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Post by moralhazard on Feb 25, 2019 18:25:42 GMT
“Thea, Thea!” Pip came racing into Thea’s area of the workshop, eyes wide. Thea didn’t even look sideways, transferring the molten glass from the heat and back, exhaling short, sharp bursts of breath into the pipe, both hands holding the glass, one keeping it steady as the other pulled, lengthening the tip of the tear-shaped glass further out. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pip standing utterly still, eyes wide. Thea pulled her attention back to the glass, forcefully, all of her attention on the final shaping of the glass. There was a faint hole at the top of it, and she brought her attention there, every ounce of her focusing on the glass. Pip faded away to nothing, the workshop all but vanishing from her mind. Thea exhaled, slowly, with both her mouth and her mind, coaxing the breeze around her into the glass. Her hair fluttered and stilled, for once, and she could feel the air sliding towards the glass, slowly – slowly – She could see the wind starting to swirl inside the glass, easing into the shape of the glass, just starting to pick up - And then the moment was gone and the wind woohsed out of the glass, blowing Thea’s hair back as it went. Thea let out a sigh, left with an empty vessel, and returned it to the heat, making a few quick twists to transform the glass into one of her hanging pieces. Only once it was done did she turned to Pip, grinning at her. “Hey Pipster.” Pip was staring flat out at her, her jaw literally hanging open. “Was that – was that – magic?” Pip gasped. Thea giggled, carefully setting the cooling glass into a stand, where she’d leave it to keep its shape overnight, and peeling off the heavy mitts and thick paper which protected her hands. “Well… it wasn’t very good magic,” Thea said, regretfully. “But yes.” “Wooooooow…” Pip whispered. Thea giggled again. “Pip, did you come here to find me?” “Oh!” Pip gasped. “Oh, yeah, I did!” The girl reached into her apprentice’s tunic, fishing around before pulling out a note. “Here!” She handed it to Thea with a bow and a flourish, beaming. “Somebody brought this for you.” Pip paused. “Let me know when you’re doing magic again, Thea! That was so cool!” She raced away. Thea was still giggling a little as she unfolded the note, eyes skimming over it. Thea’s smile faded, and she set the paper down on the table, leaning forward with a long, slow exhale.
The Blue Mermaid was surprisingly quiet in the early evening, although not totally empty, with snatches of laughter and shouting echoing from back booths. The tavern was marked with a crudely painted sign stretching over the outside entrance, a half-faded blue mermaid laying on her side over what looked vaguely like a seascape. The inside wasn’t much better cared for, the floor scratched, the lighting dark, with tables scattered across the floor, booths tucked against the walls, and a lengthy bar. The room smelled of ale, fresh enough, but nothing terribly pleasant. There were no rats or cockroaches crawling along the walls, but they were pale and peeling occasionally, far from well-kept. The wood of the bar was the best kept of any of it, a massive gleaming stretch that, even now, a barkeep was carefully rubbing a damp cloth over.
Thea stepped carefully inside, shrugging her cloak off from her shoulders. She wore a pale white sleeveless blouse, high-necked and flowy, tucked at her slender waist into a pair of gray trousers and secured by a blue belt, white hair flowing loose at her shoulders. A pair of blue glass ears twinkled in her earlobes, visible between faintly stirring locks of white hair. She paused at the doorway, eyes scanning the room
“Thea!” A slender, sharp-dressed man rose from the bar, waving a hand.
Thea hesitated at the doorway, a long, heavy moment, then walked decisively across the room – before she could change her mind – to the bar.
Philip was grinning, half-standing in his place, a cloak folded on the seat next to him. “You look lovey, Thea, it’s good to see you.” He leaned in.
Thea hesitated, then hugged him back, cutting it short and pulling away after a moment. “It’s good to see you, Phi.” She eased herself onto the stool after Phi whisked his cloak away from it, letting him take hers as well.
“Wine?” Phi asked, leaning forward a little and nodding at the bartender.
“Sure,” Thea settled two pale blue arms on the bar. “Phi, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I need somewhere to stay, don’t I?” Phi laughed. “Minder,” he addressed the bartender, who’d crossed to them, “A bottle of Red Dragon Crush, please, and two glasses! Old friends need something special, don't they?" He turned back to Thea, grinning.
