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Post by Sylph Icaron on Dec 11, 2013 9:14:18 GMT -5
Fortune appeared to be favoring the brave tonight. Or, at the very least, the reckless. And if Sylph wasn't brave then she certainly could be considered to be reckless. What else could she be, considering that she was a wanted fugitive sneaking into the citadel to seek help from a notorious gang? Stupid, perhaps, but reckless sounded better to her. It wasn't as though she didn't have her reasons, either - she wasn't about to go sticking her neck out for no reason at all. No, she was aware of the risks and the benefits involved, and, in her eyes, if what her contact had said paid out, it would be well worth it.
She'd been searching for over a year now, and she was no closer to getting her missing Pokemon back. A whole year, and not much of anything to go on. It was difficult to search when you couldn't go to any legitimate organisations for help, for fear of being recognised and recaptured. The leads had dried up, and the young woman had been forced to push the search from her mind and instead focus on the day-to-day struggle that was life outside of Nada. So, yes, she had been more than just a little surprised when an old gang friend reached out and told her that his new crowd might be able to help her out. He'd even managed to set up a meeting with someone that he had assured her was "one of the best". And that was how she had found herself bribing her way back into the citadel and wandering the slums at an ungodly hour of night.
It was surprisingly chilly out, and even though she was in motion, Sylph found herself pulling her leather jacket tighter against the breeze. Unfriendly faces leered out of windows and around corners, and the fugitive found herself thinking longingly of the bow and the sword that she had stashed outside the walls. That wasn't to say that she was unarmed, though, and for the most part the gait of her step and the glint of her grey eyes alone was enough to keep the shadowy figures at bay. Besides, if you were wandering the slums at this hour it was generally a good idea to steer clear.
By the time the pale mutant arrived at the designated point, an unassuming park bench in front of what presumably used to be a playground, but was now a hunk of twisted, melted metal and scorched rubber, she was beginning to grow accustomed to the cold air. Still, she shivered as she sat and waited, watching observantly for any approaching people - all her contact had told her was the time and place, not the who.
Slumped against the grimy back of the bench, Sylph thought longingly of last night's campfire and the warmth of her dog's furry body pressed up against her side. Grumbling to herself, she settled into the seat and tried to sit still, her hand resting lightly on the pokeball clipped to her belt.
In spite of the cold and the risk of being caught, Sylph had to admit that the meeting would be worthwhile if her friend had been right, and this person really could help her find her Pokemon. Any help would be welcome because so far she'd come up with not much at all.
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Post by Maya Derleth on Dec 11, 2013 11:14:34 GMT -5
((Let me know if anything in here is something that shouldn't be known!))
Maya was a little surprised when she was approached by one of the gang drug runners about helping out one of his friends. Not to say that it didn't happen, but still, it wasn't an everyday event. Max summed up his friends story, and essentially wanted to make sure that Noxus helped out his buddy to the best of its abilities. He didn't want her to get a raw deal by asking on her own, and felt like she'd have the best chance of having her request completed if it got fast tracked.
It sounded like it'd be tough - a cold case regarding five pokemon that had been sold against their owner's will. However, she told Max that she'd look into it, and to set up a meeting for them. Noxus was family, and this guy was looking out for someone he saw as a comrade. Maya knew she wasn't the most popular figure, and she thought that by helping out here, it'd show that she wasn't some sort of ivory tower elite that couldn't be trusted. She'd make the final decision when she met her, but she did do a little bit of background research, and it looked like her father, the man who had sold the pokemon in question and ruined Sylph's life, was a rival gang leader with possible ties to Pravus. Interesting.
However, she was a bit annoyed with the location Max had chosen for the meet. It was a dark, deserted bench in a park that had seen better days. In other words, it looked exactly like the place shifty business might go down. Maya would have preferred to have it at a sit-down restaurant. What was suspicious about a couple of friends sitting down, talking and eating? Still, what's done was done, and she'd have to deal with it.
