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The rumble of the train had done very little to soothe his overwhelming headache that threatened to split his skull like a watermelon. As of late, the Mercenary had run through a string of foul encounters that all had left him worse for wear and with little reward. Kindness could only get someone so far in life before they needed a break from it all. An escape from the so called civilized world and just relax somewhere without rules or regulations. That somewhere was his home of Fumehat.
Before boarding the train from Vantalux, his friend Hilde threatened to beat him over the head with a rolling pin. While he did have a home with the older woman, the young man hated the shining city with a passion. There were way too many Enforcers and being the pinnacle of humanity did little to appease toward the red head's loner nature.
The tower woman glared at him through her dusty blonde curls and crossed her muscled arms over her barrel of a chest. "Yer a durned fool, Kristoffer. Ye have hearth and home here, yet ye persist on goin' back tae that blasted swamp!"
Kris snickered at the woman and turned around on his heel to embrace her in a tight hug that he would only give to Hilde. "You know you're like a Mother to me and I've been nothing but grateful ever since you saved me but..."
"Aye, I know." She sighed in dejection and grabbed his shoulders to push him away. "Just go. Take yer time, but ye best be comin' back now, y'hear me Merc?"
"I will. Who else is going to feed me when I'm broke?"
She gave him a swift bop on the head which rang in his ears and Kris boarded the train. A train which was now slowly coming to a halt in the dreary swamps that he was oh too familiar with. He was raised here by his mentor and learned most of the tricks in his trade while surviving in the poverty of the murky town. The young man rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned loudly before standing up to stretch.
"God damned old man and his stupid cargo..." He grumbled. "Thank the gods above and below that Ezra took the kid with him. He seems more attached anyway."
The thought of the sandman with a basket on his back, sauntering through the Outlands with a sleeping child put a smile on Kris's face as he lazily departed the train. The humidity greeted him like a blast furnace that made him cough profusely in the awful smelling air. It was like sulfur or brimstone...either way it smelled like someone farted in his face. The boards below him creaked rudely as he stepped upon them, threatening to give way any moment and send him to a watery, disgusting grave. Such were the dangers of the place and that made the weak into something else. Something stronger than those pampered and pompous jerks who lounged at Haven or the stuck up aristocrats of Vantalux.
The last time Kris had been to Fumehat was maybe a month or so...back when he had a run in with Riina. He sighed at the mental image of her crying and running away from him in fear. It made him want a drink, so the Merc's first stop would be the bar that he had first visited on his lost stop. Maybe the girl still worked there? Who knew, but Kris needed a glass of whiskey to drown out his latest problems before heading back to pick up his next bounty from Hilde.
He ran a hand fondly along a mushroom that gave Glowcap it's name with a smile on his face as he came across the bar and stepped inside. There were a few patrons already nursing some drinks at their tables, but Kris ignored them all and sat at the bar. To his mild disappointment, it wasn't the bemusing cat girl who greeted him as he asked for a mug of whiskey. The drink was poured and the Mercenary would slowly unwind and get drunk to the point of forgetting his troubles. At least for the time being.
Post by Riina de Bastille on Dec 30, 2019 11:32:42 GMT
WORD COUNT: 1011
TAGGED:
TAGGED: Fluffy
Riina was sitting in the back corner of the bar, with a small plate of food in front of her, occasionally reaching out with her fingers and picking up a bone with a few strips of meat on. Gnawing at the meat, she lifted the piece of bread with cheese plopped into the center and gnawed some of it to combine it with the meat. In front of the plate, Riina had a small cup of beer. As the girl swallowed, the bone covered in meat, along with the bread & cheese, was placed back onto the plate as she grasped the mug, lifting it to her lips and taking several large chugs. Placing it down, the girl suppressed a burp almost entirely, just blowing out a little of excessive air through her nose. Content with how her life was currently going. To any that would look at her, she was rather difficult to recognize.
