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Post by Xaviere on Mar 25, 2018 4:35:52 GMT
After following Torrey and their guide down filthy alleys in the bowels of Spirit, Xaviere amused herself by trying on some subtle drug addict mannerisms. The glamour would take care of how she looked, and absolutely everyone here fully assumed she was with Tor for the purpose of buying drugs. But, if she just stood there and did nothing, the magic wouldn't fill in the gaps. So she paced, short jerky steps that were the antithesis to her usual grace, hands restlessly wandering over her upper arms as she clutched at herself, looking for all the world like someone hitting the unfortunate tailspin of withdrawal. It probably wouldn't have mattered if Xaviere didn't bother with this - no-one here was all that interested in them yet - but it gave her something to do to pass the time while they waited, and it couldn't hurt.
She stilled, though, when Kristoff came out and wasted no time in implying something tasteless. The glamoured Fairy turned her head, not letting the magic drop, and smiled with such casual venom at the exact same time that Tor suggested he might lose something precious to him that Kristoff, unable to help it, took the tiniest step backwards. It was hardly noticeable, but Xaviere saw it, and her grin widened.
At that point, the show really became Tor's and, shrugging off the mannerisms of someone waiting for drugs though keeping her magical disguise in place, Xaviere leaned against the wall with a bored expression and a knife in her hands, being twirled slowly by clever, confident fingers. She figured it would be a precaution only though - Tor's warning, her feral ferocity, had Kristoff's thugs backing off without having to lay a finger on them. She ignored them, watching Tor work over the drug dealer instead.
"Rude," she muttered, as Kristoff swore at Torrey. Surprisingly, the woman who had led them here in the first place was inching closer to Xaviere by this point, perhaps thinking a hostage might help their cause. Xaviere waited until she was close enough to try and grab her, then intercepted her hand as she reached for the Fairy and in one swift move - not a second of hesitation - slammed the woman's hand against the door behind her and drove her knife through the thug's palm, pinning it to the wood. The woman screeched, a high keening horrified sound, having not expected any retaliation from the wan-looking addict leaning against the wall - much less that kind of retaliation.
"No touching," she chided, eyes already back on Tor and Kristoff as she ignored the woman cursing and trying to tug the knife free as blood poured down her wrist and dripped from her elbow, adding to the filth on the ground. It wasn't fatal, but she bet it hurt.
"Very nice. Just the right amount of terror." Tor was bright and cheerful when she came over, and Xaviere smiled as she continued to ignore the now plaintive crying of the woman pinned to the door.
"He won't think it's worth it to try get out of it now. Kristoff has actually had Lazarus send...debt collectors...after him before. They weren't quite as scary as you though, so I'm sure he'll not have missed that Laz has upgraded his workforce."
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Post by Torrey on Mar 25, 2018 5:36:53 GMT
Whatever magic Xave was doing to play the part, it had worked really well. There was no doubt that she was experienced with doing this sort of thing, that was for sure. While they were waiting for Kristoff to come back with the coin that he owed Lazarus, the avian daemon was watching the woman squirm, cursing with tears sliding down her cheeks as she tried to remove the knife from her hand. Tor crossed her arms and motioned at the woman with her head. “Yeah, good luck doing anything with that hand ever again, sweet thing. Might wanna get a new job, something that’s more your style or something that actually lies in your skill set.” One of the four body guards that were reluctant to do anything to retaliate to Xave and Torrey were obviously nervous and uncomfortable. One was looking at the girl with her pinned hand with concern, and even leaned forward a little as if he were considering to help her with her struggles. But Tor immediately flashed her amethyst eyes and hissed at him in warning. He nearly jumped back and looked away, pretending that he hadn’t even thought of helping her to begin with.
She wasn’t quite done messing with the woman though, so she took a few steps towards her to get a better look at her poor hand. “Tch, tch, tch. Look, you’ve gotta pull it straight out dummy. All you’re doing is shredding your hand.” The woman cursed at her and spat in Tor’s direction, but she’d already moved back to where she had been waiting for Kristoff to begin with.
Tor looked at Xave as she complimented her work. “Thanks. Maybe he’ll think twice before looking at a women too and thinking she’s a plaything. Bastard is a real piece of work.” Just had that vibe too that he thinks less of women." The door to the man’s drug hub opened, and Kristoff hesitantly stepped outside, blood soaking into his clothes from where she had broken his skin with her talons. In his right hand was a fairly large brown sack, and Tor could hear the slight jingle that came from the coin within with each of his movements.
