"That's more like it," Nari smirked, seeing she was controlling this. Before she explained anything, she took a cursory look around to see who might be listening. The street was surprisingly empty now; she somewhat liked the idea that the ruckus she caused may have scared someone away. Right hand on her hip, she looked at Twi with a serious expression again.
"You always talk about having connections. You never considered that I have my own. I know someone willing to support HQ if I pass... initiation. Thanks to you," she pointed her rod at him accusingly before huffing and continuing, "Luciano is suspicious of everyone else, and I really don't need him in my business right now. So here's the deal." Her gaze narrowed, and her voice lowered.
"I'm going to fake capturing you and taking you to HQ. You'll 'escape' dramatically--" she made quote marks with her right hand for emphasis, "and Luciano will leave me alone after proving to him that I'm still on his side." Expecting Twi to disagree immediately, she raised her free hand to signal stopping him. Rolling her eyes, she added, "Now before you complain, I already said I won't do you any harm as long as you cooperate, and I obviously need you alive for the second part... Since you took a beating so well," sarcasm was evident, "all you have to do is watch me do it a few more times. I've got some fights ahead and I need an informant, someone who can give me a tip here and there. Tell me my opponents' weaknesses, help me pass, and everyone wins. That's all. You can handle that, right?" She cocked her head to the side, waiting for questions-- or objections. If he asked questions, that meant he was thinking about it, which was good. She deliberately left things out. If he said no... well, she'd figure out something.
Chieftain Twilight
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:58 pm
he raised one eyebrow at the mention of Luciano's witch-hunt for traitors, but honestly he wasn't entirely surprised. that man was always looking for enemies that weren't really there.
he felt a little uneasy, but... he had to admit, it sounded like a good plan.
"ok. just one question." he asked. "do have liberty to discriminate who I inform to you on? I'm trying to prevent casualties on the Von Helson side, not cause them. but I'm willing to sell out some bloodthirsty thugs if it saves exploited lives. and... unlives."
Sighing, Nari tapped her foot impatiently as she contemplated this. It wasn't a large objection, to be honest. She knew from the start that Twi was a conflicted man. But still, he couldn't always have his loyalty work both ways.
Shaking her head, she said, "And I'm trying to prevent casualties on my side. If you start looking out for both sides, you'll get both of us killed. Besides... Vampires are not allowed where I'm going." That last sentence came out a bit ominously, but nonchalance replaced the darker tone. "You have to choose dark elves for now, or I'm leaving you with nothing." And with that, she started turning to walk away.
Chieftain Twilight
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:25 pm
Nariana
Chieftain Twilight
"I'll do it." he blurted out, almost desperately. he figured he'd be able to just discriminate anyway and she'd just have to deal with it. it was dirty pool, but he kind of liked it that way.
An eyebrow rose and a devious grin formed on Nari's face while her back was turned. She got Twi to agree, but she had her doubts about him. Involving a vampire, even a half one, was putting herself in jeopardy. But what else could she possibly offer him at this point? She would just have to watch her back on all sides now, which was usual in business.
Turning toward Twi slowly, she said with a now straight face, "You've got four hours to nurse your wounds, though leaving them be makes it look like I actually tried to capture you. I expect you back here in the alley at midnight, or the deal is off." This time, she really turned and walked away. She was going to be late for her first fight, and she didn't want to cool off after getting a halfway decent warmup.
Chieftain Twilight
Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:56 pm
Nariana
he grunted, and sighed. then nodded.
"aye, I'll be here." he said, then, looked around for the nearest bar.
luckily, there was one just across the street, so he made his way there. he'd get smashed, come back, and let his even more wrecked appearance do all the talking for himself.
walking in the saloon-style double doors, the comforting smell of cigar smoke, beer, and sweaty, hairy humans made him feel a bit more at home. he made his way to the bar, ordered a few Dos Equis and a Pool Table, and made his way to the empty table nearest a good view of the clock and television. he'd try to watch Action 9 News between shots.
Meanwhile, Nari turned in the opposite direction and walked a few blocks before slipping back into another alley with a dead end. Her rod was returned to her jacket pocket for safekeeping. It was dark now, which was fine since she didn't want to be seen, anyway. Nari saw a guard rail to her right and approached. Sure enough, a narrow stairwell was placed perpendicular to the right wall of the alley. It led to a below-ground wooden door that indented the alley wall after a certain point; the wall made a small canopy over the door. Nari walked down the stairs and knocked three times, her left hand in her pocket in case she needed her weapon again. Upon closer inspection, Nari noticed that the door had no peephole or doorknob handle. 'I guess that's one way to deter wandering people from trying to open it...' she thought, a little perplexed. After a minute of waiting, Nari was ready to walk back upstairs. Maybe she was wrong about this place, and she looked around for any indicator that she could be right. That's when she saw the black, round cameo camera located on the canopy-wall a few feet above her. That convinced her to wait a bit longer.
