RP:Assassin, or Rogue?

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

Summary: Mahri is looking to renew a partnership with the leader of the Assassin's Guild. Instead she finds herself in the company of Fox, the leader of the Rogue's Guild, and through two competing accents, they come to a profitable arrangement instead - for one of them at least.

The Crow's Nest (Rogue's Guild HQ)

Mahri || The twists and turns weren't altogether unfamilar and yet it still took longer than Mahri would have liked to get where she was going. Some things had changed since she'd last traversed these streets and alley ways, but they were still familiar enough that when she approached what she knew to be the hall of the Assasin's guild, the lycan paused, almost unsure before walking in with more confidence than she actually felt. Mahri's nostrils flare, as they usually had when she'd been summoned by Jelko. Not that it helped then or now, she never could pin-down the Guild Master's scent no matter how hard she tried. If anyone happened to be around, she might get a few odd looks when she asked,"Jelko around?"

Eleanor lounged at the table in the center of the great hall, swathed from head to steel-toe boot in black leather that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. A hooded cloak helped to disguise her features, but as the door creaked gently with entry, she snapped her pale celadon twins toward it and the cowl of her hood twisted, shadows shifting around the edges and bits of her nose and lips were caught in the lanternglow. "Nae," she began cautiously, slowly rising from her chair to surveil the newcomer. Standing straight, she pressed gloved hands against the table's surface and leveled a stare toward Mahri. "There is none by 'at name here, loove." A faint frown twitched in a corner of El's mouth as she drew in the unfamiliar scent - perhaps mixed with familiar undertones, she couldn't be sure. "Ur ye lost?" The guild leader tilted her head to one side, brows lifting as she added, "Perhaps Ah can be ay some help?"

Mahri hmm’d softly and let her eyes wander lazily before settling on the map burnt into the middle of the table. She noted the golem and assumed it wouldn’t do anything so long as she was perceived as a threat. So, she didn’t make herself one. Silver-grey eyes drift back to the cloaked woman and she tilted her head. “Ah, aye. Weel. I was lookin’ fer t’e Guild t’at use’ tae be ‘ere. If ye could point me in t’e direction, I’d appreciate it.” That familiar scent might be the sea and tar, or the Hanging Corpse.

Eleanor's sculpted brows shot up even higher to press against her iron diadem as the stranger's accented words came to her. For a moment, there was a flicker of confusion in her expression as the sea and tar and tavern all intermingled. Her nostrils flared a beat, but on the next, her expression was flawlessly neutral. The frown that previously pulled at her full lips had shifted into a nebulous smirk. "Issat so?" she purred coyly. The spell-rogue's head listed to the other side, and her smirk gave way to a broad, almost wolfish grin. Sure, El was no lycan - although she'd come pretty close to bearing a bite mark more than once - but there was definitely a feral quality to the female's gaze as it gleamed in the shadows of her cloak, fixed as it was on her prey. Rather than answer Mahri's request directly, Fox chose instead to pose a query of her own. "Whit business daw ye hae w' th' Guild?"

Mahri would never have considered herself prey, and wasn't aware she was considered that now. "My own," she replied, "an' only tae be talked about wit' t'e guild master." Mahri turned a slow circle, pausing at the door with no handle or key hole. "I'm sure ye un'ertand." It's a reasonable request. "If ye could, pass a message, aye? Mahri's back an' wantin' take catch up." Perhaps they'd been old friends.

Eleanor released a soft scoff, straightening her posture and crossing her arms. "Ah can pass alang yer message," she replied, her tone airy and noncommittal, "but Ah can teel ye reit noo - th' Guild Master has ne'er heard ay Mahri." Or if she had, she was lying. Her gaze followed the other as Mahri approached the door leading to the renovated headquarters, but she knew personally that the woman before her should not have a key (and if she did possess one, what an interesting story she might have to tell, the spell-rogue mused). Sporting a crooked grin, she half-leaned her hip against the table and added a sly, "Per'aps … if ye coods provide me w' more information abit whit it is ye need … this will help jog th' Guild Master's memory."