The man was not happy, but he refrained from making any remarks he might have regretted. He handed the bag out to Torrey, and she snatched it quickly, making the man flinch ever so slight. She untied the rope that kept it shut and looked inside to make sure it was, indeed, the coin that was owed to Laz. She tied it back up and looked up at Kristoff with the biggest grin on her face. “Thank you for your co-operation.” In the most demeaning way she could, Torrey took a step towards him and gave him a peck on his cheek. “Take care of yourself now, okay? Watch out for crazies.” She winked at him, then glared at the surrounding men that worked for him before turning away and walking back in the direction they came alongside Xave.
“Think all of Laz's coin is in here?” If not, Tor was sure that Kristoff would get another unfriendly visit. “Maybe I’ll give the bag to him if we can get some dessert. I can’t say I got enough of him earlier. I see why you stick around, minus being paid.” Just in case, Torrey looked behind her to make sure they were not being followed by any of Kristoff’s men. Anyone that did would not be treated as nicely as him.
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Post by Xaviere on Apr 14, 2018 8:19:51 GMT
Kristoff was back promptly enough that Xaviere deduced he was good and scared, just as he should be following Tor's little visit. The cheerful jangling of coin was music to her ears - just the thing to turn a good night even better - and, still glamoured to look like a drug addict but no longer bothering to behave like one, Xaviere looked up at him with hooded eyes and a cold, amused smile. He shoved the bag in Tor's direction and refused to make eye contact with the disguised Fairy, which only put her in a better mood. Tor had done an excellent job; she looked forward to filling Lazarus in.
Before following the Daemon back out of the maze of alley ways that led to Kristoff's den, Xaviere grabbed her knife and pulled it free of the wood - and the woman's hand - with a sharp, practiced tug. The woman wailed again, sinking to the ground and clutching her bloodied, ruined hand to her chest while shaking uncontrollably, probably from the shock. Xaviere grabbed her by the jacket and used it to clean the blade of the blood staining it, still fresh and ruby red, then winked as she returned it to the sheath strapped to her thigh. Job done, but she wasn't about to leave one of her nice knives behind; it was a custom-designed dirk, one of a set of three, and Xaviere was attached to it.
"Definitely. Kristoff is an asshole but he's not stupid. He knows short-changing Lazarus would be even dumber than not paying in the first place." Not paying, that was something that people did out of greed and hope they might be forgotten. Deliberately sending a hired thug back with only partial payment, though? That was open disrespect. That was the kind of action that might get you a visit from Xaviere without her glamour up. She smiled on hearing Tor's plan, understanding where she was coming from exactly. She'd been working for Lazarus for some time now, and for someone who was notoriously fickle and easily bored, she remained unusually enamoured by him still.
"Laz makes it worth my while, yes, but he's definitely one of the bonuses all on his own." It seemed to take much less time to walk back to the bar than it had to get to Kristoff's, and Vivek was waiting for them outside.
"That was quick."
"She's a goodie."
"Well done. Come on inside, ladies." Xaviere laughed. Ladies....good one.
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Post by Torrey on Apr 15, 2018 2:15:03 GMT
Though Torrey wasn’t one to stick around somewhere too long, she figured that doing some work for Laz might not be the worst idea for some time. She’d be entertained, for a while at least, and working with Xave seemed like fun. Though the whole point of the mission was to prove to Xave that she was competent enough to do some work, the whole ordeal was just fun in on itself. Yeah. Maybe she would stick around for a little while.
Their walk back seemed to take less time than the walk to Kristoff’s, and before she knew it, Vivek was there to greet them again. She chuckled with a smirk, never really thinking of herself as a “lady”. After all, look at her! There was not a single thing graceful or really beautiful about Torrey, beyond her chaotic daemon nature. She appeared more animal than daemon, after all.
She was uninterested in the few others that were in Laz’z place, gossiping about their own lives and paying little attention to either her or Xave. A few glanced her way, as her big bulky wings did tend to stick out a lot, but otherwise they returned to their engagements.
It was so easy to spot Lazarus. The man just had an almost arrogant presence about him, but it was not an overwhelming one. If anything, it was more a stubbornly attractive one. Torrey did not move straight to join him where he was lounging, however. Instead, she headed straight for the bar.
Plopping down on the stool, she looked her fingers together and raised her hands above her head to stretch. Torrey spread out her wings to their full length as well, massive in size and practically useless, but beautiful with their brown and golden feathers. Even though the job had been easy, she was a little exhausted having not slept very the past few days. Once she felt satisfied with her stretch, she only partially tucked her wings back. They were still somewhat splayed out, the primaries and secondaries dragging on the ground.