First, hanging by the girl's hips at her side, were two rather large Kama. Their blades inversed, curved, looking like small scythes. The glint of the edge, almost making the weapon itself speak. Words that could reap life itself. The blade an extended metallic color reaching several centimeters above the edge itself. Above the blade's edge, the metal itself turned raven dark, just as the few locks of hair that escaped from her hood. The metal had several inscriptions and appeared to be mastercrafted specifically on request. The handles were wrapped in what appeared to be black leather, tightened around the handles to give Riina something to grasp onto easier. At the bottom of said handle, was a small metallic vanta ring, into which she could attach the long chain that was hanging a little further down than her weapons. Currently, the chains weren't attached to either of the Kamas. In addition to the kamas, Riina was wearing a long, sleek, hunter's cloak. The hood was pulled up over her head, making her kitten ears appear like a pair of odd bulges in the cloth. Tied together at the front, she was somewhat hiding the cloth she was wearing underneath the cloak. Not that it was the same rags she wore before, nor that she was deliberately trying to hide, she just liked the sensation of a cloak wrapped around her...
Such passed the morning in quiet contemplation. Wondering precisely what her life was going to be now. It was clear that she was entering a new era for herself. The first era, she had been a snot-nosed child in a noble family. Hidden away, sheltered, protected and loved. In the second era, Riina had been running around aimlessly, attempting to fight the entire world. Running from what she had been prior, making a distance between herself and the things she cared for, so that she wouldn't get them hurt. Spending so long in that shit hole, had changed many parts of her, though she had taken great pride in keeping the parts from her prior life that she enjoyed. Reading, hygiene, amongst several others. Not to mention the fact that she had very refined mannerisms if she chose to portray them. Something that may come in handy in the future again. This next era, was going to be different. Now that she had claimed herself a place in this world, there was a ground base from which she could begin operating. From which all her aspirations would be within reach, given enough time and effort. A fourth era to be claimed as a result of the third. Revenge on her uncle. Reclaiming her family name. Making the civilians acknowledge her value. Gaining power, fame, respect. Until she could continue with the things that she knew her parents did well. Establishing a community and making it better through effort and care.
The future would however have to wait, as the present came knocking rather unexpectedly. Raising her head from staring into the endless swirling foam of the beer in her mug, she noticed a certain redhead walking into the bar. Finger's grasped around the mug tightly, as her eyes narrowed in mild distaste. Clearing her throat, she didn't even rise from her seat, likely making her seem either taller or smaller than what she actually was. "Quite a lot of nerve coming back here, after what you did so brazently, pervert." Riina spoke in a sharp tone, her whole body turned towards Kristoffer. Raising the mug to her lips, she took the final sip, emptying her mug, before slamming it down onto the table, crossing her arms over her chest. One leg crossed over the other, her foot on the floor was tapping impatiently. The shin high boots having just enough heel to make the tapping very noticeable. "I suggest you leave before you cause more scenes." All he could see from under her hood, was from her nose and down. Her lips moving delicately, despite spitting absolute poison in his direction. As they came to a hault, there was nothing but a pleasant smile. Her right hand, crossing down to her left hip, having a loose grip so that, if it became necessary, she'd be armed the moment he started to move.
The atmosphere was tense, with most having completely stopped their conversations at what seemed like an audible threat from the huntress. Perhaps the sudden silence was what made the tapping sound many times louder than it actually was. The barkeep behind the counter simply shook his head, before addressing the little huntress, several moments after the threat had been spoken. "I don't know what business you have with this man, Huntress, but if you're going cause trouble, take it outside." With the way the emphasis had been placed on huntress, it seemed likely that the barkeep knew the cloaked figure rather well. Perhaps someone who came here often. It'd be unlikely for Kristoffer to realize who Riina was by her voice alone, though not impossible. Riina knew this for a fact, deciding to toy a little with the bowl-for-brains mercenary.