She'd been sure to arrive early so she could watch from an abandoned building just across the street. She'd be able to see anyone coming or going, and make sure that everything was safe. Eventually a girl who looked like the person Max had described showed up on time, but Maya didn't go out immediately. Instead she waited a few minutes more, to confirm whether she'd been followed or not. Satisfied, she decided to get this meeting started. Besides, if it turned out she'd made a mistake, she had Flit on the roof to carry her to safety, pokeballs on her belt, and a concealed handgun and knife if she really needed it. It was better safe than sorry.
She didn't make any effort to sneak up on Sylph. The girl was probably scared enough as it was without giving her a fright. She just walked over to the bench she was sitting on and took a seat at the other end without looking at her. Maya reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag. The smoke wafted up in the cold air in no real pattern, the end of the white stick burning bright. "So..." she finally said, still not looking at the girl, "I understand a certain someone stole some things very important to you, and you want them back. Give me the run-down, background of what happened, what leads you've got, everything, don't leave anything out. If I think I can help you, we can talk details." It was fine talking like this since they weren't discussing anything illegal. Besides, Sylph probably wanted this over and done with as soon as she could.
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Post by Sylph Icaron on Dec 15, 2013 6:17:49 GMT -5
When Sylph had reached out to her friend, the best she had dared to hope for was a rumor or two, perhaps a solid lead if she was lucky. She had not expected to have a meeting set up for her with someone who might actually be able to track down her team. She owed Max big time for this one. He never let her down - he was one of the rare people that she actually trusted. One of the good guys. Ironic, considering his current occupation, but bonds forged in the fire tended to be the strongest, and their friendship had certainly been one made in the flames. She'd have to find some way to pay him back for this.
He'd set up the meeting for them, so all she'd had to do was show up. Sylph had made sure to be punctual - not an easy task when you lived outside the citadel, but she'd been careful to avoid being late. Her Pokemon had been missing for a few years now, and she had been searching non-stop for the last twelve months or so - she wasn't going to miss her chance to finally find them, or even just to get that one step closer. Unlike Maya, Sylph had not been able to do much investigating at all - she had a few whispers and rumors to go on, and that was it. It seemed that Noxus, the gang she would be dealing with, did not pledge their allegiance to Pravus at least. In fact, a few people had hinted to her that they were in fact in subtle opposition to the ruling organisation. It was a good sign, either way; it made them less likely to sell her out the first chance they got.
Sylph felt perfectly at home in the park. It looked shady, which might draw some attention, but in the slums, everything looked shady. They wouldn't stand out anymore than any of the other countless unsanctioned deals going down at that hour. It was perfect for the young woman - no one would look twice at her with her less than clean clothes and her generally unkempt appearance. Here, she could blend in, something that was essential to her continuing freedom. Even if she was recognised as a fugitive, it wasn't as though anyone would call the cops. Everyone here was involved in some sort of illegal activity, and no one wanted to draw any more attention than they absolutely had to. A place such as a restaurant, however, was risky for Sylph. The chance of being discovered was that much higher in a respectable public place. Max had likely understood that need for discretion - either that, or he hadn't changed too much from the high school truant she had known him as in her gang days.
That uncomfortable feeling of being watched made the hairs at the back of Sylph's neck stand on end. Still, she ignored the sensation and sat. If the situation had been reversed, she likely would have scoped out the meet too. So, she sat and waited patiently, or as patiently as she could manage. She couldn't keep one boot from tapping against the dirty concrete, unable to sit completely still with her nerves so tightly strung. Her breath curled around her face in a snake of white vapor, a testament to just how cold it was. The minutes ticked by, and Sylph found herself shifting in her seat, trying to keep her limbs from falling asleep. She was considering getting up and stretching when a person approached.