Thea shook her head, then smiled back. "All right, Phi. Thank you."
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Gigi
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5 Cleric of Graves
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Post by Gigi on Feb 25, 2019 19:58:54 GMT
Crumbling the pristine piece of parchment that had filtered through the Sparrow's Flight postal and message service into a ball and lighting it on fire with green flame, Gigi couldn't keep her nose and upper lip from curling. The once neatly folded paper, sealed with wax and Philip's personal seal, and labeled 'Pixie Perfect' as the recipient turned to ash - the green of the fire threading through her tattoos in a razor thin slit of pent up aggression.
This week, of all weeks, would of course be the week he called. There was no need for him to sign the missive, only one person called her 'Pet' and… not got away with it - that would imply she enjoyed the endearment. But he was the only one who'd even think, or attempt, at labeling her as such. In one breath she practically burned through the first half of her cigarette, head already churning with litanies of swears and curses towards Philip.
"Geeg, what's got you in a huff?" A young man's voice asked, concerned, as she came down from upstairs in the rather old and barely kept up communal living building the healer resided in. Small cramped single rooms upstairs, mutual living space with a kitchenette and some hobbled together furniture in the main ground floor. He looked to be about late 20s, maybe into his 30s, short dark hair and a few visible tattoos of his own over his bare chest.
"Going out - if I'm not back to check in before late evening or haven't sent a tweet - look up an asshole named Philip Merk." It was a very short tempered Gigi that was jamming her arms through her leather jacket. "But if things go well? I might be free of his debt finally." Pulling her pink hair out of the back of her jacket with her metal hand, shaking out the locks so they fell without restraint, Gigi knocked her cigarette on a tray skewed on the table.
"Fuck, really? He's had that shit around your neck for how long now?" The man was surprised, sitting up from his stretched out lounging position.
"Too fucking long in my opinion." Not that it mattered in this case. "So if this finally clears it? It'll be worth it. See ya Arlo." She waved to him over her shoulder, smoke stick back in her mouth, as she shrugged her jacket once more to keep the bite of the changing weather's air off her neck.
Walking into the Blue Mermaid the healer, wearing her thick boots, crop top, cargo pants, and jacket (unzipped) it was surprisingly not as disruptive to the scene as she could have been. It wasn't hard to find her 'handler' though… the asshole wore high quality clothes and accessories to match. He was easily the best dressed in the room, though the lady standing near him seemed equally dressed - at least to her standards of 'nice'.
What was his game here? Having another during this meeting? Doing her best to pretend to remain uninterested in the stretch of bar as a bottle of wine was delivered, Gigi sat down at the opposite end of the bar, not associating yet with him or his partner. There hadn't been an exact time listed after all, just the implied 'tonight'. Perhaps he had an overlap of meetings? Well, until he made the first move she'd just sit here, thank you very much. Just because he'd called on her and she'd indeed shown up, didn't mean she'd make it easy for him to talk to her. From here though? She could overhear the conversation easily enough.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 25, 2019 20:23:57 GMT
“And so then,” Phi gestured out wide with his arms, one hand barely missing the glass of wine on the counter. “Then I said to him – you’d better not drag-on!” He let out an abruptly loud roar of laughter, bringing one hand down to slap the counter.
Thea’s lips pursed, and then she giggled despite herself. She was sitting stiffly on her stool, angled half towards Phil, the glass of wine in her hands. The glass itself was a bit inferior, but Thea didn’t mind watching the way the light played through it and the wine; at the right angle, she could just get her hands to glow faintly purple.
“Ahhh, Thea, thoughts of Dom still got your down?” Phi leaned in a bit, one hand resting on her arm, half-stroking.
Thea pulled back, sharply, setting the glass down, hair flaring for a moment as if in a sudden burst of wind. There was a pause, then Thea forced a smile, lifting one hand to smooth her hair. “And what would you know about that, Phi? Don’t tell me Dom’s started confiding in you.”
Phi grinned, his hand settling back closer to his glass of wine, unmoved by the rejection. “Only that you’re here in Waterdeep, and Dom’s still back in Urmlaspyr. There more to know?”