He couldn't quite get the kid out of his head for some reason. The Merc knew that she was safe, of course, in Ezra's care but he wasn't sure why there were so many people chasing after her. With Ezra's background in a Mercenary family, there was little chance that they would keep up with him and his new wagon, but Kris would eventually have to take the heat off of the sand man...but why though? What did Kris owe either of them? Couldn't he just take the kid to Hilde and offer her sanctuary? But then the kid might turn out like Kris himself...and would he really want that?
"Damnit, I'm thinking too far into it. Damn Vagrant can handle the kid himself." He muttered to no one in particular.
Most of his coin was already gone from the job. Paid upfront as usual, but this time he gave most of it to Ezra...which was rather uncharacteristic for Kris and he hated himself for it. Damned brat with her googly eyes. The thought made him chug down the whiskey, which burned his throat enough to make the young man growl in pain and slam the mug down.
His cloak had been torn apart in the escape and Hilde hadn't been able to fashion him a new one, so he only had a simple stitched up blue shirt and a plain brown leather jacket over it. His pants still had gashes from the encounter in the forest, though stitched up well by Hilde, and his boots had traces of mud caked on them. So this was looking to be a long overdue vacation...in fact Kris had never relaxed properly in his life, now that he had a moment to think about it. He enjoyed the occasional drink here and there, but never enough to get him full on drunk.
Well, except for that one time with Riina. Though that had ended poorly for them both in the end. He sighed, rubbing his temples in regret at the memory of her running away from him. The tears in her eyes and the soft squeak of terror in her voice...it made him feel sick. Though he had pursued a dubious life that would involve harming others for his own gain, Kris never wanted to go out of his way to hurt anyone that didn't deserve it. Still...the thought of her never quite left his mind. He still remembered the feel of-
His mind snapped awake from his musings as a voice called out from across the bar. A voice that practically spat venom in his direction. Kris tilted his body around on the wooden stool to regard a cloaked figure seated at one of the far tables. Though most of her features were covered by her outfit or the table, Kris could deduce that she was extremely dangerous by her tone alone. No one picked a fight in Fumehat unless they were stupid, on a job, or seeking a vendetta. Though the Merc couldn't fully understand why someone would pick a fight with him, especially with the way she worded her statement.
"Excuse me? From where I'm sitting, you're the one causing a scene."
The barkeep mentioning the word 'Huntress' sent alarms off in his head that made his whole body freeze. A Huntress was looking to start something with him? Just what in the hell did he do to piss off a Lawful? It didn't make much sense to him at all! His scarlet eyes narrowed in contemplation as he counted the methodical rhythm of her boot tapping. She wasn't playing around...he could see every subtle move that she was making and she was ready to kill if necessary.
"How about instead...I come over to your table slowly. Hell, I'll even let you disarm me if that's your intention. I buy you a drink and you tell me why I'm such a perverted scumbag. Does that work with you? 'Cause I'm really not in the mood to start a fight right now..."
Post by Riina de Bastille on Dec 31, 2019 22:45:21 GMT
WORD COUNT: 1008
TAGGED:
TAGGED: Fluffy
The girl could practically smell the scent of terror upon him, as he realized that it was a legitimate hunter sitting there in the bar, calling him out. Apparently, to him, that held way more threat than being called out by the street kitten. Afterall, the girl had called him out back then too, and at the time, he seemed more irritated and prideful than frightened. Now, however, he seemed to be very interested in avoiding a confrontation. Utterly amusing. In an elegant, slow fashion, the girl began taking off the hunter's gloves that she was wearing, leaving them on the table. Inspecting and cleaning her nails, still looking straight down into the table in front of her so as to not reveal her identity to him. Without replying to his inquiry, the girl just sat there for a few moments, letting the situation stew upon itself. All the gazes seemed directed at him at the moment. Afterall, if a lawful was sitting there telling him to leave before causing more trouble, she had a bit more weight behind her words than he did. An exhillarating change of pace. Besides, Kristoffer had seemed like the paranoid and anxious type. Chances were that, by taking it slow and calm, as if she was in complete control of the situation, he'd be reaching the conclusion that she was. So The Huntress simply remained put, letting out a disinterested sigh, stretching her body some. Then, just as the tension would've reached a point where it started to ebb into awkwardness rather than tension, the girl spoke.