The twenty year old leaned casually back in the chair, observing the approach from the corner of her eye. Her head remained facing forward, and her posture was relaxed. She gave no sign that she even noticed when the other woman sat. Maya was not the only one who had taken precautions, protection - not all of her weapons had remained outside the walls. Her knives, gun and various fire-starting tools had all come with her, and Flint was inside the pokeball at her hip. If worse came to worse, the Skarmory could fly her out, although such an action required a great deal of effort on the steel-types part.
When Maya joined her, Sylph did not visibly react, although she prepared herself for the possibility of having to make a hasty getaway. She leaned forwards slightly when she lit a cigarette, inhaling the welcome smell and smoke. Sylph made a mental note to trade for some cigarettes back at Verity town - she was all out.
As the other woman spoke, Sylph mirrored her, staring straight ahead. "You understand right." Sylph spoke quite directly, pleased that the pleasantries had been skipped. "There were five; a Quilava, Blaise, male, ten years old ; a Murkrow, Shade, female, eight years old; an Electrike, Tes, female, five years old; a Buizel, now deceased; a Ninjask, also deceased. They were sold about three years ago - I haven't been able to pinpoint an exact date. The person who sold them is called Iskander Borisknov. As far as I can tell, Blaise, the Quilava, is currently in the position of a foot soldier in his posse. I lost track of the other two - they were resold, out of Iskander's group, and I lost the trail." She paused for a moment, allowed the other woman time to consider. "So, do you think you can help?" She leaned forward slightly, unknowingly, anticipating a response. Whether or not it was going to be affirmative was beyond her, and she didn't bother getting her hopes up. She'd chased too many leads and been let down too many times as it was. And, even if Maya could help, there was the question of payment, and Sylph was very much aware that she didn't have much to offer.
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Post by Maya Derleth on Dec 16, 2013 7:58:59 GMT -5
Maya slightly inclined her head and casually pulled out her phone with her free hand as Sylph began to talk. Her thumb moved fast to enter in the details as the young woman spoke. It was in shorthand so that she could keep up. An almost imperceptible frown appeared on her face when she mentioned just how long they'd been missing. The longer they'd been missing for, the more potential owners they had. It greatly increased the time and difficulty of it, though it was still easier than finding people. After all, Pokemon were still seen as merchandise by a sizable portion of the public. It meant there were records, and they were less likely to be secret.
She confirmed that the seller was her adoptive father, which pleased her. Maya wouldn't mind screwing him over a little. Hearing that the Quilava - Blaise - was still in his possession via minions also appealed to her. It'd unfortunately cost her client due to creating danger, but it also gave her pretext to hurt him directly. It also saved her from needing to search hard for it. That left two to track down.
Maya leaned back against the bench and took another drag of her cigarette. The back creaked a little, but it wouldn't collapse. She paused again before responding, considering the situation. "I don't want to get your hopes up, but yes, it's possible I can help. From what you've told me, it sounds like it will be a difficult job. Three years is a long time, after all. There's also the chance that, even if Shade and Tes are alive, they may no longer be in Nada Citadel." It was only recently that it had been quarantined, after all. "I'll want to know which goon in particular has Blaise, how far you got on the trail of the others, and if there are any methods that you might consider morally unsound. The more information you give me now, the better their chances, and the less this is going to cost you."
For the first time since this conversation had started, she turned to look at her. Sylph didn't look wealthy, but perhaps she had saved up a lot just for this. Still, she might want to reconsider some of what she was asking. "I'm going to be frank with you. I've already got an estimate for how much this is going to cost, and it's not a small number. So I'm going to ask you if you want me to look into the two that have died. Gravedigging isn't as expensive as extraction, but it still involves legwork. I can do it, no problem, but that's going to be extra costs." She'd be getting a discount since Max referred her and because it was a task she approved of, but she was still running a service, and that meant she'd need appropriate compensation.