The woman turns away from the door. Leaning against it with arms folded across her chest and one ankle crossed over the other, she looks relaxed, unconcerned. Maybe an index finger finds it’s way to scratch at her nose, just below the scar bisecting it across the bridge. “Aye, t’at’d make it easier tae be sure, I s’pose,” she nodded thoughtfully. “If ye tell ‘er t’at Puppy’s lookin’ fe ‘er t’en I suppose Jelko, or Mouse if ‘e’s still aroun’ will find me at t’e hangin’ corpse.” She’ll wait to see if there’s any reaction from the shadowed woman, a few specifics she’d tossed in there. Of course Mahri had been good friends with the former Guild Master.

Eleanor let out a slight laugh, the sound echoed by a strange blue crow as it came to settle on a rafter from gods-knew-where. "Och, loove, Ah b'lieve yer info is a wee bit ou' ay date," she confided with a one-shouldered shrug. "There's nae Jelko haur, nur anyain called Moose." Beat. "Insteid, ye hae foond yerself in a fox's den, an' Ah am th' Fox." As if for dramatic effect (okay so definitely for dramatic effect, El can't help herself sometimes) the golem on its dais suddenly whirred to life, rivulets of turquoise energy running through its parts and its eyes lit up with a brief flash of blue-green arcana before taking up a dull glow that almost seemed to throb with life. A gentle hum now reverberated in its constructed wood and metal torso with a low, rhythmic thumping. "Sae let me rephrase ... whit business dae ye hae wi' *mah* guild?"

Mahri wasn’t the least surprised. She was beginning to suspect that more had changed than she thought. She slid a glance towards the construct before wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “Aye, I c’n see t’at.” Nodding to the table the wolf invites, “Let’s sit an’ talk, aye? I jus’ don’ wan’ tae be steppin’ on toes.” Without waiting, Mahri walked over, pulled out a chair and spun it around so it was backwards before straddling it, her arms coming to rest across the top. “Only two people ‘ave I e’er answerd tae in me life, an’ I ain’t planin’ on makin’ it a t’ird so t’is isn’t a request to rejoin t’e guild. More an offer tae ‘ave a partnership, aye? I am tae resume former business practices based out o’ Hangin’ Corpse. In return fae no’ interferin’ I’ll act as eyes an’ ears fae t’e guild; pass on information an’ t’e like when ye be needin’ it.”

Eleanor would be lying if she didn't admit to being at least a little intrigued by Mahri's proposal, but she took her time in settling back into her chair. She even took out a pack of hand-rolled herb sticks and helped herself to one, sparking up a blue flame in one hand to light it with, all before she even began to form a reply. At last, as smoke plumed above the shadow-shrouded woman, she spoke in careful terms, "Sae, ye want tae wark in Vailkrin undisturbed in exchange fur ... information?" The Fox shook her head, shoulders shifting in a suppressed chuckle. "Ah appreciate yer forwardness, loove, Ah pure dae, but ... it's gonnae cost ye mair than yer bonnie words." She took in a lungful of herb, exhaling to the side as she stared across the table toward Mahri, gauging the motives behind her features and committing them to memory. "Afair we settle oan a price, teel me ... whit diz Hoose Dragana say abit yer proposed new enterprise?"

Mahri understands. This is a negotiation. “If ye don’ mind, I don’ like doin’ business wit’ someone I cannae see.” She’ll wait, see if Fox will show her face inside that shadowed hood. “As far as House Dragana; we ‘appen tae ‘ave an agreement, the Lady an’ I.” Considering Mahri had sent Quintessa there to gather information on the former Lady Dragana; Larewen. Thats’ about all she’ll divulge though a touch of suspicion shifts in her silver gaze.