"Last time you were here, you were mere moments away from being charged with adultery towards an unwilling.." The girl spoke in the calmest of tones, folding her hands onto the table as if she was his personal judge. So completely calm, so completely cold, her words were like icy daggers sent flying to dice into his skin. In a curious demeanor, her head tilted slightly to the side. "Is that what you're attempting to do to me, by offering me drinks? A repeat of the last time? Have you no shame in life, Kristoffer?"The Huntress was putting everything on the tip of a blade. Letting him know precisely how much she knew, still without revealing anything about herself. Speaking around him, making sure that he alone was precisely aware of the crime that the huntress was referencing. Unfolding her fingers, she reached out for the mug, bringing it to her lips and taking a casual sip. Dubbing her lips with the back of her hand, the mug was placed down in an easy and relaxed fashion. Raising a hand, with the index finger raised, The Huntress was gesturing that she had a bit more to say, extending the silence. Extending his time on the grill. If Riina had read the situation correctly, he'd be more than willing to listen to the allegations. Perhaps in the hope that the masked huntress would reveal her own identity to him, or how she had come to the information that she had. Instead... "So as you may understand, you're the one creating scenes." There was a hint of victory in her voice. The Huntress simply continued down the path that she had started on earlier, wringing Kristoffer through the woodworks.
"Fortunate, though, that you're unwilling to get into a scuffle. The door's right there, leave through it and all's mostly well."The huntress pointed over her shoulder, by extending her thumb and raising her arm, not once turning her back to the mercenary. Everything in her body language spoke of how ready she was to take him down if he made a wrong move. Given that she was sitting with her back against the wall, he couldn't even tell how many stars were present on her uniform. The Huntress wouldn't even let him reply to her comment, before she, with a hint of confusion in her voice, as if she couldn't understand what he was still doing there, continued battering him. "I'm certain you haven't forgotten the door's position. Get out, get lost, and avoid showing your face here again, pervert." Arms crossed over her chest, as she began drumming into the wooden table with three fingers from her left hand, the right hand still hovering above the vanta weapons by her hip.
The bartender stood baffled for a moment, before looking over to Kristoffer. "He's the one? Aw by my beard, old granny Hyuin quit because of your indecencies man.. Now I have to do the laundry by myself." The barkeep knew Riina and had noticed how it had affected her. Even if the girl was, at this point, mostly taking her revenge on Kristoffer by playing theatrics, they both knew that what he had done could've easily been many times worse. It had been wrong, unacceptable. Knowing that this was what Riina had going on, the old barkeep had no issues assisting her with grilling the mercenary a little. If he had known about the girl in the basement, though, things would've been much, much worse for him. Riina shook her head. "The real reason I want you out however, is the other little incident that took place. The one in the basement. Misfortune seems to follow you, Kristoffer. Whose innocence are you going to claim next?" This reference was vague enough that the others in the bar wouldn't have had a snowballs chance in a furnace to figure out what the huntress was talking about. With the way it was spoken, with the way she was shaking her head, Kristoffer knew. This little lawful huntress knew of one of his dirty secrets. The atmosphere in the little bar had reached it's climax. It was clear that everything would be decided by the next few moments. Would Kristoffer bow to the huntress and leave without causing a fuzz, or would there be a scuffle..? Everyone was waiting with bated breath.
The girl wouldn't budge from her stance or her words. She merely sat in her seat, watching him and judging him from something that...he honestly wasn't sure about. How did she know about Riina? For that matter, why was she going out of her way to insult him in such a manner regarding a girl that few in the town would care about? She was putting way too much emphasis on his so-called perversion...
