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Emelio eyed the newcomer warily. He trusted few people, and this wimpy excuse for a man was just lucky that Nariana had put in a good word beforehand. After she left, he still glared at the lighter elf for a few seconds in an intimidating way. In actuality, he was just trying to remember the guy's name, but no one would ever know that. When he finally remembered, he sat up in his chair and placed his arms on the table to lean in closer.

Sighing deeply, he rolled his eyes as he said in a crisp, deep voice, "I normally don't do these things all of a sudden, but Nari and I go way back. Just because she trusts you, I will reveal some important background info. So pay close attention, as I'm only saying this information once, Sabe." It was obvious that he held that woman in a fairly high regard, so he sincerely hoped for both her and Sabe's sake that this meeting would not be a mistake. "Nari already gave me an idea of the chaos going on at your base, and she has asked for my help. Before you ask how I can help... I'm the kind of guy who has friends in low places. People know me as Lightfoot on the underground side of Durem. I lead a group of... rogue vigilantes, we'll say, who despise the vampires. We do cleanup that people never hear about because we're that serious about our work. However, we don't fully approve of the newest development of rumors with Don Kuro, either. This is where Nari and I have been negotiating." With another glare in Nari's general direction, he paused for a second before refocusing on Sabe. "To keep our spirits and wallets up, my group runs an underground arena. Fighters with something to prove or who want to join us show me their best moves. And Nari wanted me to let you know that she's volunteered to represent your gang. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Honestly, he didn't understand why Nari wanted a guy like Sabe to be in on this plan. But as promised before when he was bickering with her on the phone earlier that day, he did his best to fulfill his part and be an informant.

Spreading his arms out over the back of his chair, he hummed for a moment and considered Sabe's questions. What had she told him on the phone earlier? He had a little trouble recalling since he had to tune some parts of the conversation out due to Nari's nagging and fussing. "Oh, right. Originally, she told me that she wanted someone to come with her for backup, but I don't believe that sh-t after seeing you." An eyebrow raised for emphasis as he checked that Sabe clearly had no muscle that he could see, and he continued, "She also said a slightly more convincing argument: that she should be allowed to have a helper, someone who could watch from the sidelines and give a few tips in between fights. I typically don't care for that sort of aid at this level, but I do get that you need a little strategy if you're going to stand a chance as a newbie to this."

He stopped for another moment to think. Nari hadn't told him much out of the norm, but he knew that she would have an ulterior motive in a situation like this. Since Sabe had yet to rub him the wrong way, he decided to be nice and divulge a little more about their mutual friend. "But let me be frank with you, Sabe. Since you've said the obvious-- that you're not cut out for fighting-- I'd say it just comes down to the fact that you won't get in her way until she needs you. She'd never admit anything like this..." His eyes glanced around in hopes that she wasn't listening to what he was about to say. The woman was a bit scary when she was ticked off, so he lowered his voice. "I don't know how well you know her, but she's a bit of a bossy b-tch when she really wants her way... And with that personality, she likes having someone who will entertain her and follow her-- a pushover or someone who will stay out of her way, but only to a certain extent. After some time, someone has to reel her back in, though. Maybe you're that failsafe if she goes just too far over the edge and needs a very occasional reprimanding, whatever it is she does."

Emelio looked over to Nari at the bar. She seemed to be busy chatting with the bartender, a dark elf with short black hair and tattoos on his sleeveless arms, and not paying attention to the two men. An uncharacteristic smile creeped onto Emilio's face as he thought about what he just said. 'She was definitely a handful when she wanted to be, but hey. I survived,' he mused to himself and nearly chuckled. Refocusing on Sabe, he stopped smiling and added, "I hope you've taken good mental notes, Sabe. You won't meet many people who know how her mind works."

