Don't Play A Player [Midnight] [Archive]

[DragonSong]

The scent of cheap booze and unwashed human made Jynx wrinkle her nose. She brought her cup to her lips, eyes searching the crowded bar for her employer. No sign of him. Typical. With a sigh, she set her drink down with a thunk and a soft clink of coins as she rose to her feet.

The bartender caught her movements and called, "Leaving so soon, darlin'?"

Jynx smiled. "You couldn't pay me to stay in this hellhole, Rolan." She waved and made her way toward the door while he laughed.

"See ya tomorrow, same time!" he shouted after her over the noise of his drunken clientele.

She rolled her eyes, wishing she could deny it but knowing he was probably right. Then she was outside, the fresh- well, relatively fresh- air hitting her face like a shock of cold water. She stretched her arms over her head and twisted her neck from side to side, cracking it. If her employer wasn't going to meet her where he'd promised, she'd just have to track him down. "Guess it's up to me to be the professional. Again," she muttered to herself, and set off down the street.

[Nightmare]

It was a slow day for her so far. No jobs for her to take, no rich merchants for her to steal from. The only people running around the streets of Zantaric where Kira had posted up appeared to be those too poor to even feed themselves, and they weren't worth the trouble.

She decided it was time to move to a different location. There was a tavern not too far away which could prove to be a good location. Often people left too drunk to even realize they were robbed of anything. Combining that with Kira's capabilities, she wouldn't be surprised if she could rob the clothes off some of the men's bodies.

She stepped out from the shadows that were cloaking her, startling the young woman walking past so much that Kira thought she was going to have a heart attack. However, she simply continued on her way, heading down towards the tavern.

Within a few minutes it was in sight, and Kira took her place in the shadows across from the entrance to the tavern. It didn't take long before someone exited the establishment, a young woman who appeared to at least have some money. Anyway, some was better than none, and Kira was confident she could easily take this target.

She waited for the other woman to pick a direction, then once she was far enough ahead Kira stepped out from the shadows and began following her.

[DragonSong]

"Damned dandy with his prissy little face and stupid little-" Jynx grumbled to herself as she wove her way through the familiar streets of Zantaric. Her employer had said they'd meet at the tavern, so she'd never gotten an alternate address. Hell, for all she knew, he may have skipped town by now.

"Not that it'll do him any good," she muttered aloud, clenching her left hand spasmodically. She had ways of finding people if she wanted to; people and things. It was why her skills were so in demand, why she could make more than a decent living doing what she did.

She was so caught up in her own frustration that she didn't notice her tail until she was five or six streets away from the tavern. She paused, surprised both at her own carelessness and her stalker's stealth. Not many people could get that close to her without her knowing it- not any in fact, to her recollection.

Huh. She continued on her way more cautiously, listening carefully to the footsteps behind her. Jynx wasn't sure if her tail knew that she knew that she was being followed- a good one might, so it was best to assume so. Now it was a contest of wills: who would make the first move?

[Nightmare]

Kira was waiting for the right time to make a move on her target. The streets were a little more busy than she had hoped and it would take a good deal of timing to pickpocket this woman properly. Though the people of Zantaric often didn't care what happened unless it was happening to them, she still would rather not risk it.

When her target paused she kept walking but slowed down to a crawl to make sure she didn't get too close. Stopping completely would be too suspicious if her target had become aware of the fact that Kira was tailing her, which Kira was starting to think was the case.

She waited for her target to keep walking before she took her normal pace, looking around the rooftops curiously. Finally she spotted a flat rooftop on the path her target was taking. The shadows around her began to swirl and dance, eventually resulting in Kira disappearing, teleporting to the rooftop and cloaking herself within the shadows.

For now she would wait and watch from above, stepping through the shadows as necessary, until her target gave her a good chance to make a move.

[DragonSong]

Hmmm... She'd lost track of her tail. Damn.

Well, only one thing to do then- draw her out. She glanced around, then slipped into the small gap between two buildings, leaning against a wall and yawning (perhaps a bit too dramatically). She bent and rubbed at her foot, as though the walking was making her sore.