He stood up from his seat and stepped toward the table with slow, deliberate steps. She was starting to push his buttons. Kris rested his hand on the pommel of his sword, but didn't grasp the handle in a threatening manner. His eyes were narrow and glaring at the hooded figure, never looking away or blinking.
"The last time I was here, I was charged formally with nothing. However, I did do something that I deeply regret to this very day. I broke the trust of a potential friend...and I hurt her feelings." He sucked in a breath and steeled his resolve in front of this accusatory stranger. His...judge. "A part of me was hoping that she was still here, so that I could find a way to make it up to her. She had suffered more than I could realize...and I only made things worse for her."
His tone and method of speaking was different than his usual rude speech, but this girl in front of him gave off an air. As if she demanded respect even if she didn't show any. Like a noble. It irritated him to be talked down to and he doubted that she cared about his own feelings, but Kris would stand his ground. He ignored the jape at him in favor of silence, keeping his focus maintained squarely on her.
Though each insult did hit him hard, but he wouldn't visibly show it. Most Mercenaries were evil or despicable in some manner and these insults wouldn't phase any of them. But Kris was different. His empathy was his weakness. Vincent tried to cut that out by ending the only love he felt, but the results only strengthened his resolve. It did him little good, however, when confronted with a sin he had committed that he could not escape from or redeem. So Kris silently took each painful word with quiet suffering.
But the nail that sealed the coffin was her next accusation. One that made Kris's eyes widen and his mouth to drop slightly. The girl...the one that the Assassin had claimed. Someone that he couldn't save and yet he had profited from...like a real Mercenary. At this very moment, her skin was most likely stripped by terrible creatures and her bones decaying in the murky waters of the Fumehat swamps. Her family never knew her fate and it was all Kris's fault.
Was that why he dedicated himself so strongly to protecting that child? To keeping her and Ezra safe? Some misplaced guilt that he held for his lifetime of regrets?
"No..." He shook his head at the girl. She was far too amused for this to be some job. It felt more personal than that. Kris turned to grab at his pack resting against the bar and opened it up. Inside were four corked bottles of varying alcohol. He brought them out by their necks and approached the Huntress's table without a word before setting them down in front of her.
"I kept these in the hope that I could return them to her. The girl I had wronged. Because I am guilty...I'm guilty of not being strong enough to save that little girl from a monster when she was perfectly safe away from her family."
Kris rested his hands on the table, leaning forward slightly with a softness in his eyes at the stranger. "And I had found a spark of hope in this shit hole of a town...a spark named Riina. And I never saw that spark again...so no. I won't be fighting you and I'm also not leaving unless you throw me out. Should be easy for a big shot Huntress like you."
He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her and looked at one of the drinks. "So, are we going to be civil about this or are you going to give me a thrashing?"
Post by Riina de Bastille on Jan 1, 2020 1:19:41 GMT
WORD COUNT: 1006
TAGGED:
TAGGED: Fluffy
Heart was pounding in his chest. His cheeks seemed flustered. It was the odd thing about Kristoffer, The Huntress had thought, even when they had first met. For someone doing the line of work that he was, he had seemed far too emotionally injected into his work. Feeling sad for the little girl that had been murdered by the assassin. Seemingly feeling remorse for having climbed into bed with the naked feline. Feeling disgusted with himself for having laid hands on her. At least, so it would seem. Even so, the clockwork inside his head was ticking rapidly, trying to put all the clues together. How much information this huntress had, where she could've gotten said information. It was an amusing little spectacle, right until Kristoffer got up from his seat and began walking over. The Huntress's arms quickly unfoldedfrom over her chest, now immediately resting on Vanity, the vanta weapon that had been bestowed upon her to do her job. Eyes narrowing, her demeanor got a little less passive and a little more active. As if the girl was prepared to get to her feet and fight him if it became neccessary. For now, however, she remained seated in the same general position. Though clearly poised to strike, like a viper, completely hooked back and raring to go. The mercenary began speaking his words. Funnily enough, no longer suggesting anything about buying drinks. His emotions were overflowing and he was spouting off information left, right and center. "Pretty sure the suffering wasn't that bad. Though you definitely made that morning worse."