While the men talked, Nari occupied herself with the bartender. He was a bit taken aback by her friendly chatter at first, but he warmed up and happily chatted away as well. That earned him a juicy $20 tip before she bounded off with a tray of drinks; she was in a generous mood. But she didn't miss much of the men's conversation; she overheard pieces of what Emilio said about her personality. 'Maybe I should clobber him later. Sabe's going to think that I'm mad like everyone else... Bah, oh, well,' she thought as she walked back to the table.

She was carrying two bottles of beer and two pina coladas, a virgin one for herself. Placing the tray on the table, she smiled and said, "I know what Mil-- uh, Emilio likes, but I didn't ask what you wanted, Sabe. So take your pick. Beer like him or a pina colada like me-- well, plus the alcohol. Or I can get something else." As Emilio grabbed a bottle of beer, she picked up the glass with the virgin pina colada and took a long sip before sitting down at another corner of the square table between the men. After a satisfied sigh, she looked at Sabe seriously and asked, "So are you going to help me out with this?" She hoped he'd say yes, but there was always the chance that he'd refuse. She knew that this wasn't the safest thing to do, keeping the rest of the gang in the dark, but she had already made up her mind. Emelio remained silent and took this moment to drink his beer.

Pursing her lips when Sabe refused the drink, Nari grumbled to herself. The drink was going to melt if she tried to take it with them in the car, so she supposed it was a waste. 'Oh, phooey,' she thought as she pouted. When Sabe continued, she noted the strange pauses. She didn't know if that meant he was hesitating about all of this, or if he was just thinking. Regardless, she took it as the latter and brushed the thought aside, nodding while a small smile crept onto her face. "Then that brings us to our next point. I'm a pretty good fighter, but this could always end up being a failure of a plan. And since Luciano has been struggling with... you know, his loss... “ she held her palms up toward the air and shrugged, ”I don't think it's the best idea to let him-- or anyone at HQ-- know just yet. So for now, let's keep things hush-hush between the three of us. Who knows; if this works out and we get Emilio to help us, this could almost be like a surprise. Yeah, we'll say that," she responded and chuckled at the last part, trying to make a small joke out of it. Hopefully things would work in their favor, so they would gain the help they seriously needed before the next vampire assault.

”It’s about time for me to head out now. If it makes you feel better, Sabe, I’ll cut you a newbie deal. You’re free to place bets and make a little profit for yourself—“ Emilio started, and he grinned a mischievous grin, ”—long as you don’t take a chunk out of my earnings. But anyway, I’m outta here. Nari knows when to meet again.” He started getting up and preparing to walk out with his beer in his hand.

Nari watched Emelio walk away and called out, "Okay, see you soon!" She probably seemed too cheerful considering the situation, but she had known the guy for years. He would always be somewhat of a younger brother to her, whether he knew it or not. When Sabe asked to leave, she nodded and stood from her chair with her own drink in hand. "Gimme a second to enjoy this," she said as she quickly slurped up the cool beverage within seconds. It gave her a mini brain freeze, but she shook it off and led the way outside to her car.

She said nothing as they walked, caught up in her own thoughts as she contemplated how Sabe actually felt. It somewhat bothered her that he said so little in the tavern. Then again, she hadn't told him who exactly they were sitting amongst; she'd probably end up telling him on the ride. After unlocking the car and waiting until they were both settled inside, she turned and asked Sabe with furrowed eyebrows, "So I'm sure you've got something to add that you wouldn't say in there. Am I right?" Crossing her arms, she waited to hear what Sabe really had to say about the matter. Whether he wanted to just ask more or scold her, she would listen and discuss this with him as long as necessary. Still, she hoped that he had little to say, seeing that she needed to get them back to HQ sooner than later to prepare for the next part of Emilio's process.

Eyebrows raised in slight alarm and eyes widened at the last sentence. Sure, she was expecting him to chew her out a little, but she wasn't heartless like that. Well, she wasn't most of the time. She watched as Sabe seemed to tense up and avoid looking at her. At this, she cracked a smile. Sabe handled the situation better than she originally thought; she had to give him credit for that.