“Not that I can think of.” Thea picked the wine glass back up, giving it a little swirl, and taking a small sip. The wine was good, actually, although Thea wasn’t sure she wanted to drink too much in front of Phi.
Phi’s eyes flicked up, and settled on Gigi down the bar. A smile curled his lips. “Gigi, my pet! Come, join us, over here.” He beckoned.
Once Gigi moved a bit closer, he would turn back to Thea. “Thea, how long in Waterdeep and you’ve not meet Gigi?” He gestured between them. “Gigi, this is Thea, the best glassblower this side – any side! – of Faerun, not to mention the prettiest. Thea, this is Gigi! Don’t you worry, her bark is worse than her bite.”
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Gigi
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5 Cleric of Graves
Posts: 109
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Post by Gigi on Feb 25, 2019 20:59:15 GMT
A very sweet drink, one might even call it a 'girly' drink, was what Gigi was sipping on. It was a pink-red hue of slushy ice mixed with liquor, and topped with a skewer of fresh fruit. Strawberries, in particular. And she'd gone through two and was working on a third. She hadn't planned on drinking, really, but hearing his voice loudly talk about the story, trying to get into the pants of the woman with him? She'd desperately needed the relief of alcohol.
The skewer (this time with extra fruit for 2 copper) was just about to her lips when she'd heard her name be called across the bar, paired with that infernal nickname. Her nose twitched twice, fruit frozen in the air, before she finished her range of motion and crisply bit into the strawberry. She almost -almost- ignored him, not wanting to discuss anything that he wanted to in front of anyone else…. Until he'd dropped the last little word bomb there at the end. Alright. Alright. She saw how this was gonna go down.
Scowling, Gigi grabbed her drink and stiffly walked over to stand next to - Thea was it? - and Philip, making a triangle between the three of them. She wasn't going to sit next to Philip, and neither would she sit next to someone she didn't know in the form of Thea. Standing worked just fine for her, popping her hip a bit to 'sit' on the stance, metal arm (hidden, mostly, except for the hand inside her jacket sleeve) wrapped around her stomach in a bored position, while her living hand held her drink.
"Sup." She popped the 'p' with attitude, saying 'hello' with barely any more effort. Her eye twitched at being so close to her debt holder, but… the things she did for her jobs. Turning a half glance, looking through her hair that covered the side of her face, she somewhat faced Philip. "Merk." She addressed him by his last name as an afterthought.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 25, 2019 21:43:12 GMT
Thea had been facing the bar more than Phi; with Gigi standing behind them, she turned on her stool, facing mostly towards Gigi, with just a little angle towards Phi. The wine glass came with her, one hand holding it by the (too thick, in Thea’s opinion) stem.
“Nice to meet you,” Thea said, politely. Her other hand cradled the (disproportionately wide, Thea felt) bottom of the glass. She half-regretted coming already; Phi hadn’t exactly been a close friend in Urmlaspyr. Most of Dom’s crowd had been well – more of Dom’s friends than hers. Phi wasn’t even one of those she’d particularly liked. He always seemed to be talking on a second level; there was a weight behind his words that Thea rarely understood. She could remember more than one time when some seemingly innocent comment had caused Dom to tense up, and look much like – well, much like Gigi did now.
Whatever this was, Thea was pretty sure she wanted no part of it.
Feeling decisive, Thea shifted to set the glass back down on the bar behind her. “I can imagine you two have things to discuss,” her gaze flicked to Gigi, then to Phi. “I’ll leave you to it,” she shifted, starting to get off the stool.
“No, no need, Thea,” Phi smiled. “You’re welcome to stay. Actually, I’d nearly forgotten – I’ve got a little something special for you. From Dom.”
Thea froze half off the stool, doing her best to keep the range of emotions pumping through her chest from her face. She didn’t want anything from Dom. She especially didn’t want anything from Dom that had come to Waterdeep through Phi. She had walked away from Dom, left Urmlaspyr half to get away from him, and the idea that he’d asked Phi to track her down in Waterdeep with… something… made her feel physically sick.
And yet – she felt some loyalty still. Telling Phi to keep whatever it was and go straight to the bottom of the sea would tell him much more about the end of her relationship with Dom than Thea wanted. Dom might well deserve it, but Thea wouldn’t hand that weapon to Phi if she didn’t have to.
