RP:Keptin Brain

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

Summary: Meri and Callum seek to further certain discussions with Eleanor.

The Office, Cenril

The Office was about as quiet as one would expect on a Sunday evening; while there was a diverse variety of women on stage and an equally varied scattering of patrons in the club, there were more empty chairs than occupied ones, with Eleanor taking up residence on a stool at the bar. A midnight-black cloak was wrapped around her, effectively covering up the scars and faded tattoos that marked her skin, and her flaxen waves spilled out over the hood as it puddled generously around her shoulders. Stiletto boots were hooked around the rungs of her chosen stool as she nursed a tumbler of whiskey and a normal cigarette, and occasionally she lifted a hand to discreetly touch the runed iron band across her brow, the turquoise gem in its center inert and dull. Tuna was not present, but anyone with access to the basement was likely to find her there instead. A loud, heady beat was being played by the musicians, and although the spell-rogue was hunched over the bar with a weary wrinkle to her forehead, she moved slightly with the rhythm, foot shifting over the rung as she waited patiently for the night to unfold.

Meri adores Cal, really. She does. But that does not stop her from trying to tease him a little bit while they are en route to The Office, with the hope that he may end up blushing just a little bit. Her behavior will stop with time enough for him to maybe regain his composure before they formally make their way inside but until that moment comes? She is probably telling him a made up and over-the-top story about what Sunday nights at the office are like. It's crazy. There are boobs everywhere, people making out, people taking their clothes off. This story will stop once they are within thirty-feet of the entrance to the establishment. Meri opens the door for Cal with a bit of a sly grin and motions for him to go ahead and enter first and they will be greeted with...nothing like what Meri was describing to Cal. Of course by now he probably knows Meri well enough to know when she is being a brat who deserves a bit of eye-rolling. Meri would follow after Cal and it would not take long for the spell-rogue to be spotted. She's greeted with a charming from a distance, moving barside shortly after this greeting,"Oi."

Callum was indeed blushing all the way to The Office. Damn it, Meri. While Eleanor’s business might not be booming today, the streets of Cenril were as a lot of people used the weekend for their shopping trips. A lot of these people overheard Meri and her tales of boobs and naked bodies and so of course said people all took to staring at the couple. “Merrrriiii. Shhhhh.” And then they got there… and nothing was happening. Cal’s nose wrinkled up, his lips twisted into a wry smirk, and those ocean blue eyes of his side-eyed his woman. She knew the look. It wasn’t one of anger, but merely ‘I’m going to get you later for this’. With a nod, he’d greet Eleanor too and approach her with the she-devil, “Hey.”

Eleanor arched a brow as she heard someone enter past the particularly bored bouncer at the door, and as she angled a gaze over a shoulder, her full lips immediately twisted into a lop-sided grin. “Weel swatch whit we hae haur,” she said as though she hadn’t been expecting them to show up just in case anyone else was listening, her celadon eyes bouncing between the other blonde to share a knowing look and the still-mostly-unfamiliar Callum. Hoping to change that, she indicated the nearby empty stools with a toast of her drink before taking a swig of the amber fire liquid, thereafter swiveling around on the stool to lean back against the bar, crossing one thick thigh over the other. The way her cloak draped over her knee, a hint of azure ink could be seen coiling around the inner part of her right knee before she nonchalantly rearranged the folds of the inky black material. “Come tae join th' ceilidh, eh?” El smirked, tossing her gaze back toward Meri. “Drinks ur half-price, but we've got better mince in th' office.” This time her attention was directed toward the corridor down which the manager’s office could be found, but given the scarcity of flesh-oglers holed up in velvet-draped booths, there really weren’t all that many people keen to eavesdrop if they would prefer to take up one of those instead for some quiet conversation. After all, who in their right mind -really- wanted to hang out in that stanky, dank office? El would like to think she was more in her right mind than she had been in weeks, disregarding the drink in-hand, and chose that time to gesture toward one such booth with her cigarette-wielding hand. “Unless yoo're guttin'. Their wings arenae half bad, if yoo're intae 'at sort ay hin',” she added with a shrug and a dry chuckle. “Ah ne'er understuid Hudson's obsession wi' thes strange ... bar scran.”

