Closed The Reeling (Zandelia)

[Lucian Hill]

Fall 53rd, 514 AV - Evening

Syna was beginning her descent from the sky, Leth's pale visage visible in the leftover blue. The air was frosty now, small puffs of water vapor appearing whenever someone spoke. Drunks wandered the streets outside of the Drunken Fish, as appropriately named as it was, and generally ignored Lucian. The raven waited for a few chimes, and his stomach growled as he stood in the light emanating from the dirty windows of the tavern. He rarely visited the place, preferring the Pig's Foot over anything, though today was different - he felt that, in this dire situation, he would need an easier mark.

The dire situation? Hunger.

With the Castle Commons closed, he had taken to eating his spare rations. Today, however, he was sick of them. The Drunken Fish, especially at this time of night, was known for being full of foreigners and sailors wallowing in their drunken stupor, and it was appropriate that Lucian took advantage of that. He stepped into the stinking tavern, smelling of ale and sweat, and pulled back his hood. The inside of the Fish was much warmer than the outside. He sidled past a table, quickly snatching a small scrap of bread left on the plate of someone who appeared incredibly inebriated. He shoved the bread into his mouth, swallowing just ticks after he ate it. The raven's stomach growled in appreciation.

His eyes landed on the glint of mizas - he couldn't tell whether they were copper, gold, or silver - being pulled from a woman's pocket and into the hands of one of the barmaids. While his original mission had been food, the raven could never turn up the chance of getting his hands on a couple of mizas, and he put on his best impression of a drunk. He stumbled over to the woman, bumping into her and simultaneously attempting to reach his hand into her pocket and discover what was inside.

" 'Scuse me."

[Zandelia]

The Fish Bowl, haven for the denizens of Sunberth that required inebriation, sedation or potentially both at the same time. It was exceptional at what its turnover purpose was, the taking of sober and pleasant individuals and converting them into penniless drunken wrecks to be tossed into the street once a fight was started. It never ceased to amaze her that generally favourable people became monsters once their inhibitions were fully destroyed, if she were being philosophical she would have to mentally discuss whether this was human nature of just Sunberth nature. She had little time for that this evening however, she was here for sedation and she was going to get it as efficiently as was possible. It had been several days now, some time indeed, yet her fingers still throbbed where the nails had been ripped out.

I know they’ll grow back but that’s not the point. Bastards took them! And they were so charming too, well looked after despite my rougher nature. They paid but…it’s not the same now. Nothing is the same. They took something I’m not sure I’ll ever get back. Not sure I want it… she thought to herself morosely as she stepped across the threshold and paced slowly towards the bar.

It was as stuffed with flesh as ever, she waited her turn for once and did not so much as try to wheedle her way to the front, she was not wearing her usual garb for the Fish Bowl and was hoping to be as unobtrusive and unnoticed as was possible. She just wanted to drink and think, the age old combination that she had not spent time doing for a while now. Not serious thinking, personal thinking. Planning and intelligence work didn’t count, it was becoming easy enough now that it was like breathing – automatic. Deeper thoughts required time and effort of concentration. Chief of the questions upon her mind was whether she knew what she was fighting for anymore, or rather whether it was getting anywhere. Personally many advances had been made but as had been proven so brutally there were still too many darker sorts waging a ceaseless war of suffering.

Is it not my place to stop it if I can? Where I can? I don’t mind free enterprise, freedoms and the rest. But if it means you can be made a slave…tortured without any restrictions…something is wrong there. It must stop. Has to stop she clenched her gauntleted fist as her drink was passed and she slid a gold piece upon the bar.

“Staying a while eh?”

“Aye…a while. For the future” she tapped the miza and the lass nodded.

“Singing today?”

“No…not today. Today is a quiet day”

“One of those huh? Soemthing up?”

“Was?”

“Oh?”

“Not anymore”

“Ah…well you just make sure you don’t get too drunk again now. Can’t have a pretty thing like you used and abused” the lass behind the bar smiled slightly.

“Hah! They can try!” she returned the smile as best she could.

Turning to head towards a table she as bumped into and felt the probing, the tugging and touching. She reacted instinctually, paranoia due to recent events lashing out like a viper. Fingers grasped, closed upon the wrist…small wrist. She twisted it, turned it around so that it was behind the boy and his shoulder was pulling ever so slightly.

“Who sent you?” she asked him stonily, “tell me or your shoulder gets separated. I don’t like hurting small timers but I’ll do it if I have to. Was it slavers? Which group?” she asked him sternly.

