Novus City (Temorarily closed. Still accepting new characters.)

Without further ado, I officially declare this open! You may begin posting! Please keep in mind, it's Midnight, meaning that this will be the last day of Founding.

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With a heavy thud, the man crashed to the cement, blood running freely from his nose as he looked up at the towering figure over him. Icy eyes stared at him darkly, as powerful hands flexed with anticipation. “Go home, before I change my mind, asshole.” The booming voice caused the man to flinch, before he scrambled to his feet and raced down the street.

Watching the man run, Kaine chuckled quietly to himself as he stepped back into the welcoming darkness of the bar. The room smelt of alcohol, sweat, tears and blood, and nothing in the whole wide world smelled sweeter to the mercenary as he returned to his secluded corner of the bar. Smoke danced around his vision, but he had long become accustom to the foul substance and it didn’t really bother him anymore. Sliding back into his seat, he beckoned the waitress to him with a wave of his hand. The small woman hurried over, ignoring other customers in her rush to get to him.

“Can I help you, sir?” Her voice trembled slightly, and she fought to keep her smile on her face. So, she had seen that little ‘fight’, as if it qualified as a fight, had she? Well, nothing wrong with a little respectful fear.

“Yeah. The ass I just tossed to the curb spilt my drink. Think you could fetch me another?” Drumming his fingers against the warped wood, a feral smile seemed to split his face as he watched her shake slightly at his voice. “Scotch on the rocks.”

“Right away, sir!” She scrambled off, obviously thankful to be out of his presence. Resting a his head on his palm, Kaine glared off at nothing in particular. Sitting in a bar on a Saturday…what was this god-damm world coming to? Founding had gone and robbed him of all his usual business, as people seemed to be preaching all this crap about good-will and peace towards each other.

**** peace. With peace, he’d have nothing to do aside from guard work…and guard work was absolute crap that never paid enough. **** peace, and **** Founding. Who’d want to celebrate the making of this crap city anyway?

Glancing down, he noticed his drink had arrived, and took a swig.

Only good thing about this city was the scotch. Thank whatever being was out there that someone had seen it fit to bring lots and lots of scotch.

Draining his glass, the mercenary sighed before waving his hand.

“Bring me the whole damm bottle.”

BWAAAAAN! BWAAAN! BWAAAAAN!

She jolted awake, struggling for a moment against the harness that held her safely in her seat, confusion and fear twisting her features. The fear passed not a few moments later, but the confusion remained. What was causing the sirens? Why were the lights flashing like that? What was going on with the screens?

Senka! Get your head on straight, something’s going on. We need to figure out what. The sirens wouldn’t be going on like that unless there was a reason!

I know! But, I can’t understand any of this!

The woman’s amber eyes darted about the pod, looking for some sign, any recognizable indication of what was going on. The runes scrawling across the screen were indecipherable, and the keys appeared to be locked down. No matter which combination she pressed, the pod refused to react.

Okay, we got this. Maybe we came out of the jump, maybe we’re ap-

The pod jerked suddenly, throwing her forward in the straps. She bit off a shrill yelp, her head snapping back with the force of the whiplash as the sirens were interrupted by a mechanized voice, speaking quite calmly. Unfortunately, it was speaking in a language she didn’t understand in the slightest.

“What’s?”

Senka! That felt like a re-entry quake!

The A’hai’s eyes widened, before she was thrown forward once more. Then, everything went black.





…Sen…

……Ka! Wak…

……up! No..

Senka! Senka, wake up! We have to get out of here!

The woman blinked blearily, fading back into consciousness. She hung forward in the straps, the sensation of something warm running down her face. She reached up, touched a few fingers to her face, and brought them down. Bright red stained them.

She was…bleeding?

What had…?

Senka, the pod crashed. We’ve landed, but we need to get moving if we don’t want to be found. We need to put distance between us and the pod.

“Right…” Her other hand came up and unclipped the straps, freeing her from their protective embrace. She pulled at several different handles, trying to find the one that released the door. A hiss and a small stream of outside air announced the door opening, and she rolled out of the pod.