Meri would let her gaze drift briefly to Cal, trying to discern what his preference was in terms of where to sit. The bar worked just fine for Meri, it might work for Cal too for he could have his back toward the few people that were in the joint. The manager's office was not really a preference for Meri, she has visited that room plenty of times and really has never enjoyed being plagued with the issue of where to sit, as the couch was not safe. The booth that Eleanor gestures at? It worked just as well for Meri too, ultimately the blonde shrugged to show her lack of preference for where they sat. "Could go for a glass of whiskey," Meri voices but her gaze is locked on the tender, suggesting that the order was really for him to fill. "Pass on the food though. Cal and I really wanted to just drop by and follow up on that discussion we started having down at the Lazy Eel." We do all still agree that place needs to be burnt to the ground, right? Right. "Been a couple of weeks and we didn't want to see any opportunities fall through the cracks, if you know what I mean. So here we are." Meri does not settle into a stool at the bar yet, she waits. Eleanor and Callum both had a say in where they talked too, y'know.

Callum definitely does still agree that the Lazy Eel needs to burn. Burrrrn. The bar also worked perfectly fine for him, so he took a seat, leaving Meri in between him and El. “What she said,” was added after Meri, and merely a shrug was given to the wings. Bar food was… meh. “You didn’t seem thrilled, really, with the little bit of help I offered, so I wasn’t sure if we should even bother.” By help, he meant that water globe he gave her to help with the thirst. “But, with the lack of things of that nature going on right now with Meri and I, and with you being busy here, she figured we should probably stop in and check in.” There was hesitation, like he’d say more--should he tell her about the house yet? Maybe not just yet--and ultimately, he’d just fall silent with a pensive look on his face.

Eleanor had, in fact, greatly appreciated the water globe, but conveying the extent of that did not come easy to the former slave. It wasn’t easy for her to ask for help at all, from anyone, not unless she had something to offer in return - nothing worse than having a debt with someone (of course, El rather liked other people owing her, when it came down to it, but that was neither here nor there). She was picking up what Meri and Callum were putting down, and she settled back into the stool, propping an elbow on the bartop. The bartender came down along the bar from the other end where he’d been washing some dishes and put two clean tumblers on the bar’s surface in front of the bar’s owner and her companions, soon thereafter producing some whiskey after hearing Meri’s mention of it, leaving the bottle and glasses to return to his task at the other end of the bar. With the music that continued a handful of meters away, that was as good as being out of earshot. That was Eleanor’s cue to level a sidelong gaze toward Callum, and her lips curled into a devilish smirk. “If yoo've got access tae a ship, loove, 'en yoo've got th' job, nae need tae pander wi' wee gab.” She wanted him and his help, just as she wanted Meri and hers, and that was her way of asking for it. Eleanor was trying to build something, the way she knew how to. “Ye nam yer price tae move th' product, an' Ah'll see whit Ah can dae tae match it.” It seemed a fair enough way to go about negotiating the terms, and she punctuated the offer with a swig of her drink before tossing an inquiring gaze toward Meri. “Whit sae ye, ye ready tae start makin' bunsens oan thes adventure?”

Meri 's gaze is frequently shifting back and forth between Callum and Eleanor, she is positioned between them and plotting with the both of them. Periodically this swiveling of attention does break so that Meri can sip from that whiskey she ordered. "We've got access to someone who has a ship that already routinely goes between Cenril and Rynvale and I suspect that as long as he felt like he was getting a fair shake down for his efforts, he'd be rather inclined to help us. Depending on how sweet the pot is, I am sure he may not even care to know too much about the cargo he is moving. That is just my speculation, we have not spoken with him yet. We didn't want to be too forward with any of our plans, as it did not seem like things were even close to set in stone based on our last conversation. Overstepping our reach, stepping on toes, yada yada." Meri shrugs, letting the focus of her baby blues come to rest on Cal as she presses on, trying to determine when she has said enough and when he'd like to chime in. "But then we got to talking about this whole venture and I mean...The whole world is ripe for the taking, really." Yes, Meri is suggesting a bit of thievery. Why not? "And if we -do- have a ship that is good for transporting goods around the area...Be real easy to unload goods we obtain in various locations...Once they're not so hot." Were the establishment more crowded, Meri would not be speaking so freely. She is still speaking in a hushed voice, it would be hard for those passing by to really hear her over the music and even Cal and El probably have to lean in to hear everything she is saying.

