[Melodia]

Elsewhere

 

"Well o' all th' damned luck." She'd been peering into the well lit Wench as the night air had made it easy to stay out of sight and yet easily able to watch the comings and goings inside.

 

And there was that Lalafell she'd run into a while back. Sitting at the table with the redhead and her boy.

 

"What're ye two talkin' about tha's so bloody important?" She could see the tnese body language, especially from the little man and she smirked, whispering to herself. "They pissin' ye off too? They're good at tha'. She's a damn pro." She took a cautious look over her shoulder and then back as she saw the Lalafell clearly angry walk off.

 

"Hmmm where ye headed lit'le one?" She clacked her teeth softly and smiled as she had someone new she needed to keep an eye on. "Th' net's tightenin' runner....sooner'r later yer gonna slip." She kept watching Grace and her man at the table while hugging the shadows.

[Zhavi]

Zhi rolled her eyes and spat between them. "Either her, or one o' me lesser known contacts. Either way it's fire."

 

His words made her decision, made so carefully over the past bell, much less certain. She knew full well Winters had no love of her, and she could even understand why, but the lure of Thatcher's soft hand at dealing was hard to deny. If it wasn't for Winters. . .she had confidence she could handle Thatcher, given enough time to be clever. He wouldn't be so likely to let things lie, and she could just imagine what would happen if he decided to go in for a quiet tip-off.

 

She licked her lips. "There's a man I met, while back. A killer. Far as I could tell he was part o' some network, an' one I ain't too familiar-like wi'. Thinkin' o' trackin' his lot down an' seein' what shakes loose."

 

She looked at Flit, eyes serious, not asking for his opinion but still looking for it anyway.

[Melodia]

A network of killers? Some man tied to them? He'd heard rumors of a syndicate or something beneath the shadows of Limsa but he couldn't be sure, even with his own contracts he'd taken on as he'd never had any contact. He wasn't sure if this was who she was-

 

Ye think too much, ye know? She teased...always teasing. He winced a bit and bit into his bottom lip to stifle a reply. That wouldn't make Zhi any more comfortable if he started talking to visions.

 

Yer a cold one aren't ye? A vision? He felt her hands on his shoulders and he fought to regain his senses. I'm the reason ye aren't dead or lyin' in a gutter somewhere, Flit an' ye call me a vision?

 

His eye snapped open. Kink was staring at him, awaiting his reply by her questioning look and he shook his head as if clearing cobwebs. "Sorry...have a bit of a headache is all." The lie was a weak one and he heard her laughter, the mocking one at the pitiful words he'd delivered. She'll never believe ye, not with shite like that rollin' outta yer mouth.

 

He spoke probably too loud as he tried to silence that voice. "Maybe a good idea...Grace is good, but you need to be more settled before approaching her. Is this man reliable?"

 

Even as he asked the question, he felt the irony sting and again, from a bit of a distance at least (much to his relief) that mocking laughter.

 

Ahahahaha!!!

[Zhavi]

Zhi's nostrils flared. She stared him down -- eyes narrowed and lips pressing tight together -- before she muttered "useless," to herself under her breath. Louder, she asked: "Ye drunk?"

[Melodia]

The comment.... "Ye drunk?" snapped him to his sense and he looked at her (both of her....until the other walked away with a snicker) and he shook his head again clearing it.

 

"Aye....I'm..no..I'm fine. Not drunk. Sorry....bit distracted is all. If you think this man and his network are solid, or less risky to say the least than Grace, then that's the route. Who we talking about, by the way?"

 

He looked curiously at her as his eye looked about, praying the other was gone for some time at least.

[Zhavi]

Zhi squinted at some point past Flit. "Ain't rememberin' his name. But I got someone in mind who might point us in th'right way. Heard o' Keto'to?"

[Melodia]

He shook his head. Zhi's network ran deep and his was shallow by comparison.

 

"Can't say that I have....which is a good thing. It's the ones that people hear most about that are on the radar of people we don't want on our tail."

[Zhavi]

"Nn."

 

Zhi turned away from Flit, dismissive, and reached for a smoke before she could stop herself. Finding nothing, she muttered something under her breath and sighed. It was a heavy sigh, the sort that bespoke exasperation and an approaching bad mood. Well, worse than the one she'd been in.