“… How nice of you.” Thea eased back onto the stool. Only half a second had passed, but it felt like a week.
“So, Gigi, pet,” Phi turned back to her, still smiling. “Tell me – Waterdeep still treating you well?”
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Gigi
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5 Cleric of Graves
Posts: 109
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Post by Gigi on Feb 26, 2019 1:31:44 GMT
Half of Gigi wanted Thea to leave. It would let her conclude her summons with Philip, she could be finally done with this chain around her utter dependency on keeping to her word, and they could go their separate ways, never to do business again. The other half wanted Thea to stay. It would let the topic of what she owed him be pushed until perhaps it wasn't even brought up at all.
Though she'd been under his thumb for some months now, nearing a year, and been conned into assisting him a handful of times yet without being fully free of her debt, it was still something she preferred not to think about - what would count as 'paid and full' that is. Men dressed nicely rarely ever played fair, especially those in the business of smuggling, fencing, and general lawful disobedience.
It absolutely didn't help either that the local Waterdeep guards were on the lookout for a pink-haired, metal armed outlaw… for reasons Gigi didn't care to discuss, and particularly not in a public bar. She risked a lot leaving the relative safety of the slums and the watchful eyes of the Little Birds. But a debt was a debt, and he'd come calling. So here she was.
Keeping silent, more out of a refusal to be accommodating and friendly on principle, especially towards someone like Philip, Gigi learned that this Thea had apparently some sort of 'thing' with someone named Dom.
Wait….
Her eyes widened a fraction larger.
Was that the same Dom she knew Philip to.. work…. For….
Shit. Fuck. Damn.
Covering her slight break in attitude Gigi took a sip out of her strawberry daiquiri, only looking towards him with a raised eyebrow when he asked about the city. "No. Different. Than. Usual." She didn't bother trying to mask how short-frayed her voice might have sounded, the usual jazz lounge smoky voice much more sharp and on edge than usual. "Thanks for asking, Merk." The healer looked from one to the other, wondering why the hell she was here, being introduced to a glassblower of all people.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 26, 2019 2:26:40 GMT
Thea slowly turned back to the bar, picking up her glass again and swirling the wine in it, lowering her gaze to the rim. The little reaction on Gigi’s face at Dom’s name hadn’t passed Thea by either; she didn’t know what to make of it, exactly, other than that it sent a nasty, squirming feeling through her stomach.
“Is that so?” Phi was still smiling, cheerful, conversational, utterly oblivious to the grumpy tone of Gigi’s voice. “I heard the weather was changing a bit here – getting warmer, I think.”
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Gigi
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5 Cleric of Graves
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Post by Gigi on Feb 26, 2019 2:55:45 GMT
Rolling her eyes the pink haired woman huff-sighed lightly before turning to look fully at Philip. "Yeah, it's what happens when the season change. Dogs re-mark their territory, birds migrate, no big deal." It was frustrating, hearing the man's word choice and not help but hear double, triple, even quadruple meanings. And though he wasn't one of the Birds, an no one would have ever taught him their dialect of thieves' cant? It wasn't impossible to believe he'd been around the city enough, with enough contacts who did know a bigger dose of the language, to have picked up enough of it to seem like he knew what was going on.
That was the rock and a hard place with Philip Merk - he always seemed to know more than he reasonably should, but, without proof one way or another to know if he actually did know shit.
So, on the off chance he'd the word 'warming' properly, which, annoyingly, she assumed he had, and with purpose - she responded back. Yes, she was in hot water right now, with the Dogs… yet again… all for helping the lil' shit of a 'kid' Ronna. The Diamond Dogs hadn't appreciated her kiting the touristy like scrap of a woman through their streets.
Still… seeing Nelson watch his thugs run like they had? From a blonde haired tourist? It'd been totally worth it. But she was still on the guard's radar for the rather decent crime of blackmailing an official. And seeing as her 'official' job was registered as working for the Sparrow's Flight - a Faerun-wide postal and package service? It wasn't hard to picture what boiled down to a postal worker trying to blackmail an official with some sort of twisted or forged document.
She didn't need flogging scars on her back and sides, she had enough marks on her skin already, thank you.