She took a moment to look about herself and the rubble the surrounded the crashed pod, before darting off into the darkness.

“This stinks,” the teenager muttered as she kicked the brick wall before her. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” She jumped up and down, holding her injured foot. Unbalanced, she tipped over backwards and slammed into the ground. “Ugh…” she groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Could things get any worse?”

She sat up, her silver eyes narrowing on the building before her. Twenty-one. Twenty-one! What kind of stupid drinking law was that? Some planets had it as low as sixteen, and she was seventeen. Wasn’t that old enough?

“Stupid,” she grumbled and climbed to her feet. “This place is so stupid. Why did you come here, Kami?” she asked herself for the hundredth time. “Why o why?”

Because she had been on the run, that’s why. And because she had run out of fuel.

“Stupid,” she grumbled once more, but this time it wasn’t just about drinking laws.

“Stupid.”

She growled and marched back into the bar, intent on getting her drink.

"Hey, you!" she shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at the bartender--a man slightly on the overweight side. He was in the process of polishing a glass, but paused when he saw that she was back.

"I want my drink and I want it now!"

Senka looked up and down the ally, before looking back down at the mirror shard that she had found. Wih careful touches, she swabbed her face clean of blood, the wound having clotted a little bit ago.

Remember. Best places to dissappear in on planet are the bars and pubs and the like. So, we need to find one and get there. Find a dark corner to sit in, then we'll do a little planning. Figure out what the place is like, find-

"Shh!" She hissed, pressing herself against the buildings wall as several loud and possibly drunk people passed by the entrance to the alley.

Senka, they can't hear me. Only you can.

"Oh..right."

As I was saying, find a place to hunker down for the night, then find a good place to stay. We should be safe, since it was a blind jump and blind jumps are near impossible to trace.

"Okay." She nodded, taking a deep breath as she looked herself over in the mirror. Blood was cleaned up; make-up wasn't horribly smudged. She shouldn't draw too much attention to herself if she kept a low profile. Judging from the people she had been seeing, there must be a celebration or somethng going on, so her dress wouldn't look out of place.

You look fine. Now, I think I saw a bar back down the street a ways, so lets head there. If this planet is like any others we've been on, it should be packed. Which means we'll blend rightin.

"Right." Senka nodded, dropping the mirror shard to the ground. She took one last look around, before stepping out onto the street. Nobody bothered her, thinking she was just another person out enjoying the celebrations, so the walk to the bar was fast.

She paused before the door, looking the place over quickly. "Dixons?"

We've heard weirder names, Senka. Just go in. Standing out gawking will only draw attention to yourself.

She bit her lip, then hesitantly reached out and opened the door. The stench of booze and smoke washed over her instantly, but she forced herself to ignore it. She slipped inside and made a bee-line for one tiny empty table in the very back.

"Founding. What kind of moron goes and gets themselves hurt during Founding?"

The heavyset, bearded man lying prone before Seth glared up at him from under heavy, dark brows. "I don't recall your opinion being included in your price, Brighteyes."

Seth gave a slightly unecessary push on the poultice he'd applied to the man's heavily bruised leg. He was rewarded by a quick grimace of pain. "My opinion's free. No extra charge." His teeth flashed from beneath the shadow of his cowl. One flap of his cloak hung open, baring an unlatched canvas satchel that smelled of earth, slime, and spices.

He finished tying off the poultice pad. "There. See if you can put weight on it." The man gave him a suspicious look, but levered himself carefully to his feet. He gave the injured leg a couple experimental taps against the filthy Bone District street. He scowled, but nodded grudgingly. "It'll hold." He reached into a deep inner pocket of his ragged shirt and withdrew a tiny roll of paper currency. He shoved it at Seth with the practiced, darting movement that Seth had seen people of the Lower District used so often, designed not to draw the attention of passersby. Seth snagged it from his fingertips with the same speed and subtlety. Hardened man and slim healer exchanged curt nods. Then without another glance, they parted.

