Private A Blossoming Partnership

Somewhere in South Ilica

"-And he said 'double or nothing'! After I had beaten him twice already! Suffice to say, I took that old geezer for everything he was worth!" Seraphine giggled and took another long swig of her ale. She was sat sideways on the lap of a man with one arm draped over his shoulders. "Well after that, the witch of a barmaid chased me out with a hot poker. Still made out like a bandit though!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sera perceived a hand moving up towards her chest. "Oi!" She slapped the hand away without bothering to turn and look. "Hands off unless yer willing to pay." The man grumbled drunkenly, but was cut short as his mates rose from the table to leave. He unceremoniously pushed Seraphine off of his lap and onto the grimy floor, joining his companions as they exited.

"Well that was a bust..." Sera picked herself up and dusted herself off, moving to sit at the bar. Those men hadn't had much coin to speak of. Not enough for her to waste energy pickpocketing. At least she had gotten a free drink out of it. She carefully counted her coins before waving the barmaid over. "One sweet roll and a refill of ale."

Honestly, the whole evening had been quite the disappointment. Everybody had kept a tight grip on their coinpurses. The flow of free drinks and food had dried up fairly quickly. And worst of all, there hadn't really been any handsome men or beautiful women, so she would once again be spending the night alone, having to pay for her own room.

Seraphine sighed as she took a large bite of her sweet roll. Unless by some miracle she happened to find her way into more coin, she would just have to move on in the morning and try her luck somewhere else.

Rou half grumbled to herself as she stomped into the tavern, damp from the sewerage pipe she had to trudge through and irritated by the fact that so slimy nobleman she had done a job for snubbed her gold because of the apprent "mess" she made on his carpet with her wet boots when delivering 'proof of completion'.



She was trained killer and a damns good one at that yet she let some pompus old fool who could not make it up a landing of stairs without huffing and puffing half rob her.



The half-breed had had enough, since landing in the city all she did was boring jobs for men who - in all honesty, simply did not bother with communication. Rou took a seat close to a women with long black hair and pointed ears like her own and raised a finder to the barkeep nearby, placing a few copper pieces on the counter infront of her. Wondering when things would grow a little more interesting around here.

With every crumb and drop of her sad little meal gone, Sera reached into her belt pouch, producing a thin polished stone pipe and a small envelope packed full of small, bright blue leaves. Selecting one leaf, she crushed it between her fingers and packed it into the pipe, lighting it with a worn out flint. Seraphine sighed contentedly, ignoring the barmaid's glare as she tucked the envelope into her top and side-eyed the woman sitting next to her.

The woman was certainly pretty, Sera would give her that. And she was a fellow elf! All she had seen all day were humans and a handful of smallfolk, so to see another elf was a nice treat. The strange woman's piercing blue eyes and multitude of scars caught her eye. Seraphine hummed to herself, taking another drag and releasing a gentle cloud of smoke. Bet she has some crazy stories to tell she thought.

Maybe all hope wasn't lost. She could at least try to have a pleasant conversation before the evening was over.

Seraphine spun on her stool and smiled sweetly, hoping her natural charm would be enough to win the stranger over. "Hiya cutie! Been a minute since I've seen another elf! You from around here?"

Rou flexed her toes inside her boots, making a sorry attempt to somehow erase the growing discomfort thanks to her damp socks. She twisted on her bar stool, taking in the inviting smell coming from the stone pipe and watched as the smoke tendril slowly dissappeared, following it with her whole head before acknowledging the women next to her.

"Any idea where I could get some new boots?" She asked blankly, extended her leg out between them - no smile offered back.

She hoped the elf would suggest a nearby windowsill or stoop she saw a pair resting on on her route here from whereever she had been.

Sera's smile faltered slightly as she took a thoughtful draw of the pipe. Not the answer she has been expecting. Seemed like this woman was going to be a tough nut to crack.

"Sure. I know where ya can get some new boots." Her voice took on a light, joking tone as she leaned against the bar. "See all these people? Ya can get yourself as many pairs of boots as want, warranted you're sneaky enough."

Seraphine giggled with a mischievous glint in her eye, before relenting. "Sorry, sorry. I think I saw a shoe maker on the other side of town. They might be able to help ya, though I'd wager they're closed for the night."

Seraphine eyed the strange woman. "How'd ya get in such a sorry state anyway?"

Her gaze shifted over to the patrons, some of their footwear had seen better days. Her eyes matched Seraphines mischievous look, "Maybe we try the manors line a few blocks up instead." She mentioned with a shrug, taking another sip of her ale.

Rou's tongue swiped over the top of her teeth before answering her question, the assassins rage begining to seeth once again. "I did a job, got taken for an ass and conned by a conman," She downed the rest of her drink, ordering two more.

"What have you been trying to achieve all evening thief?" Rou asked, matching her curiosity.

Seraphine met Rou's remark with a thoughtful look. The line of manors a few blocks over? She hadn't considered those. But if she were to hit the manors, she would be going after something a hell of a lot more valuable than a pair of boots. Those places were always filled with coin and jewels.

The elf drew on what remained in her pipe. "Tryin' to get my hands on some coin. Or least a room for the night" she responded with a long exhale of blue smoke. She knocked the ashes into a nearby bowl and tucked the pipe into the front of her dress. "'Sides that? Not much. Schmoozin' with the locals hoping to get my mitts on their purses, flirtin' with the men and a cute barmaid, gambling. Anything to keep myself entertained. Can't say I really achieved much at the end of the day though..."

Sera scooted her stool closer to Rou and leaned in conspiratorially. "Conned by a con man?! Yeah, those types always want something for nothing. So! What kind of work do ya do anyway? Assassination? Thievery? Arson? Heists?" she asked excitedly.

Rou watched the elfs pipe with hungry eyes, considering just how much she could let on and if a potential partnership with the dark haired female could lead to her getting even with the noblemen.

She downed her ale, stared at Seraphine for longer then most would be comfortable replaying,

"I advertise as muscle for hire," she signaled over the bartmain, waving her fingers between both elves mugs.

"But we both know what that truly entails," Rou gave her a knowing look, paired with a subtle index finger tracing light across her throat.

"Yourself?" The question holding more of invatition to mischef.