Suddenly, she heard clicking noises. The door opened, and Nari was greeted by the bartender from earlier. Surprise flitted across her face upon recognizing him, and she stepped inside as he held the door. She took a quick analysis of her surroundings as he bolted and locked the door. The walls were a drab color of off-white, reminding her of a doctor's office. Furniture was lacking, except for two black swivel chairs sitting in the corner and a small wooden coffee table with a portable DVD player-- or perhaps it was for the surveillance camera. One of the chairs was taken by another gangster-looking dark elf. He didn't look very inviting like the bartender as he sat with a rifle in his lap. The entrance door was a type of metal, despite the outer wooden appearance. She supposed this was for protective purposes. Industrial lights illuminated the area well enough, though she wouldn't say it was bright inside. And the most noticeable feature was another metal door at the back of the small room, apparently controlled by an electronic padlock located to the right of it.
Afterward, she gave the bartender a good look from head to toe and noted the pistols sitting comfortably in a black belt holster. "Don't worry; they're not for you," he assured her with a smile as if he read her thoughts. She returned the smile politely and said, "Good. I'd hate to miss my fight because of a little misunderstanding.""Nariana, right? Call me Brock," the large dark elf said and held out a hand. 'I suppose Emilio told him I was coming. Makes sense... He seems pretty kind for a gangster,' Nari thought and shook his hand as firmly as she could. Her hand was tiny compared to his. "Past that door is a tunnel leading down to the main area. I have to stay here, but I'll call Emilio and tell him that you made it. Good luck," Brock told her in his deep voice before walking to the second door, nimbly punching the passcode, and opening the door for her again. Nari merely nodded as she entered the tunnel ahead, wondering how Emilio could afford a place like this.
Since I never actually described Brock. Dude's 6'4" and 225 lb. Might make a profile if I feel like it. -u-
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:16 pm
"He's the reason they even CAME for us!" Luciano shouted, "WHY doesn't anybody else GET IT?- He's playing You! Just like he played us years ago! Making us think he was a friend when he was really the enemy masquerading as an ally!" Luciano let out a 'God damn it' and then turned to his informant, who didn't seem pleased with his outburst. But Luciano paused. Koji had said something about The Kuros. . "Let me tell you something, Koji," Luciano began as he turned to him, "They've done more for us than you could ever understand. They gave us this home. They gave us everything that we have now. We're just one of the many branches that they have- They can't oversee all of us. Don't ever speak about them that way ever again." Fearing that he was going to do something he would more than likely regret later, Luciano looked to his informant and said "Be ready in five. We're going to find the traitors." Luciano turned to Koji and said, "If you're not with us, You're against us." And left it at that. Luciano walked away to find more weapons. The informant waited until Luciano was gone, she walked up to Koji and she said, "Here's what's going to happen, You're going to follow my lead no matter what, ok? You follow his orders, but it's mine you're actually following. He's not himself. You know it, and I know it. But just for now, play it off like you're 'With us'. I know where Twi is now, and I know what's going on. But we need to be very careful. Do you understand me?" She was almost pleading with Koji. She knew what was happening to Luciano, and the Kuros and she did not like it at all. Everyone around them just seemed to be losing it these day.
less than 30 minutes later, Twi had already downed both beers, ordered another, and began to miss shots at his table. so far, the news still hadn't any important headlines. more half-assed coverage of the gang war, and some local feel-good stories. somebody's puppy saved a defenseless housefly from being swatted, or some other nonsense...
a random pool shark took notice of Twi's inebriation and sought to prey on him in this way. offered to play a few games. Twi was about to lose a few fistfuls of gold.
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 10:21 pm
Koji flinched back slightly as Luciano let him have it. He knew Luciano wasn't going to like it, but Koji wished that he would have at least thought about the possibility of what Koji said being true. His last comment about the Kuro family hurt, and he immediately regretted letting that slip. When Luciano walked away, Koji went to head inside until he was intercepted by the person Luciano had been with. He was shocked, but kept a straight face and simply nodded before heading inside to get ready. He was back down in the lobby in combat gear in five minutes.
Dark elves went outside as the humans and light elves retreated to their homes for the night. The boundaries of ethnic neighborhoods and gang territories in Durem were never made clearer than when it was nighttime. The local park that Sabe stopped at was on the fringes of Kuro territory, and from there he could see some members of unaffiliated dark-elven gangs come out for the night.
His legs felt somewhat better after relaxing on a park bench, but it was high time for him to get back to HQ, as that portal needed fixed as soon as possible. As he got up from the bench he groaned in discomfort, having underestimated the long distance he walked...yet there was still some left to go. After a few steps, he found it still felt hellish to walk.
In about an hour Sabe made his way to HQ, having taken a few alternate routes as to not draw any attention. Just as he approached the building he noticed someone, or rather a group, was leaving.
Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:00 am
Luciano didn't speak at all. His main objective was to get from point A to point B, and there was no room for any games. Things were serious now. He felt like everyone and everything was against him, so his Marine side kicked in; There was no reasoning with him when in survival mode. Luciano's informant fed him directions as he drove, but little did he know that she was leading him away from where she thought Twi was. She already had a plan in motion, but the time to execute all of it wasn't right. She was going to wait a little while before getting to stage 2.
Koji sat in the back seat uncomfortably as Luciano followed directions. It chilling to see Luciano acting this way. Koji knew that this wasn't just about him and Twilight, there must have been more going on today while he was gone. That's when he realized something. "Uh.." He said, or at least tried. After staying quiet his voice was having a hard time coming out. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What did you mean when you said traitors?" He asked, stressed the plural. "Are we going after more than just Twi?"
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:32 pm
The car had zoomed by Sabe before he made it to the door. Everyone must have been already gone, but he tried turning the doorknob anyway. Locked. He had no keys either, those were Waffle's and she kept them hidden from him on purpose, and the people he first left HQ with decided to kick him out mid-trip.
He threw a brief tantrum as he found himself locked out. Sitting down somewhere would make it better, but staying outside HQ doors for hours on end until someone came back would draw attention. He dragged himself to a tall tree thick with branches and leaves, and climbed up until he found somewhere he could sit. Still sore over what happened, he cried to himself while keeping himself from falling...though the fall did look tempting right now.
Maerua Vice Captain
Saint
Offline
Nariana Vice Captain
Hygienic Genius
Offline
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:30 pm
As Nari walked farther down the well-lit tunnel, yells and cheers reverberated on the walls. Ears twitching, Nari began to walk faster as her curiosity was piqued. After several hundred feet, the tunnel opened up to a miniature indoor arena. The area was just like a typical boxing ring with four rows of standard bleachers seats and aisles surrounding the ring itself. A small stage loomed to the side of the room away from the arena. The room was about the size of a high school gymnasium. Dozens of dark elves-- and a few light elves-- were standing and howling at the top of their lungs as one dark elf fell at the hands of a much larger one. Two rugged "referees" jumped into the ring to drag the limp body out of the arena and into what seemed to be a corridor opposite from where Nari stood.
After another good look around, she spotted Emelio sitting in what she could only assume was his version of a private box-- a room behind a glass covering made for ten or so people, equipped with leather chairs, four extremely intimidating-looking men like Brock, a flat screen TV on the wall to the right of Emilio, and a refrigerator in the back. Currently, he was busy with two sleazy-looking brokers. He snatched money out of their hands greedily before having his men escort the men out quickly. As if on cue, he glanced up in time to see Nari before she disappeared behind a herd of the crowd. Waving, he signaled for her to come on over. She obliged and jogged behind the stands to reach the private box.
"Hey, so you finally decided to show up, eh?" Emilio said with a smirk as one of his guards escorted her inside. Hands still in her jacket pockets, Nari merely huffed nonchalantly and said, "Plans changed. I made it, and that is what's important. So who am I fighting?""Aren't we eager?" Emilio grinned and finished counting his money before finally looking her in the eyes, "You're in luck. I felt nice and decided you could fight a girl since this is, afterall, your first time in the arena... Bring her out." The last part was meant for his men. They went to the back and opened a door.
A petite dark elf emerged, and Nari's eyes widened slightly. 'This can't possibly be a joke... can it?' she thought cautiously. The black elf standing before Nari had short hair that almost matched her skin color, bright blue eyes, a form-fitting purple kimono with a black wrap and white string around the waist, sleek black pants, and black boots. She looked too delicate to put up a fight, but Nari knew better than to completely underestimate her just yet. "Nariana, meet your opponent Jewelle. I want a clean fight tonight, ladies. No weapons this time around. Give any belongings to Stag here, and he'll lock them away for you. You've got three minutes to get ready, and I'd use them," he briefly said before getting out of his chair and exiting to the stage near the private box.
Emilio went outside to get the crowd riled up for the next match, so Nari decided to say a brief word to the girl. "Good luck," she said calmly and nodded before turning away to give her quickly removed jacket and jeans-- and unfortunately, her rod-- to the guard named Stag. "Hmph, I don't use luck," Jewelle retorted in her high-pitched voice and smiled a devious smile. Nari stopped momentarily, but she decided it was best to just move along. She needed to focus on her purpose for being here.
She stepped outside just in time to hear her name being called out over the microphone in Emilio's hand. The crowd jeered and hissed at her, and she merely focused her mind on keeping her blood pumping. She jogged in place and stretched her arms while Jewelle emerged and accepted her applause gracefully. At Emilio's command, Nari hopped off the stage and nimbly climbled into the ring. A "referee"-- clearly just a guy with a lanyard labeling him-- climbed into the ring and stood between them. A few rules later, he stepped backward and announced, "3, 2, 1. FIGHT!!"
It was going to go faster, but I got caught up in details and TV and just...