Callum nodded along as Meri spoke, chiming in himself once she’s finished. “It may take a little bit to get things sorted with this guy--hopefully not too long--but, in the meantime, I have a place.” He paused, leaning in a bit more closely, “I’ve a place in Sage that can be used as a safe house for whatever it is you decide to transport. It’s a bit far inland, of course, but no one’s going to be looking in the forest for that stuff--trust me, I live out there long enough to know. We’ll be using it for Meri’s business as well that comes in and out of Larket. It can be made safer as well by having someone we all trust live there to keep up appearances. Plus, I frequent there enough to tend to the bit of gardening I’ve left there, so there’d always be someone higher up checking in on them.” If Valrae hadn’t gone off and disappeared again, she almost certainly could’ve been this person, but… Oh well. “It’s more or less empty, but can be refurnished however needed. Meri’s been there just recently and deemed it well enough to fit the purpose. She was the one that suggested it even.”

Eleanor nodded to Meri, recalling the mention of this other, mysterious third party ship’s captain, and with her tone equally low and conspiratorial in about as casual a fashion as rogues could manage, piped up with an, “Ah sae,” as she shifted attention next toward Callum. Absorbing what each of them had to say, she found herself more than pleased with the results of this rendezvous, and her full lips spread into a dimpled, wicked grin. “Guid, guid,” the rogue leader affirmed. “Currently we've got it kept in puckle different places, but as we rearrange some ay uir priorities, thes place in Sage main be mair than ideal.” The spell-rogue hinted at her own priorities, and what her next step was as a guild leader and the Oracle’s eye. A beat passed, then, “Ah can hae a body ay mah wee jimmies meit wi' ye tae sort it th' details tae gie it moved. In th' meantime, whit else can ye teel me abit thes ship ownin' mukker ay yoors? Anythin' Ah need tae ken abit heem?” Eleanor understood the point of Meri and Callum being her “middlemen” to Brand, but nevertheless she was keen to know more about the person in whom she was putting her trust, however indirectly.

Meri nods in acceptance of most of these details, having no further interjection to provide at this time. They would have to further sort out the details but it was certainly progress, and all of this progress was hinged upon getting Brand to agree to this. Meri sounded confident, but there was only one way for them to find out these details. To talk to Brand. Speaking of Brand, Meri does not have issue with offering him some additional details for "Captain Brand, of the SS Tranquility. You may or may not have seen him at Hudson's wedding, but he was part of the dance with us lovely groomspeople. Not really sure what other details you are hoping to get on him? Most important thing is that as long as he's paid, he'll move the cargo, we won't have trouble from him, and the Tranquility can haul quite the load. And it can take a beating, been on a few wild rides on that thing. I don't think this is a decision that you will regret." Meri looks to Cal, silently asking if there is anything else he can think to add about Brand, while she lifts her whiskey to empty it in a few quick gulps. "We'll get in touch with him, let you know what he says as soon as we know."

Callum was wondering the same sort of thing as Meri: just what exactly should they tell Eleanor about Brand? The raven-haired male turns around on his stool, pressing his back to the bar as he eyed the place in silence while Meri took to speaking about the ship captain. “What’s important is that he’s loyal--especially where cash is involved--because he’s got a crew to take care of. Meri’s been on more than a few adventures with him and his girlf--.” Cal stops himself before he goes any further. Do not mention the redhead. Do -not- mention the redhead. Sorry, Meri. Please don’t cry. “--with Brand and the Warrior’s Guild. The long and short of it is: he’s trustworthy and he doesn’t take crap from anyone so your merch is in good hands.” It might seem like Cal knows more about Brand than he’s really letting on, but… that would require him to spill some of his own secrets to Eleanor and he’s not quite ready to do that just yet. “The way I usually look at it is, if Meri knows they’re worth it, then there’s not much to debate about and everyone goes on about their business.”