The air genasi hadn't really said much - Gigi wondered what sort of dirt he had on her. But if she knew Dom? And it was really the same Dominic she was filling in the gaps with? Then, fuck, she'd rather just be under Philip's thumb then be leashed to him.
"SooooOOOoooo." She now chose to ignore Philip, swapping her cold drink to be held in her metal hand, skin hand now fisting in a bid to get warm, and looked to Thea, her voice a heavy drawl of near-rude magnitude. "You know Dom too?" She casually asked, wondering if she could pick and worry out enough details to know how they connected. The only thing that she sensed as being 'off' was that Thea had no revolting, retch-worth nickname to deal with.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 26, 2019 3:07:37 GMT
Phi was just watching, still smiling.
Thea turned to Gigi, blinking, half surprised to be addressed at all. Old habits died hard, she supposed; all of five minutes with Phi and Thea had comfortably resumed her position off to the side. And why shouldn’t she? She owed Phi nothing; whatever was between him and Dom needed to stay squarely there.
Was her Dom even the same Dom that Gigi knew? Thea glanced at Phi for help and - predictably - he did nothing, gave not even an indication that she had looked at him. She looked back at Gigi, and smiled, eyes flickering curiously to her metal hand and then settling back on her face, resolved not to look again.
“Um, yes.” Thea hesitated, happy to take a sip of wine for a moment more to think. “From Urmlaspyr,” she added, hoping to clarify a misunderstanding if there was one. Gigi couldn’t possibly have met Dom, could she?
“I’m new to Waterdeep, actually,” Thea decided to let out a little more. She assumed this whole mess of an evening wasn’t Gigi’s fault; it seemed entirely reasonable to Thea to lay it all at Phi’s door. Thea tried a guess. “Have you ever been to Sembia?” She asked Gigi. If the answer was no, then it seemed pretty unlikely that she would have met Dom, unless he’d recently started traveling a good deal more.
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Gigi
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5 Cleric of Graves
Posts: 109
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Post by Gigi on Feb 26, 2019 17:17:02 GMT
"Huh." She said, more to herself than to Thea. It was the same one then - unless there was a second Dominic from Urmlaspyr. "Yeah, never meet him directly, but heard of 'em. Right asshole, he is." Though, to be fair, Gigi thought a lot of people were assholes, her best friends included… but that wasn't anything worth mentioning.
Small talk. She hated small talk. It was pointless, asinine, and something she was absolute shit at. What was it with meeting new folks to Waterdeep lately? First Ronna and now Thea. "Nope." Was her one word response to the genasi, concerning her seemingly lack of travel. She'd caught the look Thea gave her hand, and the pointed 'not-look' afterwards. Nearly 20 years of experiencing that sort of response from people gave her an edge in spotting the awkward social tone it usually gave.
The overall rather meekness and hesitation Thea seemed to exude annoyed the healer, her rolling her eyes into her cup as she took another drink of her sweet cocktail. There was only one role Gigi could think that Thea would have played in all of this - unless she was a really good actor. Soft, concerned, and submissive woman usually only had one role for men like Dom was rumored to be.
Well… it kept her busy on the streets. Single mothers didn't often have the coin to see one of the church's clerics or hire a trained midwife for assistance. She was cheap, free even most of the time, trading services for goods like food, fabric, supplies - that sort of thing.
Sighing, wanting to get this over with then - she'd told Arlo she'd not be out too late - Gigi turned to Philip, ignoring the unassuming Thea now. "Why did you call me here, Merk? Really. You're wasting my time and yours chit-chatting." She cut through the bullshit, despite the good chance it wouldn't make any difference. Philip worked on his own schedule, for him, and his benefit only. Dick. "Sooner we're done the sooner you can move on with your...evening... with Thea here."
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 26, 2019 20:09:09 GMT
Thea couldn’t quite suppress a grin at Gigi’s comment. Really, she wanted nothing more than to agree with her, rather whole-heartedly, flip Phi off, and leave the tavern; there was plenty of glassblowing waiting for her at home, sounding a thousand times more amusing than continuing this miserable conversation. She swallowed the grin, though, eyes lowering to the rim of her wine glass. Dom might not deserve it, but she wouldn’t be the one to tell Phi what had gone on between them.