The Huntress mused musically, dropping another mild hint that there was more going on underneath that hood than Kristoffer had initially realized. Though, as the subject moved to the girl whose body he had dumped in the waters of Fumehat, his tone shifted as well, so it wasn't much of a surprise if he hadn't caught on. Bringing out the alcohol from that night to the table, the huntress tilted her head sideways, bemused. Some of those had been quite the enjoyable drink to consume. Other's had been far too sharp, making her grimace and almost vomit. While the huntress wasn't going to deny some amount of responsibility for what had happened that night - afterall, she had gotten herself drunk beyond compare or reason - Kristoffer had had every opportunity to leave her alone. The huntress somewhat understood, that Kristoffer probably had projected some of the emotions from the girl dying in his arms to the huntress herself. Realizing that there was another female, wounded, mere moments from him. That knife the huntress had taken to the shoulder had caused some problems for the remainder of that month. If not for her own ability to heal and recuperate, she'd likely have failed the hunter's trials due to the damage sustained.
Sighing softly as he continued to speak, she shook her head from side to side. A chuckle leaving her lips, as the dumbest grin spread on her visage. "Dear lord, you're such a mushy mushy for a mercenary, you know that, right, Krissy-poo?" Leaning back into the chair, the huntress ceased resting her hands on the weapons, instead having slapped her own forehead, laughing. Waving her hand in the air, as if people were to pause talking, while catching her breath, she called out to the bartender. "Kim.. Kim, did you hear that? Apparently I'm the spark of hope in this shithole!" Leaning a little too far back, the chair she was sitting in almost tilted, causing her to double forwards not to tip. In that motion, the hood fell from atop of her head...
Two cat ears pointed directly at him. A pair of amber feline eyes stared at his, though her expression was still one of hearty laughter. Rubbing her eyes, she was almost crying. "I wish you could see yourself right now, hahaha..." A few moments of hearty laughter passed. The ones at the other tables rolled their eyes, as if their entire exchange had been nothing but an enormous joke. Which was probably fortunate, since if the wrong people got the right information about a girl not saved by Kristoffer Noir, it'd not have been too difficult to do the math and make the equation work. Placing her elbow onto the table and her chin into her open palm, Riina leaned forwards a little, eyeing the alcohol though quickly growing disinterested. "Nah. Keeping old alcohol to make up for your massive blunder isn't going to cut it. In fact it may be a little creepy." Riina nodded, self assured, as she seemed to think for a few moments. Trying to find something that he would have access to, that she could want. In earnest, though, she already knew precisely what he could help her with. A little something from a forgotten time. "Though, there is one thing you could possibly do for me. I'm not all sure how well it would go over though.."
Mercenaries would have access to bounties, that much was certain. Riina knew that there had once been a bounty on her head. The girl wasn't sure if it was still active, nor how much money she was actually worth. Nor if the bounty had been updated anytime recently, given the fact that she was mostly free to move around as she pleased. So, perhaps if she played her cards right, Kristoffer could make up for all the anxiety he had caused her, by removing anxiety from her shoulders in another form. It seemed only fair to the raven haired feline huntress. "Say, I'd like to have a look at how you mercenaries operate. Be allowed to sift through some of your bounties. There's a certain individual whom I suspect of having one on their head. I'd like to confirm or deny." Riina's lips returned to a smirk. Arms once again crossing. "If you can do that for me, I believe I shall consider us even."