[Lucian Hill]

Lucian very quickly found himself in an uncomfortable and unexpected situation. He never considered that this woman - pretty, but a bit older than he had thought from behind, would be as strong as she turned out to be. He struggled a bit, his shoulder pulling and in mild pain, but figured the best way to get out of this situation would be with his words. There was no way the lanky raven would be able to muscle his way out of her grip. His poor acting of a drunk dropped immediately.

"N-no one sent me. I jus' wanted coin." He figured honesty would work best in this situation, though he really didn't know how to react. Her voice, however, sounded cold, and her words didn't make sense. Why in Hai would slavers be after her, and why would she suspect that someone was sent after her? The only explanation would be that she was part of a gang or did something against a gang, and he had no idea which.

"Now, can ya let me go?" This was most likely a stupid request that would involve more pain, but he asked anyway. He looked around the tavern, barely anyone paying attention to the situation at hand, and he realized he had the very real fear of someone beating him up in an alley that day if he wasn't able to get out of this. He was quickly reassured by the fact that even if he were dragged out into an alley, there was still the chance that he'd be able to shift and escape.

[Zandelia]

She listened as his act dropped almost immediately, it had been a decently chosen one but he had simply chosen the wrong target. Rich she was by Sunberth standards but most knew to leave her be, particularly if she was feeling slightly playful – those were the times quite a few knew to be wary of of late. She was becoming harder, especially after the experiences of the season so far. Her grip was iron and she knew he wouldn't be able to break it, she hadn't spent years wielding a weapon based upon grip and momentum to lose out to s thief. Yet there was the inevitable struggling, the finding out that force was futile and the dissolving into words. She liked words better than physicality, you could tell much more about someone by the way they spoke under duress and given his arm was straining at the socket his duress was evident. His words were earnest though, his claim to innocence rang true enough. She kept him in the arm lock for a while longer though, her gaze flicking about to see if he possessed friends and finding none coming to his immediate aid.

A lone thief, hungry and willing to risk his life for some coin. One who clearly does not know as much as he should... she mused to herself as she held him fast, considering what to do with him.

“Let's say I do let you go? What's stopping you grabbing something of mine and running off? Not that you would get far, believe me on that. Very well...now that you know that if you try to steal from me again you will not be able to steal again...” she let the words sink in for a few moments longer before releasing him and returning to her cup, picking it up and sipping from it as her other hand snaked out to grab the scruff of his collar to hold him fast.

She kept drinking intermittently as she looked at him, a wily prisoner who seemed to ever be looking for a way out. His eyes were darting, his mind quick enough to try to use words over violence. She had heard a phrase some time ago regarding useful idiots. She had believed it once but now she knew too well that an idiot was useless. She required people of talent but she was not above giving people chances, when they had piqued her intrigue. This lad had done that, in his own foolish way, and she was toying with the idea that he could be useful to her – of he required some education. She was one of the few who saw Sunberth as a glorious place to live, to work. Wherever possible she liked to equip others with further knowledge and ability – so long as they wouldn't use that against her. She took the view that the higher the skill level of the general populace the more damage they inevitably did to her enemies, one way or another.

“You chose the wrong mark young friend,” she stated as she placed her cup down casually and pushed him into into the bar gently, “do not try to run. I assure you that I am the faster. Now...where was I? Ah yes, the wrong mark. You want coin? There is coin aplenty but little here, not without getting your head smashed in. If not by me then by Merv. He doesn't take kindly to thieving from his drinkers” she stated as she leant against the bar with one elbow and regarded him further.

“Let me pose you a hypothetical scenario,” she continued smoothly, tones still cold and level, “a young boy steals from the wrong woman. The woman could kill said boy but instead chooses to see what he is worth. Now she needs no coin, no warriors and certainly doesn't need failures. How, might I ask, would this boy prove his life is worth something?” she asked him, the tone was not menacing in and of itself but the casual way she spoke about such things was likely intimidating.

“And if he could think of a way to be worthy of living, to what would he aspire to use such worthiness? To steal tiny morsels from the streets? To live life as a small fish in a very large pond filled with predators? Would he be a fly for the spider? Or would he choose a higher path?” she asked.

“My name is Web, by the way. You might have heard of me. And you are?”

[Lucian Hill]

His eyes were wide, his lips firmly planted together in a tight line. He simply nodded along with her words, held fast by this woman. She had not been this terrifying when she was another anonymous mark, a vague outline of an actual person from behind whom he only cared about because she had coin. The few times he had attempted to thieve in the Drunken Fish were when he stole from sailors too drunk to notice or care, or when he'd slip a crust of bread or a scrap of meat off of a table.