Such was the nature of the transaction.

Seth knotted his cloak closed again. He checked that his face was thoroughly shadowed, that the cool sting of his runic charms against the nape of his neck was still present. He eased the man's money into a hidden pocket in the collar of the cloak. As he turned to continue his rounds, he slid a glance at his retreating customer. The man walked almost without a limp, Seth noticed, thanks to the poultice. The edge of his mouth quirked imperceptibly. Then he set off up the street, keeping to the shadows of the buildings so no one could sneak up on him, waiting for the next cry or shout of pain to draw him to his next customer.

((BTW, I'm conducting research on real herbal medicine for this RP. I will make every attempt to treat real conditions with their appropriate herbal remedy. ))

Kaine's eyes were drawn from his drink by the creaking sound of the door opening, the kind of noise your average person wouldn't hear over the racket bar patron's tended to make. First came a loud black-haired fire-cracker who was demanding a drink from the barkeep, followed shortly by a dark-haired brunnette in a rather flattering dress. Rather flattering.

Kaine's icy eyes followed her for a moment, before flicking over to the shouting girl. She really was making it rather obvious that she was underage...and spoiled as hell to boot. Obviously, daddy didn't know how to tell his precious little daughter when she couldn't have something, and by the look of things, Dick was having to do so for him. Chuckling, Kaine took a sip of his drink, before his eyes wandered over to the woman in the little black dress.

Topping his glass off, the mercenary found himself wondering why this woman was here. She seemed...out of place, somehow. "Weird..."

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The barkeep Richard, or Dick as everyone called him, sighed in frustration at the teen as she once again came in demanding a drink. "Look, kid, I ain't givin' ya a drink no matter how many times you ask me, alright? So just go home to daddy, and ask him for some champange, cause I ain't losing my liscense just so you can get hammered out of your wee mind." His voice was sharp, and obviously annoyed at her persistance.

Senka's eyes flicked about the bar; never staying in one place for longer than a few seconds. Thankfully, the bar was packed and no one had paid any mind to her--not even one of the waitresses.

Okay...well, so far so good.

See? Bars are always the best place to hide in first night on a new planet. So now all we have to do is get a feel for the world. So, lets observe the humans. See how they act, what they're like. Maybe that'll give us a clue as to what system we're in.

She nodded, looking over the crowded bar more carefully now; watching for behaviors or markings or common appearances that could give a hint as to where they were.

Her amber eyes drifted over a rather large man, before snapping back to him almost a second later.

"Ralis...?" She breathed unbelivingly. It couldn't be him, it just couldn't. But...there he was, sitting a table just across the room.

Senka... The Voice spoke gently, It isn't Ralis. It's just some guy with red hair and a smilar size...We both know that...

Kami banged her fist on the counter as she glared at the bartender with silver eyes. "Why do you care if I get drunk or not? It's not like it really matters, in the scheme of things." She stared at him for a moment longer and then grinned.

"Call it fire insurance, if you will." Leaning up closer, she smiled sweetly at him. "We wouldn't want there to be any accidents, now would we? Let's just bend the rules this once. Nobody will get hurt. Just one drink is all."

And boy did she need a drink. This planet was confusing, strange. Her head ached from spending the entire day wandering about, dodging trouble. Her feet hurt and she was exhausted...

Dick's eyes narrowed, and he set the cup down loudly. "Threats? Don't make me get you thrown out on your ass. I got a buddy in here that could break you in two with a look, so why don't you go find yourself a gutter to lay in?"

At that moment, a helmeted figure entered the bar, a rifle slung under his arm. He glanced about, before he approached Dick while his partner stood quietly in the doorway. "We've been getting some reports about a disturbance. Is everything alright, sir?"

Dick smiled wide, and motioned to Kami. "No. This girl has been harassing me, trying to get a drink when she is obviously underage. Think you could take her off my hands? I've got customers that need drinks." The agent looked at Kami, and nodded.