“I’ll just have some water this time.” The bartender nodded, then quickly got her a glass of some cold, refreshing water. She thanked him and downed it in a few gulps before plopping the glass back onto the counter.”
She turned her head to give Laz a teasing glance. “Kristoff was dealt with. Don’t think he should be an issue for you in the future. If he acts up, threatening to cut off his dick should keep him in line.” Torrey waved for one more glass of water.
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Post by Xaviere on Apr 15, 2018 3:21:41 GMT
When they got inside, Lazarus was still seated on the same couch, although he was talking quietly to a young man with bright red hair and only glanced up briefly as they entered. Xaviere dropped her glamour - not that this made a difference to anyone in the bar, but the air rippled briefly as the magic faded away. She hopped gracefully up to perch on the bar rather than sitting on one of the stools, and pointed vaguely in the direction of the wine.
"Something sweet. You know what I like." The woman tending the bar had no hesitation in selecting a wine and pouring it for the Fairy; all of Lazarus' employees knew her well, by now.
Speaking of, the gangster finished his conversation and wandered over to join them. He was dressed again, unfortunately, but he'd left the shirt unbuttoned at least. Xaviere smiled as he stood between her legs, hips against the bar, close enough for her to run a hand along his abdomen. He hissed; her fingers were cold from holding the chilled wine, but he didn't move away.
"How did it go?"
"Kristoff is alive, and not missing any important limbs. Or other appendages, though I personally think his personality might be improved if he was castrated."
The King of Thieves smiled slowly; it was obvious that he enjoyed this, living vicariously through his employees. He was so rarely responsible for his own dirty work these days, but it wasn't because he couldn't or didn't want to be. Most of it was just well below his pay grade, but you didn't become the most notorious gangster in Litharia without having a penchant for violence.
"Had the gall to suggest I might sleep with him."
"You were glamoured, I take it?"
"Of course. Which probably means he saw me as some strung out druggie, and he still wanted to dip his nib. The man must be crawling with diseases if he fucks every addict that buys from him. It's unsanitary. Next time you should let Tor chop off his dick."
"We'll see. Did he pay?"
"Of course he paid. She's fucking terrifying. You'd have enjoyed it." She leaned forward and kissed him, slow and sultry and tasting like summer wine, and he leaned into it for a few moments before breaking contact to glance over at Tor, though he remained pressed close to Xaviere where she sat on his bar.
"Well done, it sounds as though your work was exemplary. I am happy to offer you further contracts in the future, if you're interested."
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Post by Torrey on Apr 15, 2018 6:43:11 GMT
Torrey chuckled at Xave’s comment regarding her being “terrifying”. “I wouldn’t go so far to say I was that scary. I think I held back more than usual. He’ll def have some scars on his chest though. I might have impaled the skin with my talons to get the point across since he wasn’t getting it.” She shrugged and side glanced at the two as they kiss. She felt much more cooled off and satisfied after drinking some water. Damn feathers made her overheat more than she wanted.
Her talons clicked against the floor as she moved her feet around, a mindless action. The equivalent would be twiddling thumbs or swinging feet back and forth. As Laz addressed her, she fully turned to look at him, propping her elbow on the bar counter with her chin resting in the palm of her hand.
“I won’t say no to a job, long as I can be kept entertained. Even better if it involves me travelin’ to places.” She would be bound to be around more often if that was the case, since she preferred a nomadic lifestyle. “But I’ll stick around for a bit. I’m not above doing most things, as long as I get paid a fair share of the cut.” She winked at him, mostly teasing with that last little bit due to their negotiations earlier. “Food is also a good way to bribe me.” Though she did tend to like her food raw, not cooked. Torrey wouldn’t be too picky though. Lazarus and Xave seemed like the sort she would like to hang out around. Thus far, she and Xave had gotten along. There was something about her that just made Torrey like her.
And Laz. Torrey fully understood why Xave seemed to be so enraptured by him. It was not just his appearance, though it was a bonus. His chest and abdomen being exposed even while clothed was still enough to grab her attention. Most of it was his composure and attitude. Damn, he was just hot in every way imaginable. Torrey was always a sucker for the bad boy type too. “I do hope pleasure is added into the mix, of course. Wouldn’t be nearly as fun without.” It was times like these that reminded the daemon woman how she’d never fully commit to most things, or ever settle in one place. There were too many things for her to see, too many people to meet. After all, she’d only met Lazarus by chance from killing Xave’s target.
Torrey stretched out her left wing again, moving it towards Laz and Xave ,and she playfully trailed her primary feathers along his back. Tired as she was, she was not quite ready to sleep. She was still too intrigued by these two, as well as enjoying their company.
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