This woman, however, made no attempts to harm him. She just held him in place, speaking in a way that was too casual to not be fairly horrific. It left too much to the imagination when someone spoke like this. He grimaced at the mention of getting his head smashed in, though the woman seemed intent to do the opposite. His ears, if they could perk up like a cat's or perhaps a rabbit, perked up at the hypothetical scenario she proposed. Anyone with half a brain would've been able to tell that said scenario's participants, a young boy and the wrong woman, were the current pair. Lucian was not one to extol his virtues, however, and he was not fond of advocating for himself. It bordered on bragging, and he preferred to be underestimated, if anything.

"Perhaps the uh, young boy can be seen, withou' really bein' seen." He was purosefully vague, his voice kept low enough for the woman and maybe someone right next to them to hear. He definitely did not want to tell the woman he was Kelvic, as that was almost surely a trip or kidnapping to the slavers. She had earlier asked him if he worked for the slavers, which could've meant that she was against slavery in general - though it could just as easily have meant that she worked for a rival group. Sunberth was too complicated and too simple to understand.

"I — He, would choose a higher path." His voice was tinged with desperation, searching for the correct answer to that question. She could be one of the people that despised competition, not that'd he'd be able to compete with her at this point. It was obvious that she was more skilled than he.

The name Web cleared up many things. He had, indeed, heard of Web, but it was back-alley rumours and nonsense that he'd rather not think about again. He did not know that this woman was the face behind the name. "Lucian."

[Zandelia]

She listened, it was an easy thing to do these days but often undervalued she found. Clearly this Lucian knew the position that he was in and had listened intently to her own words – his first lesson although he perhaps had not grasped that fact. She often found that it was best to instruct through direct experience and though this lad had tried to rob her she bore him little ill will. She had uses for those like himself, thieves and beggars. They often knew more than most folk gave them credit for and you never knew when you would need something...relocated. So she was not about to drive him away, just put him squarely where he needed to be mentally, as her inferior when it came to certain aspects. Not as a man, as a professional. She tilted her head in consideration and let the silence after draw itself out slightly before responding.

“Higher path? Truly now? Many have said that but few know its significance apparently. I might have a mind to teach you there, a payment for a payment perhaps. Let us just say that worth is earned if it is to be considered truly worth having. Come with me...Lucian” she stated simply as she finished her drink and beckoned him to follow.

He could choose to leave or to follow her, it was his choice though she hoped he would follow and listen to her. Sunberth was riddled with less than savoury sorts, some worse than others. She had made a vow to try to direct such things for its betterment, even if the city didn't know or even seem to care about that fact. A thankless task some might imagine it as, there was truth in such a perspective. Yet she couldn't change the way she felt, the things she had seen that made her want to plow the whole city down and begin once more from a more enlightened perspective. She began to weave her way to the door but an arm stretched out to block her path.

“Web...I knows you. You was the one helped out my lass. Take a seat woman, let me but you a drink!” the thick gruffness of the words greeted her ears and made it difficult to decipher at first.

“Your lass? Remind me now I have helped many a girl of late”

“Rosie Stykes! Helped her with those young bastards. Tried to get their hands all over he-” he began to get angry but it flashed and then settled away just as quickly to be repalced with a wide toothy grin, “but no matter eh? You sorted 'em right good and proper”

“Ah yes,” she smiled tightly in return to this unconsidered intervention, “I don;t think they'll be getting their enjoyments for some time indeed but I really mu-”

“Some time, sometime she says boys! Hah,” they descended into laughter then and left her slightly nonplussed until it faded once more, “ways we heard it was they'd be lucky to have anything of themselves left! Come on, drink! Barmaid!” he signalled.

“Sometimes solutions require...some force. But no, not this time. I shall perhaps return and drink with you. I have another youth to guide this night” she gestured to Lucian whom she hoped was directly behind her now.

“Oh yeah? Well, you didn't hear nothin from me but if your ever in a tight spot we gots a few lads willing to get your arse out of it yeah? Later then, later” he winked at her and allowed her to finally pass.

She paused to compose herself once more and resumed her walk towards the door, this was a new thing she had not encountered of late. Clearly good deeds were quicker to be spread and appreciated than bad ones but a random offer of assistance for something paltry like kicking the shyke out of some would-be rapists seemed like it was its own rewards. Still it was nice to know some would stand by her back who weren't those she owed so much too. They owed her instead, or thought they did and that was good enough for her. She was cautious though and would feel this new olive branch out before calling it in but that was a future consideration. She swiftly pushed the door aside and stepped into the chill of the exterior, waiting casually against the wall nearby to see if Lucian would follow her or make his escape now that he was afforded the opportunity.