"Of course, sir. We're sorry for the trouble she's caused you. We'll make sure it dosen't happen again." He placed a hand on Kami's forearm, and motioned with his head for her to move. "Come with me please, miss."

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Kaine felt her eyes on him, and his head snapped to the side and his icy eyes locked with her amber ones. And god, did they hold him. Taking a long swig of his scotch, Kaine pulled his gaze away, looking down at the polished wood of his table.

What was with her eyes? There was something...very off about her, and the mercenary couldn't help but wonder just what it was that seemed so...off. He had learned over the years that his gut was never wrong, but it never helped in the pointing out what exactly it was going off about.

Once again, he was compelled to look at her once again, before he sighed loudly. "Never going to find out just sitting here..." Grabbing his bottle, he rose slowly from his seat.

"Hey!" Kami cried out as she suddenly found a stranger's hand on her arm. "I wasn't doing nothing wrong!" Panic flared up and she found her body quaking. She moved to step back, but then meekly took stepped forward, as if complying. But she wouldn't let them take her in. If they found out what she was...

Her face paled at this. "No!" she cried out and stomped down on the stranger's feet (though it didn't do much good when her own were bare). Then she took off running, climbing over people in her haste to reach the exit.

Stupid! You're stupid, Kami! Didn't you decide that you weren't going to cause trouble here?

Nikki flipped over the open sign over and over, before finally letting it fall back to close. She was debating whether to go out tonight. She would much rather stay in and celebrate by herself, but Nikki was feeling restless. After staring out of the store's windows, she grabbed her coat and headed out into the streets.

She didn't really need a coat, but she wore one all the time. It was to keep people from staring at her. She already knew that she was a freak. She didn't need people to point it out.

Flashes of the knife fight filled the women's head and Nikki shook her head. No she wasn't going to be her usually downer self. At least not all the way. Not that it matter how she acted. Nikki sighed.

"I need a drink," she said outload, heading to the nearest bar. She wasn't a big drinker, but Nikki wasn't above drinking away her problems. She entered a building and took a seat at the bar.

"I'll have...whatever. As long as it's cheap and strong I'll drink it."
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Seren frowned. It was late and she knew that if her parents caught her up at this time they would yell. But the young girl didn't care. She crept into her brother's room, shoving the boy onto the floor.

"Ah!"

Enti looked up at his twin sister, who sshed him.

"Do you want our parents up?"

"Why are we even up then," Enti asked his sister standing. He knew that she was going to try something like this, but he wasn't sure when this week she was going to do it. "Seren we can't go out."

"Oh and why not? Listen we should be able to have fun too. And it's not like we're going to be alone."

"Yeah I really don't want to hang out with your friends in the middle of the night. No offense," he said, though he did begin to get dressed. Seren turned away muttering, "No offense taken."

"Ok fine I'll come. But if we get into trouble, you'll going to take all the blame."

Seren flashed her brother a wolfish grin. "You know I always do." With that said she opened the window and glanced around. Moving slowly she grabbed onto a branch and swung herself down onto a lower one, before dropping to the ground. Seconds later Enti followed her.

Vision

A typical Founding week night, especially at a bar. A lot of drunk people, but in between there were the gems that glittered. A man, who looked quite fearsome, was looking at a woman, and got up to presumably talk to her. The woman looked like she didn't want any attention at all. Another, a girl, was yelling at the bartender for a drink, and the authorities got involved, and she fled. Another walked in, a woman, who seemed to be depressed, perhaps a recent breakup or the lonliness of not having someone to spend the Founding with.

Vision came back to himself and coughed, violently, before subsiding and slumping into his chair. "Why should I celebrate this, Founding, of the wretched city," he asked himself. With only a few years left until his ultimatum was up, he was desperate for news over progress, but he never found anything. From his home in the middle district, he weathered the celebration where everyone would be chummy and pretend living here united them.