"I suppose I'll go in order," she said, almost chuckled. Pointing one finger in the air to count the questions she was about to answer, she continued, "First, I figure that this is a way to make myself stronger and help fortify HQ overall. Assuming things work out for the most part, imagine how much better off we could be against the worst of Ambrosia's forces in the future with greater numbers, especially considering that we have a few MIA.

Two, it is definitely worth it. I like to fight; I didn't become a black belt for nothing, and at least I'm going into this with Emelio, someone I've grown up with. So this could easily be worse.

And finally, despite what Emilio probably led you to believe..." A peeved sort of look overtook her smile, and she scowled, "I'm more caring than that!" Her left hand flew to her chest. "I wouldn't let you get killed so easily! I... well..." she looked to the left side for a moment as if someone would hear her before looking back at him all serious again, "I don't want anyone to get killed, and I think you're wise enough to prevent that from happening. You're not going to run into something head-first, unlike me, and I wanted someone who could see the details and analyze where I don't." She felt a little awkward admitting that, but it had to be said. Though she didn't acknowledge everything that Emelio told Sabe, she was telling him the truth.

Starting the car and beginning to pull out of the driveway, she added quietly, "I'd understand if you changed your mind completely and backed out." If he refused, she had no backup plans to find another partner. She waited apprehensively, wondering what she was going to do if Sabe actually did refuse to help her now.

Stopping in the middle of the driveway and pulling up the emergency brake, Nari grimaced as Sabe basically voiced the things she was trying to skirt around. 'So much for this going well...' she thought and sighed. She should have known that Sabe wouldn't accept anything less than a straightforward, detailed answer. It was a very natural reaction, but she still felt somewhat anxious about finally giving into his questions. He was clearly backing her into a corner, but the fact that he was still looking for information meant that he might say 'yes'... right?

"Alright, Sabe," she said in an almost exasperated tone and turned to look at him again. "My 'skeezy friend' really is my old friend," she said in a somewhat defensive manner. Where that offense suddenly came from, she wasn't sure and brushed it aside. "We met as children, and we stayed friends until I graduated. He was the reason I wanted to start martial arts. He's the closest person I had to a sibling..." Her face softened as a pang of nostalgia stopped her for a moment; however, she quickly refocused. Memory lane had to wait.

"Look, I know what I'm doing is risky, but I've already made up my mind about this whatever you do. Despite what you have already predetermined about this group, the people in Emelio's Shadow Squad are more elite than most run-of-the-mill gangs. Emelio has professionally trained just as much as I have, if not more, and he actually has a brain. He made us meet there because the only people who know about it are his associates-- it's home territory. I know you thought we were just chatting away publicly. He doesn't just accept anyone into his ranks, and you will just have to see for yourself. "

At this next part, Nari raised her voice a little and actually looked genuinely upset. She started motioning with her hands as she contined, "And did you even hear what just came out of your mouth? You actually want to accept death by the vampires or something? I hope not. I'd rather at least give us a fighting chance against them, than just let these years of servitude go to absolute waste. I'm not just a pawn who can be thrown away by the family, either, and you should feel the same way!" She didn't understand why Sabe would say something so outlandish like that in the first place. It was maddening to think that people could just give up like that; she never would as long as she could breathe. She sincerely hoped that what Sabe said was just a result of rambling.

as Twi walked back towards his home -- seemingly a penthouse apartment about a mile up the way -- he heard a car rounding the corner. he casually stepped onto the sidewalk, and as the streetlight shown down on him the care was getting close.

something about it seemed familiar... he couldn't quite put his finger on it, it might have just been a colour scheme or decal... but then he realized what was making his senses tingle like that; it wasn't the car that he recognized, but one of the people in it; Sabe!

Twi stopped dead in his tracks and watch as the vehicle drove up. he didn't know whether to run or stay, but it was too late to keep his cool. his legs seemed frozen in place, and if his heart could beat it would have been pounding in his chest.