Welcome to Gaia! ::

The money not disappearing was what tipped that he'd slipped up somewhere. A couple options presented themselves. He could ditch the whole thing. It set a poor precedent, but it was safe. He could lose most any tail in this city, by crowd or climb. He could take the suggestion and run with it, let her seduce him and dig for information that way. Riskier and dishonest, but it could yield more valuavle rewards. Rather than panic and run for it, or double down and lean into the flirting, the tall Leaf relaxed. He let the more automatic parts of his mask take point, the grin deepening some. With one hand, he brushed the foot back from his leg. "Okay, that was a little much, wasn't it. I don't get to practice my embarrassment much; gotta find someone more gullible for that."

'Relaxed' might not have been the proper term. The readiness was there, very nearly liquid and waiting to move. 'At ease' fit better. He was, in fact, wearing his two knives, but both were well-concealed in his sash. To someone that knew what to look for, and with the opportunity for close scrutiny, at least one could be found, the other suggested. Those and several other odd things. Flat pouches, mostly? One clearly a coin purse of some sort.

The smile came smooth, and to his credit, the secondboy had inherited a good measure of his father's charisma. His hands came up and rested palm-up on the tabletop, as though presenting them for a reading. Thr voice never wavered, steadier and more confident now. ...Even if there were notes of apology. "Sorry about that. Jokes are a habit of mine. Before you jump to conclusions, ain't here to whistle anyone out, nor threaten. I came to make a friend. Not the gent over there so much, don't strike me as reliable. Can't speak as to your other contact, since nobody meets 'em. You seemed a better choice to meet."

He blinked. He blinked again. The chuckle rising in his chest didn't start from the mind, thr mask could barely filter it. It came out somehow both warm and cynical. "You're not wrong there. Information adds up, if you know how to look, an' seemed like the better starting point." Now Viltre was looking her dead in the face once more, but without any need to shroud his intentions. His mask was thin enough here as to fit neatly to them anyway. "That's where we both made a mistake, I think. I'm not much interested in your other partners anymore. Can take or leave 'em. You, I like." It took almost a minute to quell the mirth, soft though it was.

"Seems t'me this was time well-spent. Came down to maybe talk business, met somebody good enough to point out some things what need work. That's a rare thing, an' I didn't even need to bleed for it this time." He began to gather himself up, noting that the distraction was winding down. He had, in fact, overpaid, but made no move to gather the change. A fluid bow lowered the redhead's mischevious eyes to her own for just a moment. "I hope that you can think of me as a friend, even if I can't call you one of mine. There's a way to contact me on the card, if you ever need something." As he turned, he mouthed something and winked. With Sarnai's sharp gaze, she'd make it out easily.
Tell him my money's on the left side.