As for him, a few drinks in a crowded bar wouldn't make him forget his troubles, and he'd have to deal with the people there. He got enough of them through his visions, he didn't need to face them within reality. His white hands massaged his bald skull, as he seemed to glow within the dark room, the faint light letting him stand out against it; perhaps he really was glowing, the radiation would certainly be the explanation for it.

There was little going on in the streets of Air, Middle District. Enti noted that he and his sister weren't the only people outside. It was the Founding after all and so people were celebrating practicely non-stop. He looked at Seren, who was whistling as she walked. Seren saw that Enti was staring at her.

"Any reason why you're staring at me," she asked sounding a little harsher than her intended too. Enti shrugged and looked away.

"So where are your friends suppose to meet us at?"

Seren named a place that was going to take them about ten minutes to walk too. Enti sighed not really up for a long walk, but he trailed after Seren anyways.

Alex hid in a corner of the bathroom of a near by kind of fast-food restaurant. Rubbing his hands over his head Alexander wondered how the hell was he able to throw that other dude flying.

What’s happening to me?

He kept thinking over and over again. There wasn’t any logical sense as to how he made that move. Alexander stood up and walked up towards the sink. Placing his hand over the faucet, he looked himself in the mirror, and the slightly turned the hot water. He splashed some of it on his face a few times, and while passing his fingers through his neck, he touched the wounds left by the man that had bitten him.

“Could this be it?” he whispered slowly. A myth that was never a myth?

No! It’s impossible. The simple thought of considering it just means I’m even crazier than I thought! To consider that the man was…

On Alexander’s mind, the world suddenly didn’t exist; it was as if he was on another place, a place completely filled with silence.

…a vampire.

Every second that passed, the idea seemed crazier, yet it was the only thing that filled the empty spots. The only theory that answered his questions.

“No way” Alexander said once again. He stepped away from the sink, and walked over to get a paper towel. He dried his face, and walked out of the bathroom. Making sure his knife was still in his pocket, he stepped outside the restaurant and decided to enjoy what was left of the Founding.

When their eyes locked, she froze, almost as if every muscle in her body had siezed up. Once he broke the contact, she dropped her gaze to her lap, fiddlingwith her hands.

See..? Different eyes. He's not Ralis...No matter how much you want him to be, Ralis is dead and that man isn't him.

"I know..." She murmered, sighing heavily.

Senka...Don't focus on that now. We have other things we need to do right now.

"Yeah.." She sighed again and looked up, only to jump in shock. That man was standign right infront of her! She hadn't see him get up, hadn't heard him approach or anything. And she had her phereamones going full blast, no one should of noticed her, much less come over.

She blinked a few times, the Voice helping to calm her racing mind. "Umm...Hi?"

The agent reached out to grab her, but she was to fast for him. His partner reacted quickly, and smashed his forearm into her face as she tried to dart past him. Forcing her to the floor, the agent glared angrily through his helmet at her. The other leveled his rifle on her head, sighing quietly to himself. "You've gone and made a very simple problem into a very complicated one, miss. Now, are you going to come peacefully?"

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Benjamin knocked loudly on the door, staring at the wood of it with a look of minor annoyence on his face. "Gregor, open the door." He called, tapping his foot impatiently before knocking again. "C'mon, I know you're in there! I'm not letting you sulk away the last day of Founding, so open up!"

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Kaine looked at the woman for a brief moment, before his feral smile split his face. "Hey. You look like you don't want to be bothered, but that dress ain't helping you lay low." Taking the seat opposite her, he motioned to the other patrons. "See, now that I'm talking to you, they think that you're my girlfriend, or maybe just my score for the night, and no one's looking anymore."

He spoke the truth. Many of the patrons who had been...examining the goods where now more interested in their waitresses or the drinks.

Setting the bottle of scotch down on the table, Kaine's smile only widened. "Want a drink?"

"I..." Kami felt her mouth go dry as she stared up at the helmeted figure that pinned her. She swallowed and her eyes flickered over to the other one to see that he had his gun out and aimed. Her mind raced with half-baked plans, but she wasn't sure how to execute any of them in the current situation.

