65th of Summer, 516 AV
Late Afternoon
Kaie couldn't help but privately smirk. Now and then she'd catch that certain look in her young sister Jeida's eyes. She'd never admit it, but it was surely there. It wasn't one of ethnocentric scorn to be scorched upon the faces of barbarian races as they passed her by, nor was it full of self-doubt and uncertainty that had the power to grip a shaken foreigner in new lands. From the moment they passed the massive gates to the city, awe filled Jeida's gaze.
Kaie could remember the feeling herself. Syliras had been her home for a period of time. The great stone walls and towers with armored sentries had been a wonder to her, and a welcomed sight after the shyke storm she'd been through in the Sea of Grass. The feeling still came to her now and then when she explored a new city abroad for the first time. Yet it was still strange to see the experience mirrored in the eyes of close kin.
The Cutthroat Shadow Clan sisters meandered through the streets for a time before ducking into the Spinning Coin. A thick cloud of smoke and the roar of gamblers greeted them immediately upon entry. Bodies were crammed virtually everywhere, backs hunched over card games to cock fights---anything worthy of a betting man's interest. A hard elbow bumped against Kaie's side. Her brow furrowed and amber gaze turned upon her sister beside her.
"This place is a shyke hole. What are we doing here?" Jeida voiced in their shared Myrian tongue. The Myrian paused, eyes roving the bar until she found a familiar face. A crooked grin crossed her lips. "Visiting an old friend. You have coin. Go bet a game or something. I'll be right back." The elder of the sister stormed toward the bar, leaving her junior to glance about the crowded, rowdy establishment. Jeida adjusted her jaw but relented to her sister's bidding for lack of choice.
Using her shoulder, she moved through the masses with one hand instinctively resting upon the hilt of her sword. Jeida was a confident being, and as a veteran of the Taloban Army, she certainly didn't need Kaie to coddle her. Dark eyes settled curiously upon a spinning game, and she elected to mosey her way closer to observe the wheel so many nervous betters seemed to be shouting obscenities at. It was a simple game from what she could observe. A ball was dropped and rolled along the wheel, and the challenge was choosing to place money on it coming to rest on a red or black square. Jeida procured a single golden Miza from her coin purse. "Black," the Myrian requested of a man evidently taking bets. Then her arms came to fold across her chest, eyes glaring hopefully at the ball prepared to drop onto the wheel.
Meanwhile, Kaie was sliding into a bar stool with that mischievous grin still on her face. A red-bearded brute shifted his eyes from the larger crowd to settle on the newcomer. His twitch of a smirk in her direction was so reluctant, one might've thought the Myrian seated before him forced it out of him. "Well I'll be damned," Gene growled with a slow shake of his head. "Last time I saw you, you were off talking some shady business with your tattooed friend." Kaie's grin widened. Had it really been that long since she was sitting in one of those booths with Razkar and those other mercenaries?
"Good to see you too, Duval," she mused back to him in Common. "You wouldn't happen to have heard of anything that might pique my interest, have you?" Gene rolled his eyes and gave a slow shake of his head. The risks of pinning one's livelihood on chance brought in a variety of characters to the red-headed man's establishment. Some of those characters tended to be sketchier than others. It made him an unlikely source of reliable information regarding mercenary business, and Kaie was always happy to compensate him for amusing her inquiries. "Petching Myrians. What is it about your lot that's so damned quick to dance with Dira for your precious Myri?"
Late Afternoon
Kaie couldn't help but privately smirk. Now and then she'd catch that certain look in her young sister Jeida's eyes. She'd never admit it, but it was surely there. It wasn't one of ethnocentric scorn to be scorched upon the faces of barbarian races as they passed her by, nor was it full of self-doubt and uncertainty that had the power to grip a shaken foreigner in new lands. From the moment they passed the massive gates to the city, awe filled Jeida's gaze.
Kaie could remember the feeling herself. Syliras had been her home for a period of time. The great stone walls and towers with armored sentries had been a wonder to her, and a welcomed sight after the shyke storm she'd been through in the Sea of Grass. The feeling still came to her now and then when she explored a new city abroad for the first time. Yet it was still strange to see the experience mirrored in the eyes of close kin.
The Cutthroat Shadow Clan sisters meandered through the streets for a time before ducking into the Spinning Coin. A thick cloud of smoke and the roar of gamblers greeted them immediately upon entry. Bodies were crammed virtually everywhere, backs hunched over card games to cock fights---anything worthy of a betting man's interest. A hard elbow bumped against Kaie's side. Her brow furrowed and amber gaze turned upon her sister beside her.
"This place is a shyke hole. What are we doing here?" Jeida voiced in their shared Myrian tongue. The Myrian paused, eyes roving the bar until she found a familiar face. A crooked grin crossed her lips. "Visiting an old friend. You have coin. Go bet a game or something. I'll be right back." The elder of the sister stormed toward the bar, leaving her junior to glance about the crowded, rowdy establishment. Jeida adjusted her jaw but relented to her sister's bidding for lack of choice.
Using her shoulder, she moved through the masses with one hand instinctively resting upon the hilt of her sword. Jeida was a confident being, and as a veteran of the Taloban Army, she certainly didn't need Kaie to coddle her. Dark eyes settled curiously upon a spinning game, and she elected to mosey her way closer to observe the wheel so many nervous betters seemed to be shouting obscenities at. It was a simple game from what she could observe. A ball was dropped and rolled along the wheel, and the challenge was choosing to place money on it coming to rest on a red or black square. Jeida procured a single golden Miza from her coin purse. "Black," the Myrian requested of a man evidently taking bets. Then her arms came to fold across her chest, eyes glaring hopefully at the ball prepared to drop onto the wheel.
Meanwhile, Kaie was sliding into a bar stool with that mischievous grin still on her face. A red-bearded brute shifted his eyes from the larger crowd to settle on the newcomer. His twitch of a smirk in her direction was so reluctant, one might've thought the Myrian seated before him forced it out of him. "Well I'll be damned," Gene growled with a slow shake of his head. "Last time I saw you, you were off talking some shady business with your tattooed friend." Kaie's grin widened. Had it really been that long since she was sitting in one of those booths with Razkar and those other mercenaries?
"Good to see you too, Duval," she mused back to him in Common. "You wouldn't happen to have heard of anything that might pique my interest, have you?" Gene rolled his eyes and gave a slow shake of his head. The risks of pinning one's livelihood on chance brought in a variety of characters to the red-headed man's establishment. Some of those characters tended to be sketchier than others. It made him an unlikely source of reliable information regarding mercenary business, and Kaie was always happy to compensate him for amusing her inquiries. "Petching Myrians. What is it about your lot that's so damned quick to dance with Dira for your precious Myri?"