Eleanor clicked her tongue against her teeth, and nodded - but kept the shadow disguise in place, for now. "Sure, sure," she replied, her wicked grin resuming. "However, yoo're in *mah* hoose - Ah wooldnae gang tae yoors an' teel ye tae gie naked oan th' first date, now woods Ah?" In the background, the construct continued to faintly pulse with energy, and the blue crow - Eun, as it was called by the spell-rogue - maintained its watch over the unfolding discussions. "If ye want tae dae business wi' th' Guild," Fox continued slowly, "yoo'll dae it loch thes until we gie tae ken each other a wee bit better." That being said, she mulled over the ideas rolling around in her head, and with another nod, added, "Braw." Beat. "If she has an agreement wi' ye, 'en so micht Ah." But she wasn't done there. "In addition tae yer een--" She gestured with a gloved hand toward her eyes, "an' lugs--" Cupped a shadowed ear next. "I'll hae a bit ay yer coin as well." Fox dropped her fist to the table, rapping her knuckles against the study surface. "An' … in a shaw ay faith, nae only will Ah nae otherwise interfaur wi' yer business in th' Hangin' Corpse, if ye need tae move goods ben Cenril--" Again, her knuckles beat a rhythm into the table, "Weel, Ahm sure we can wark out some kin' ay discount, an' help it stay out ay th' All-Seein' Een." The reference to The Oracle was made with intention, and she wondered if Mahri would pick up on it.

A brow quirked at mention of coin. Of course, it all boiled down to money, didn’t it? “Aye, weel. I was t’inkin’ more along t’e lines o’ Rynvale, Cenril t’en tae Vailkrin.” Anything from Rynvale would have to go through Cenril, “But, t’at’s neit’er ‘ere nor t’ere. I’ll gi’ ye ten percent o’ what I bring in, an’ tavern profit is no’ included.” If they’d had drinks, the lycan would have finished hers by now. Instead, Mahri stares steadily where she would assume the Fox’s eyes to be. Whether she picked up on the hint or not, well, she wouldn’t react one way or the other to name dropping. She wasn’t impressed in the least by a person’s real or perceived importance. That’s probably what either landed her in hot water or made for having some pretty interesting acquaintances.

Eleanor was quiet as she considered Mahri's reply, and when she did speak again, there was still a cautious hesitance to her voice. "Och aye, issat sae?" Beat. "Hae ye got yerself a connection tae Rynvale too, eh?" The spell-rogue narrowed her eyes a degree and brought her hands back from the table to link casually in her lap. "Ah encoorage ye tae be cannie wi' whit yoo're plannin', lass. Th' Oracle soonds loch th' leest ay yer problems reit noo." There was an edge to her warning, and a moment later, she stood from the chair, wood scraping against wood in a rough whine as it was pushed back to accommodate. Behind her, the sentry continued to pulsate with life, its hum a constant reminder that the Fox was not here alone, so to speak. "Ten percent. Ye keep yer tavern tabs, but …" Her gaze bored through Mahri as she added quietly, "Rynvale is off-limits for now."

Mahri paid quiet attention to those little nuances of change in a person’s demeanor and the Fox’s suddenly got rather interesting. She, however, carefully kept her own body language and facial expression impassive when she answered, “Used tae. Was beta o’ t’e pack t’at ran t’ere.” Fox surely would know about them. Most did. That the guild leader thought to set a limit on where she plied her own trade only received the quirk of a brow and a slight nod of her head. “Fae now, Fox. Fae now.” Slowly, the wolf rose to her feet and then her silvery eyes slid towards the golem. “Good bodyguard.” One last look at the hooded woman and the wolf went out the door and made her way home, to the Hanging Corpse.

Fox's stare followed Mahri as she moved, a shift of the shadow-cloak betraying a nod the guild leader gave in return. Oh yes, Fox did in fact know of the pack mentioned; all-too-familiar with its one-time leader too, a memory that had the spellrogue faltering - just a heartbeat. Almost imperceptible with all the shifting darkness around her. But nevertheless, it was there. A kernel of something she'd rather forget. Exhaling through her nose, the figure reached for the nearest chairback, gloved hand gripping it as she spoke to the other. "Ah swatch forward tae th' boons ay thes arrangement," she concluded with, "Dae tak' caur ay yerself." Satisfied their meeting was over and the terms of the agreement would be beneficial to them both - for now - Fox sent a sidelong glance toward the golem, and its turquoise power streams seemed to retreat back into the dais below its vantage. Her crow cawed again as Mahri passed through the door and into the night, the strange blue bird earning a curious look from Eleanor before she, too, slipped from view into the shadows.