"I didn't do nothing wrong," she repeated stubbornly, glaring back at the figure over her. "But fine. Whatever. Just... where are you taking me?"

If it was the station, then she was going to have to try and make another run for it. She couldn't allow herself to get booked. She couldn't allow them to know that she wasn't from here.

Vision

The door creeped open, and its white occupant peered out at the disturbance. "Your knocking, for lack of a better term, is torturous," he said, his voice best described as snake-like. "You should know, I don't celebrate Founding. It's not something I believe in."

He said this as though he believed that he weren't going out, and that he could remain at home. If he had thought that, he wouldn't have opened the door, but also wanted his partner gone from his door, and he would only do that with an escort.

"Um.." She bit her lips, not quite sure what to do in the situation. He shouldn't of been able to notice her...

Senka, just accept the drink. Talking to him might help us out. We could use a few 'friends'.

"Okay..?" Ralis..He was sitting right across from her. She blinked rapidly, banishing the thoughts. No, he wasn't Ralis. He was just...a native of this planet. Just a human.

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He was limping. He was limping because he had no luck. He was limping because he had no luck and the fact that someone had gone and cracked him in the leg with a hunk of metal pipe. He also happened to be bleeding. He was bleeding because he had also gotten slashed across the arm with a knife.

Well, that's what he got for trying to steal from death culties. But! He had managed to get away with his prize, so it wasn't all bad. Just mostly.

"Why does this always happen to me?! It can't ever happen to a newbie to the feild of thieving, no it always has to be me!"

The small theif walked along, clingng to the shadows of the Bone district. "Maybe that doc'll be out tonight, maybe I'll run into him. But, he'll probably charge rediclously high prices. And then I'll of lost allmy profit tonight and that means I can't replace my T.V." He sighed heavily.

"Why does this always happen to me?!" He half wailed. With a shake of his head, Viper limped on.

"We're taking you to a nearby guard-post, miss, not that you're in any position to be making demands." Said the agent with the rifle, who motioned for his partner to pick her up. The man hauled her to her feet, and took a firm hold of her wrists.

"As for having done nothing wrong, don't kid yourself. You've attempted to get alcohol without any identification, and despite the fact you're underage. You've also attacked a agent of Helm." Giving a rough pull on her wrists, the pair lead the woman out of the bar without another word.

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Ben rolled his eys at Gregor, his foot sliding between the door and the frame. "It dosen't matter if you don't celebrate it. You can still attempt to enjoy yourself. Trust me, you'll like it once you get the hang of it." The Helm agent smiled at his charge, as he looked over his shoulder at the street behind him. "Come on, it's not even that loud out right now! Look, I'll call...Ivory, and she'll come out with us, alright? So you won't be stuck with just me!"

He didn't give the mutant a chance to respond, as he pulled out his cellphone and began to dial the officers number. "Let's hope she's not asleep..." He muttered, as he hit the phone button.

-------

Kaine's smile didn't falter, even at the signs of her hesitation. The waitress dropped another glass off as she passed, and Kaine quickly filled it before sliding it over to the woman. "Now, first off, don't worry. I'm not trying to hit on you, as I can see you're clearly not interested in meeting someone tonight." Filling his own glass, Kaine looked out over the bar.

"You're just trying to relax, maybe forget some bad crap that happened recently, and enjoy yourself, and I can respect that. Nothing wrong with trying to have a nice evening at a pub, right?" Taking a small sip of his scotch, his icy gaze returned to his companion. "So, I'll keep the asses from trying to ruin your night, and you give me the pleasure of good company and a good conversation. Sound fair?"

Kami stumbled forward at the rough pull forward and then glared at the two men. "And what happens once I'm there?" she asked, ignoring the statement about what she had done wrong. She gave a half-hearted tug on her wrists, judging his grip on her.

"You're hurting me," she whined and stared up at him with pleading eyes, begging him to loosen his grip, just a little.