[Lucian Hill]

Lucian could do nothing but follow. He knew nothing about this woman, but curiosity and fear kept him from doing much else. In all honesty, he wanted to know what was going to happen next. The raven's eyes flitted considerably, cocking in a decided, bird-like fashion. Web had not questioned his statement, which only furthered the current suspicion that threatened to cloud his mind. He, however, forced himself to think clearly and see the situation through.

In this, he ignored the man now speaking to the woman he had been following. His words were unimportant, and Web's posture changed, though what that meant the raven could not tell. He eyed the Drunken Fish's interior now, staring at the woodwork as if it were interesting in every sense of the word. After mere ticks of that, his attention turned to the patrons inside. He know no one inside; the majority of them seemed to be sailors or foreigners, the entire reason he had chosen this place to begin with. Quite a few appeared the be drunk, and Lucian swiped another piece of bread off of this man's plate. People and the scraps they left - but his stomach seemed to agree even more with this choice, and as he swallowed it he could tell it was much happier than it had been before he came to this place, regardless of the new situation he found himself in.

Seeing as Web had finished her conversation, he followed her outside. It was chilly, and Lucian pulled his cloak around him, the cold prickling at his fingers. A dim light came through the window of the Drunken Fish and the moon sparkled in the sky, surrounded by stars, but it was otherwise dark outside. He crept closer to the woman, as being outside he realized that the safest choice was to stick near her for the time being.

"Aren't you mad?" He directed any conversation toward his unanswered questions. This particular one had been pulling at him for the while, the curiosity killing him rather than a stray cat. It was strange that he felt as if someone he tried to steal from would offer him any protection. He decided that if there simply wasn't any protection to be offered, he would run.

[Zandelia]

“Am I mad?” she mimicked the question back at him in a thoughtful tone, considering it fully from all perspectives as she turned it mentally and rounded it into a conclusion that was quite amusing to her, “I had never truly considered it but I suppose by Sunberth's standards I might be” she snorted in mirth once before continuing her response.

“I am mad because I try to help those that, if I were being truly ruthless as is required so often in this cesspit it seems, I would probably be better off ignoring. I am mad because rather than standing aside when a slaver tries to steal some more produce I stand in their way and get cut for it. I am mad because I understand enough to see the very thoughts in the heads of others as they think them, so sure that they are being secretive and clever,” she responded casually and looked at him directly then with folded arms, “for instance you can run if you like, it might be wise to do so”

“However, if you want to have a friend who could knock down most and food to fill your stomach,” she pointed at his abdomen then pointedly, “then you could stay with me. Do not mistake altruism for insanity, it is a fool who turns nose up at the offer of teaching and assistance from another simply because they are unnerving” she shrugged at that and swept her gaze across the strangely emptied streets, “it's your choice of course. Do as you see fit” she waited then.

Silence, if one didn't count that faint screams of violence or the distant rabble of ongoing debauchery within the audible range. Sunberth never truly became silent, it just dulled in volume on nights where less killing was taking place and more peace was found by the innocent. It was a sure as sunrise that sooner or later the noise would rise up once more, another gang battle or suffocatingly boring revelry involving too much alcohol and not enough brains. Her gaze shifted around once more as she waited for him to make his decision, he didn't seem to be going anywhere at that moment. Still, he was slippery perhaps. Slippery enough to be a thief at least. She let the silence drag on a little longer before breaking it herself, she couldn't expect him to simply trust her because she told him to after all.

“If it helps there is no obligation, I don't believe in forcing people to do something. They tend to do it poorly if they are forced. Coercion and negotiation is more effective if they are options open to me,” she stated calmly as she looked at him again, “my trade lies in problem solving and acquisition. So ask yourself...what do you want? Because I can get it for you, or give it to you” she continued.

“You want to be more talented, I can do that. You want connections, say no more it's yours. You want security – physically or in coin – you can have it with me and mine. I only ask one thing in return...that when asked you work for me. You watch and tell me things. I never exploit my allies and I play fair with asking you what to do, only ever asking what is possible to provide. If you can find a better offer then feel free to tell me where and who fro and I will better it” she shrugged at that, such considerations were so small to her.

“So, what do you want? At this moment? Because a talented thief and watcher is worth providing for in my world” she finished as she continued to wait for an answer.