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Post by Sylph Icaron on Dec 18, 2013 0:42:04 GMT -5
The movement of the other woman did not go unnoticed, but Sylph continued as she had been, staring straight ahead and talking softly. Her words were carefully paced and pronounced so that nothing would be missed or misunderstood. The mutant also noticed that frown, a tiny movement that could be passed off as nothing if one didn't know better. Sylph had seen that look before - it was a common reaction of anyone she approached about this particular subject, a mixture of contemplation and worry that was often followed by an apology and a polite explanation that there was nothing to be done. Grey eyes narrowed slightly in response, but she kept speaking regardless. She despised that look.
Sylph would be very happy indeed to cause any kind of inconvenience to her 'father', no matter how small - even a papercut caused pain, and any wound could become infected. Any suffering on his half would delight her. Knowing that Maya shared her sentiment would have made her respect the woman, regardless of her reasons for wanting to hurt Iskander.
The smoke smelled painfully good, and Sylph glanced subtly down at her hands to make sure that they weren't shaking. She needed to get herself some cigarettes, and soon, preferably before the first symptoms of withdrawal set in. That would have to be her next port of call. Leaning forward in the seat slightly, resting her chin on her hands, she waited for the verdict to come in. It didn't take long. She listened intently, nodding here and there. "I understand." Three years was a long time indeed, and she knew better than to get too excited about any leads now - after those first few crushing disappointments, she was far warier about letting her emotions become too overwhelming. "Benny. Benny Wright. He's about six foot two, black hair and brown eyes - well, eye. He lost one in a bar fight. He's hard to miss." As she had been speaking, her fingers had been busy, opening her jacket and reaching inside; something rustled as she grabbed what she was after. A few pages of paper in a plastic sleeve were carefully removed and passed to Maya. "I wrote down every lead, every scrap of information. It's not much, but it's all I could find." Her investigating had been severely hampered by her need to remain unnoticed. "As for my morals..." She shrugged, black hair rippling against black leather. "Use whatever methods you find necessary. I have no objections."
Feeling eyes on her, and seeing movement, Sylph turned her head slightly to appraise this member of Noxus, this woman who she was being forced to pin her hopes on. She looked practical, but stylish - those silver earring suggested that she was not pressed for money. Sylph, meanwhile, looked somewhat scruffy - her hair could use a proper comb through, her clothes were slightly dirty and visibly worn, and, while she wasn't unclean, or at least not unacceptably so, she could certainly use a shower. The assumption that she was not wealthy was spot on - it was difficult to find a job when you were on the run, and it wasn't as though she had much use for money out in the wilds anyway. She had, however, been saving up for a situation such as this. She hesitated a moment at the question that was being posed to her, though. "Honestly, I don't have all that much money. I have five hundred on me, and I a few hundred more outside the walls right at this moment. I want to be able to give those two a proper burial, but the live ones come first, and I'm not sure I even have enough cash for them. Unless there's some other method of payment we can work out, I'm probably not going to be able to afford it." She had to be realistic - nothing was for free, and her income was mostly whatever she scavenged, looted, or traded for. It could take her some time to save up any decent amount.
Her best hope was that they could come to some other agreement on payment. Cash wasn't the only valuable thing to offer, after all.
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Post by Maya Derleth on Dec 22, 2013 7:55:01 GMT -5
As with everything, Maya noted down the details - Benny sounded like he wouldn't be a problem. However, she stopped when Sylph brought out some notes of her own. She skimmed over them, pleased that the woman had been organised enough to keep track of things and make her job easier. Frankly from what she saw of her so far she was the kind of person she'd like as an underling. Henchman. Employee. Minion. Whatever they preferred to be called. She didn't have everything, but then, she had gotten this much without any resources available to her. Even if it did take three years. She didn't need to note down to retrieve them 'by any means necessary'. That one was easy enough, and ought to make things simpler. Sometimes force was required, and not having to worry about someone else's ethics was preferable.