What have I done?

Senka blinked, taking a moment to let the mening of his words sink in. He wasn't trying to hit on her? He was actually going to keep assholes away from her? Her phereamones should of been able to do that, but she was having second thoughts. Maybe the people of this planet were immune to them?

He presents a good point. Enjoy the company, we haven't had any in very long time. Will do you some good.

Okay.

"Yeah...That sounds fair." She pulled the glass closer to her, but made no move to drink from it.

Seth heard it. None save someone very, very attuned to the language of the hopeless, destitute, and injured would have heard the soft moaning. Whoever it was, Seth thought they were lucky he had picked up on their noise, and not someone who would have seen their condition in a far different light.

He peered around the corner of the building and saw him. The man was bleeding from the arm, from what Seth could see. And limping, which suggested a leg wound. His mouth opened and closed, producing the soft wailing sounds he'd heard.

He could have been a thief. Maybe a rogue, but a true professional rogue fighter wouldn't have gotten hurt in a tussle that easily. He could be anyone, really, here in the filth of Bone District. It didn't matter, as long as he had coin.

Seth slipped out of the shadows and placed himself unthreateningly in the limping man's path. He flicked open one side of his cloak just a bit so that his canvas herb sack could be seen, and spoke softly and calmly, just loud enough for his potential patient to hear. "My name is Eyebright. I'm a healer...perhaps you've heard of me. Let me look at you; if you've got the coin, I'll try my best to fix what ails you and do you no harm." It was his standard opening spiel, not too pompous, straightforward and to the point. The man would either accept his services or try his luck wounded on the streets. If he chose the latter option, he was too much a fool for Seth to waste time on anyway.

-----

Iva slid her cellphone out of her belt and bounced it into her palm with a practiced movement. She gave the screen a cursory glance to make sure the number was someone she recognized. Ben. She wondered exactly what the agent needed her for. She flicked the phone open and put her back against the nearest wall. Even in the Earth district, it didn't pay to have any part of you exposed while your attention was distracted. "This is Ivory. What's up? Something wrong?" Iva had learned to assume that things were wrong when people called her, because more often than not they were.

The men guided her down the street, keeping a cautious eye on the rebellious girl. "We'll process you, see if you have any previous offenses, and go from there." Replied the man with the rifle, as his partner shot the girl a look.

"You tried to hurt us, so I suppose it's only fair." He was obviously upset with the young teen, and was doing very little to hide it.

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Ben grinned as she answered the phone, winking at Gregor. "Hey, Ivory! It's Ben. Sorry to bother you, but what are you up to right now? Gregor is being a bit of a pain and won't come celebrate with me, so I figured with the two of us he'd be more cooperative."

Fixing his gaze on the streets before him, Ben's smile never seemed to falter. "Think you could help me out here? I'll buy you coffee for a month and paid for the drinks tonight, and I promise you'll have a good time!"

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Kaine's smile widdened for a second, before shrinking back to normal. "So, what brings you to Dixon's tonight? Just trying to find some quiet in the middle of Founding?" He took a small sip of his scotch, examining the crowd with one eye, watching her with the other. "Or you just hear because the food is damm good?"

Viper bit off a yelp of surprise at the sudden appearance of the man. "A healer type person..?" He muttered to himself, coming to a halt and bringing himself up to his full measly height, puffing out his thin chest. "Oh! You, I've heard about you!"

A releaived look washed over his features, but a tint of suspicion remained in his eyes. One didn't spend their entire life in the Lower Districts without learning to always be suspicious. Using his good arm, he re-adjusted one of his pouches.

"Yeah, I could use a little help. And I got plenty to pay for it with!"

-------

Senka ran her finger around the rim of her glass, her eyes flicking from the table, to the man's face, and back.

"Just looking for some quiet..."

Ralis...He's right there sitting in front of me..

She picked up her glass and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. The scotch tasted good, and she took another sip.

No, He wasn't Ralis. He couldn't be. But...