Come on, come on. Her eyes flicked around, searching the darkness. Come out, come out wherever you are...

[Nightmare]

It wasn't long before the woman slipped in between two buildings. When she did, Kira decided it was time to make her move.

She jumped through the shadows again, this time placing herself just next to her target, still cloaked in the shadows. Then, when the woman leaned down, Kira reached a hand out from the shadows to grab at her pocket.

[DragonSong]

Jynx snapped upright, hand flashing out to grab her would-be pickpocket's wrist. She blinked, a little startled that the hand seemed to be reaching from the darkness itself, not attached to anything.

But then, she'd seen stranger... Nothing that immediately came to mind, but still. "Alright, game's up. Show yourself," she said with a smile and flinty eyes.

[Nightmare]

When her wrist was grabbed the shadows surrounding Kira began to flicker and fade. It was a useful spell, to be sure, but it only worked while people were unaware of her presence.

Fuck.

That was the only thought that popped into her head. She had never been caught like this before. Normally she only worried about things like this during assassinations and kidnappings where her natural reaction would be to fight. However, she wasn't wearing her wrist blade and she had no idea what this person was capable of.

She said nothing, simply staring into the woman's eyes with a look of hatred.

[DragonSong]

Jynx whistled. "That's quite a glare, little miss," she said mockingly, arching an eyebrow. "But if I were you I'd drop the attitude. Who are you and what do you want?" She tightened her grip- not hard enough to really hurt but hard enough to let the younger woman know she meant business.

[Nightmare]

Kira shifted her eyes from the woman. "I wasn't doing anything. Just messing around with magic is all."

[DragonSong]

"Uh-huh." Her tone made it clear she wasn't buying it. "Don't play a player, sweetheart. I think I know when someone's trying to pick my pocket." She smirked. "So what is it you're after, exactly? Just coin, or something more specific?"

[Nightmare]

Kira shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

She tried to pull her arm free but the other woman had a good grip on her. With a sigh, she looked back at the woman. "My dad's really sick and I just needed some money to get him food. Now let me go!"

It was a lie, of course, but Kira was a habitual liar. It rolled of the tongue naturally, almost more naturally than the truth would. That didn't mean the woman would buy it, though.

[DragonSong]

Jynx sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "What did I just say? Honestly." She tutted, shaking her head.

Though she had to admit, the girl was good. She tilted her head, considering. "You know...if you fess up now, be honest with me- and I know that's asking a lot for people like us- well, I'm on this job. I could use some backup, particularly from someone with your...talents." She flashed a smile, eyes glinting, calculating.

[Nightmare]

Now that caught Kira's interest. Her entire demeanor changed in an instant. She relaxed her arms and made eye contact with the woman again. "You're joking, right?"

It had to be a joke. This woman just caught Kira trying to steal from her pockets and now she was being offering a job? It seemed far too good to be true. "What kind of job?"

[DragonSong]

Jynx knew she had her interest. She relaxed her grip, pulling away slightly. "The best kind of job," she said with a grin, "one where the hard work is already done. I just need your help to make sure my employer actually pays up. After that..." Her grin turned positively menacing. "Well, we'll just see, won't we?"

[Nightmare]

That was something she could do. Kira was normally good at getting what she wanted and even better at just taking it. "What do I get out of this?"

[DragonSong]

Jynx tilted her head, thinking. "Ten percent," she decided eventually. "Seeing as I've already done the hard bit. That comes out to...eight gold pieces for you." She grinned slyly. "Which is quite a bit more than I have on me at the moment, if you were thinking of robbing me anyway."

[Nightmare]

Well, it was a lot better than nothing, that was for sure. "Alright, I'm in. I have to make a stop back at my house, though."

[DragonSong]

Jynx nodded. "Alright." Her employer had made her wait long enough already, where was the harm in another hour or so? "Lead the way then, sweetheart," she said with a grin.

[Nightmare]

Kira nodded. "It's actually not that far from here, so it shouldn't be long."

She stepped out from between the houses and turned left, heading down the street further away from the tavern still. "Name's Kira, by the way."