Unfortunately, there was a catch, and it was one that she expected. Money. She might be able to afford finding the dead ones if the job was a short one, but retrieval of live Pokemon was tougher, and one was definitely in dangerous hands. "No, you are not." Maya said, sighing a little as she did. "I prefer money as payment, but yes, depending on what you can offer, there are alternatives."
"I'm going to make a few suggestions, and when I'm finished, you can say what you like the sound of, and make your own offers. I'm guessing you don't have much in the way of property," Maya said as she looked her over, "so we can probably skip that. If you've got any skills or talents that might be useful, employing them in the service of Noxus is acceptable. Information is also important - anything really that you think could give us an advantage over others. We're also interested in the acquisition of Pokemon." It was a lot of standard stuff, really, but it was best to put it on the table so she was aware of her options.
"A final option is actually joining Noxus. Obviously this is a rather drastic option, and I can't just click my fingers and say 'you're in', but it is one to consider. At the very least your friend Max is with us, so you could talk with him if you like. You don't need to give me a response now, and you can refuse without having to worry about anything, but it IS an option." The gang took care of its own, after all. She didn't really think it was an option she'd take, but it was there, and Maya wouldn't object to having someone who seemed competent in more ways than just fighting.
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Post by Sylph Icaron on Jan 6, 2014 23:15:36 GMT -5
Sylph had been meticulous in keeping her notes - the pages were smooth and clean, the words were written neatly in black ink, and the information was concise and clear, with the date on which each entry had been made carefully penciled into the margin beside it. There was nothing like having the lives of those you cared for to keep you focused and on track. Honestly, her dedication and care almost surprised even her - she very rarely applied herself so completely to a task. It wasn't to say that she wasn't capable of such, just that she was rarely motivated to. It was funny how having a personal stake in things could change the circumstances so much. Her ethics had remained unchanged, though - she didn't care what it took, she was going to see this through to the end. And if people got hurt in the process, so be it. All the better if they were associated with Iskander, in fact.
She had always been aware that payment was going to be an issue, had known that she didn't exactly have all that much to offer. She was relieved to hear that money was not the only option, thank Arceus, though she wasn't sure what she'd be bringing to the table otherwise anyway. The sigh left her feeling slightly nervous and on-edge. Hopefully there was some alternative solution that they could reach. If not, well, then she would be back to being on her own again.
Grey eyes fixed on a streetlight off to the side as she listened quietly, but intently. Property was a definite no - she didn't even have an address, let alone a house, and the few possessions she did have were largely worthless or otherwise essential for her day-to-day existence. She might have more luck with the next options - Sylph did have some skills to offer, and she frequented areas where rumors were rife and information was exchanged as often as coin. Pokemon were also in excess outside the walls, although they were largely rabid and unreasoning, their blood and brains spoiled by the Infection.
Under her leather jacket, all of Sylph's muscles seemed to tense slightly at the last option. The last time she had been in a gang, the experience had not ended well. Besides, alliances could be a dangerous thing in the wilds - being neutral would almost guarantee that you would be tolerated just about anywhere, by just about anyone. If loyalties were added into the mix, things could get messy fast. It wasn't something she could afford the luxury of just now, not without jeopardising the relations and acquaintances she had so tediously formed. Sylph considered her words and her options carefully before speaking. "...I think that joining Noxus is not a suitable option for me right now, but I will keep the option in mind. Pokemon, I can probably wrangle up, so long as you don't mind dealing partly in the Infected. As for skills... Well, I'm pretty handy with a bow, sword and knife, and my fists." She shrugged slightly, and quietly continued. "...And I have another... Less conventional talent." With a brief nod over towards the street light first, Sylph inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes. Her left hand curled into a tight fist, and the light began to flicker. Frowning, the woman focused, her shoulders tensing, and the light flickered again, then sparked and turned dark. Exhaling heavily, she opened her eyes and focused on returning her breathing to normal. "Not much, but stuff like that."
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