Throughout his years as a Mercenary, Kris had made several idiotic decisions that led most to believe that he was quite the moron. He smiled easy in the face of danger, but always weaseled his way out of trouble when he got too deep. So in most instances he was the underdog simply from how he behaved. Though very few had seen the darker side to the young man and survived...the reason why he still lived. Hilde and Ezra being the only two that he was aware of and they were a special pair of exceptions, but this Huntress was really starting to wear thin on his patience. Though if he went toe to toe with her, then he would not only have to face off against a skilled fighter but also an entire bar's worth of rowdy lunatics. The odds were not in his favor, especially after seeing those dangling scythe things along her curves.
For now, he tapped a pair of fingers out of beat on the table with narrowed, tired eyes piercing that darkening hood of hers. She was really enjoying herself obviously and Kris played along with it if it meant that he would keep his head firmly on his shoulders. The tension built as both parties, lawful and lawless, stared at one another in silence. Only the tapping of a boot and the tapping of fingers heard in the muted air...until the girl started chuckling.
Kris's eye twitched as he gave away a slight sneer of derision at the mockery, but hearing her call him mushy was an odd taunt...
"Krissy-poo? The hell are you on about?"
His brow raised in confusion at the sudden shift in the girl's attitude, as if he was getting mental whiplash. Still, when she was about to fall over, he stood up and reached out to catch her. However he stopped himself midway as she leaned forward and dropped her hood to reveal...
"Riina." His voice was steadfast and held slight elation to it, but there was also a tinge of annoyance all wrapped up in one word.
The same raven hair, shifting feline ears, and piercing golden eyes...it was the alley cat that he had shared a night with. The same one that he had just now professed his admiration for. Despite himself, Kris could feel his cheeks and ears burn with reddening. A wily cat who had played him once again.
He stood with eyes wide as saucers with his mouth agape at the sudden reveal of the cat girl, which may have drawn the attention of a few patrons but he didn't care at the moment. Utterly dumbfounded and looking every bit like a fool as his hands opened and closed uselessly. If it was any other person then Kris might have walked around the table and given them a hug, but Riina was a different case. Especially after their last outing, that would not be a smart decision whatsoever. If it was also someone lesser mocking him, Kris would have lost his patience at this point.
Instead he breathed a sigh of relief, ran a hand through his hair, and sat back down heavily in his chair. Resting an elbow on the table surface, he relaxed a cheek on his fist and snickered amiably. He couldn't help but be in high spirits to run into Riina again after all of the horrible encounters he'd run into.
"Still playing me, eh? I'm not surprised...damn cat."
Kris reached for the bottle of whiskey and popped the cork, unceremoniously downing a hefty swig and gulping rather loudly. In his reverie, he looked down his nose at the pondering Huntress. He'd ask her about that some other time, since it was most likely a long story. For now though...she had a strange request. He slammed the bottle down and wiped the excess from his lips with the back of his hand before leveling his gaze upon her, though this time it was a bit softer.
"Yeah? Well, I do owe ya a favor. So what can I do to help? I've got nothing but time for now 'fore I head back out."
Her request wasn't a light one. In fact, it was downright dangerous and impossible without the help of a Mercenary. A civilian wouldn't be welcome and an armed Lawful might be considered hostile if brought to the wrong Merc Den...like the one in Fumehat. Kris crossed his hands over his face and interlaced the fingers in contemplation.
"You're asking a very dangerous thing, Riina. This...must be very important if you want to risk the consequences. Bounties aren't put out in public like your Hunter contracts are. Only those with the Mark of the Marauder can get into the Dens...though we can bring others with us."
Kris pulled his sleeve back to reveal the blackened tattoo on his wrist with a steely, serious glare in his eyes.
"Though there is one way...the main Den in Vantalux is run by my foster mother. She trusts me and so there may be a chance for you to check out the main files. We'd um...have to hide those weapons of yours by the way and it would mean that you'd have to trust me."
He grinned at Riina and held his hand out across the table to her. "If you can keep your head down though, I can get you to those bounties. But it'll also mean taking a train with me to Vantalux. Sound good to you, Huntress?"