Maybe, Thea thought, she was just fooling herself that he didn’t know. After all, Thea had thought she was Dom’s – well, she was certainly fooling herself if she thought Phi didn’t know exactly what Dom was, who he was, and who he was spending time with. Anger fizzed in Thea’s chest, like lightning flickering through her veins. She kept her gaze firmly on the glass of wine, doing her best to suppress any sign of the sudden anger from her face. Old habits died hard, after all. She didn’t even really hear Gigi’s snark, a bit busy with her own thoughts.
Phi’s eyes were on Thea when Gigi turned to him, but he shifted his gaze back to her now, still smiling cheerfully. He took his sweet time answering, as usual, draining the last of his wine, then turning back to the bar and slowly, deliberately, pouring himself another glass.
“Actually,” Phi said, finally, flashing another smile up at Gigi. He carefully twisted the bottle so as not to let a single drop of wine escape, then set it back down on the bar, turning back to Gigi. “I heard that there were some interesting goings-on outside of Waterdeep these days. Some… professor was in here early. Gostlethorn, I think her name was? A little bit of a thing, in need of protecting.”
Thea looked back up at that, glass jostling in her hand. “Phi, how did you – ” She bit her lip, already regretting the intensity of her reaction.
“What’s that?” Phi smiled at Thea, all harmless innocence.
“I’m – ” Thea took a deep breath, in and out, and forced another smile. “What a funny coincidence. I just met the professor yesterday.” She was gripping the wine glass in both hands, and forced herself to let go, reluctant to break even such an inferior vessel.
“Is that right?” Phi turned back to Gigi, smiling. “Gigi, pet, you should look into this professor. Seems she’s offering good money, for nothing more than a short trip out of Waterdeep. Seems timely to me, and, well, very much in line with your… interests.”
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Gigi
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Post by Gigi on Feb 26, 2019 20:26:32 GMT
Finally getting to the point Gigi, instead of responding, finished off her glass and set it on the bar top - keeping clear away from even coming close to even accidently bumping into Philip.
"Hmm." She hummed, neither agreement or disagreement, but they both knew her name was already on the sign up sheet. And the worst part? He… wasn't wrong. The money would be needed. The getting out of Waterdeep was needed. And if the only cost right now was keeping Thea, and by extension the rest of the party alive? Easy.
Too easy.
She didn't know if this was for sure going to count towards clearing her debt or not, but the potential was there. Despite the presumed 'ease' of the event. And that potential was too good to pass up. Sure, it could very well end up being a false promise -those had happened often enough over the year or so of time- but each time she fell for it. The only worse case here? Earning money and getting out of town. Best case? All the above and she was clear of Merk.
Running her tongue over her teeth to clear them of beverage Gigi saluted with just the right amount of sarcasm. "Right. Well, good luck with your evening. Thea… Merk. Peace." She shrugged her jacket as she turned to leave, a bit of a scowl on her face as she lit up a cigarette as she crossed out of the tavern. The soothing hit of nicotine, brown sugar, and caoco settled her annoyed agitation. She hoped, at the very least, Thea wouldn't be a burden on her healing abilities during whatever 'trip' Professor Gostlethorn had planned. She didn't seem like much, just an artisan. This would be fun.
((Word count 2,656 = 54 rounded up, 540 exp please))
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 26, 2019 22:06:34 GMT
Thea sat, still and totally silent through Phi’s exchange with Gigi, hands tight balls in her lap, the whites of her knuckles peeping through pale blue skin.
She held it in until Gigi has left, then turned to Phi, pale blue eyes tight and cold.
“So, what, this is Dom’s something special?” Thea’s voice was almost taut enough to vibrate.
Phi was still smiling, taking another sip of his wine. “Isn’t it nice, Thea? You may be here in Waterdeep, but Dom’s still looking after you. Shall I take a kiss back to him, as thanks?”
Thea gritted her teeth, almost shaking.
“I know they weren’t his only, but they were surely his favorite,” Phi went on, voice cheerful. “How about we -“
Thea turned, grabbed the mostly full glass of wine from the bar, and flung the liquid at Phi’s face, coating him and his fancy clothing in deep red. Thea set the empty glass back on the bar and, without another word, got up and left, face a dark, angry blue, only flushing darker at Phi’s low chuckle echoing behind her.
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