 

She glanced at Flit, grunted, and turned on her heel. Anyone else might have thought the meeting was over, but she expected him to follow. Even if he didn't, she wouldn't turn back: her shoulders had stiffened up, and her tail was rigid behind her. Mood covered it, certainly, topped with a dash of pride.

 

The city sprawled before her as she walked, thumb tucked into her belt and hand perched on her hip. She was rough, befitting the spires she circled and the bridges she took. Dull wood, stained metal, salt-crusted rope: she took it all in as she took the long route to Keto'to's stall, such as it was. Home, whatever that meant. Hers, and that was a damned lie.

 

The night was young when she finally drifted to a stop amidst a scattered collection of crates. Tucked away in an alley, it looked like it had once been the site of a midden. Bits of trash lay underfoot, faded and worn, trapped against the stone by dirt and small bits of debris. It smelled, though of what was hard to determine -- but the city stank like that on a regular basis, and it wasn't anything particularly offensive.

 

Zhi leaned up against a wall, heedless of the dark patches that stained its uneven surface. "Keto'to sells things," she said, as if to herself.

[Melodia]

He watched her walk and knew better than to let her walk away without following. That sound had not been the conclusion nor was it agreement with his sentiment. She was quiet.

 

The other was not. Cackling away in his head. "Keep yer wits about ye Flit, this one's an unknown....an' I don't mean this Keto'to."

 

His eye twiched and he shook his head slightly to clear the (voice) cobwebs.

 

When she stopped at the crates he looked about. "Sells things, hmm? Tell me it isn't this trash. And look...what are we doing? I'd like to know what is going on before I invest in this..." He gestured around the crates.

 

She was sipping a bottle of whiskey to the side and she smirked. That's it...make 'er give ye somethin'....or is that sword there just fer show?" She chuckled and shook her head. She's not t' be trusted ye know." He flashed a glare to her and suddenly she was whsipering in his ear, Did ye ever trust me, Flit? Her voice was teasing and she smiled.

 

He said in a low voice, "I...don't know."

[Zhavi]

Zhavi's right ear -- closest to Flit -- turned his way. But she was looking the other way, into the shadowed depths of the alley. She scuffed the toe of her shoe against a broken, rotting piece of wood. "Who'd buy it?" Her tone was scornful. "He should be here soon. He's a ragpicker, Keto'to is, an' he only sets up at night. Proper Keeper, even in a city like this." Her scorn was for the daytrippers, and the stranglehold they had over regular business hours. "He sells an' trades, an' it ain't all th'sorts o'things what pass 'twixt hands, fancy?"

[Melodia]

Ruru nodded, understanding her words, at least what he thought she meant.

 

"Information. Favors, then?" He looked not at her but the general area about as he remembered he needed to tell her.

 

This ought t' be good. She mocked.

 

"She ran into me when I went to the Wench. The Jacket."

[Zhavi]

"Yeah." Her tone was non-committal, her expression verging on pleasant. She folded her arms and kept staring down the alley, waiting.

[Melodia]

He scowled and ground his teeth. "That's it? That's all you have to say? What if she followed me? Hmm? He seemed irritated by the apathy displayed.

 

She's gettin' to ye already? Flit yer gettin' soft.

[Zhavi]

"Ye that pathetic?" Her voice was amused, in a cold, cruel way. She still didn't look at him.

[Melodia]

He scoffed at her verbal jab and stepped closer to Zhi with a scowl. "You know, you could show a little gratitude. The crap I've been dealing with since you've been gone and...." He paused not wanting to bring the other one up."

 

Awww...scared?

 

"This Jacket is obsessed with you....if she throws you in jail what good is that you came back? I'm just trying to help you out." He didn't raise his voice, it was calm and collected as if stating a simple fact, though he did jab his finger at Zhi the last three words for emphasis.

 

A slow sound of clapping to the side and he dared not look as he knew she was mocking him.

 

Limsa's finest....everyone's hero.

 

More clapping. Slow. Mocking. And his scowl hardened as he heard it.

[Zhavi]

Zhi raised an eyebrow, eyes flickering away from the alley for a heartbeat to look down at him before she resumed her vigil. "I ain't got no need fer men what break at th'first sign o' heat. Gettin' wound like a bitch wi' a litter ain't never solved naught, Flit. Ye weren't followed an' I ain't 'bout t'sit here bitin' at me nails wi' ye. Now settle yer ass down, understand?"