Eleanor nodded again, finishing off her whiskey and nearly spitting it all out again. Hudson’s wedding. That dance. It all seemed a million years ago now, but she was at least able to - however vaguely- put a face to a name now. The SS Tranquility. She’d heard the name before, but couldn’t for the life of her recall where. Tranquility … Eternity … what was it with boys and their boats? El didn’t have the answer to that, but grunted out some kind of affirmation nevertheless. “Och aye, guid, guid,” the spell-rogue offered up. Her gaze slid slyly toward Meri then, as if sizing up the female in the wake of Cal’s praise, or perhaps just checking her out. She knew of the woman’s talents, and there was no dispute coming from her on their value. “'en it's aw settled. Spick wi' thes Keptin Brain.” She tried, she really did, but her accent just brutally murdered the poor captain’s name. “Ye can fin' me haur, ur, uh -- downstairs.” The rogue leader gave Meri a pointed grin then, before her hand absently went to the necklace tucked into the cowl of her cloak. The basement of the Office was undergoing renovations, but Meri was likely to find more than just some construction materials in the subterranean depths of the cabaret.

Meri cracks a bit of a smirk at the way Eleanor butchers Brand's name, close enough for Meri's liking though. It's not like she was calling him Bryan. Mention of conversations that should take place downstairs is met with a bit of a lofted brow, the query answered as Meri finds her way to her feet but opts to linger immediately beside her stool for any final sentiments that the group might have. "I mean, yeah. I got no problem heading down there and talking to you when the time comes...to an extent. But I'm going be honest with you here. If Cal and I go out of our way to chat with Brand? And he is agreeable? And we decide that we are going to be going forward with using Cal's property as a storage facility?" Which one way or another is bound to happen, as one way or another Meri is rather inclined to be lifting items from shops. Because why not? As she said, the world is ripe for the taking. "I mean there is not going to be too much I am going to be willing to talk about on that front without him there. So unless he'll be welcome to that conversation..." Meri sort of shrugs.

Callum got to his feet as well once it was clear that Meri was getting ready to leave. He’d let her speak her bit about him, ocean-blue eyes shifting back and forth between the two blondes. Eleanor likely doesn’t realize what sort of value he places on that house that he’s just giving up ever so freely for use. She doesn’t get that it was his first place here in Lithrydel, the very thing he slaved day in and day out for, scrounging for gold here and there as he worked his way in with the merchants, to make his way up the food chain so to speak. Eleanor doesn’t know what sort of priceless thing just fell into her lap--and she likely won’t -ever- know. But, Meri does. “That thing I just said? About Meri? That goes for me too,” he says finally, with a calm, yet somewhat stern tone, if only because he’s a businessman that likes to be taken seriously. “She knows everything about me. Every-frakking-thing.” Cal lets El put two and two together; he -is- Meri’s boyfriend, so… that probably means he’s pretty frakking trustworthy too. If he’s not there to discuss things then, well, Eleanor might not have a ship captain or a safe place to stash her stuff.

Eleanor helped herself to a long, lingering smirk that she paired with an equally slow look in both of their directions, and a husky chuckle soon came tumbling past her twisted, plump tiers. “Nae one's pittin' ye tois against each other, jist stoat yer tittes awreddy.” Unlike the herb man and his psion lady, she wasn’t ready to leave just yet, and poured another glass of whiskey for herself before addressing their concerns. Her grin remained, but her tone was honest and accommodating, “Sae th' tois ay ye ur a package deal, ye dornt hae tae make sic' a hin' ay it.” The problem with their implication however was that the basement wasn’t open to just anyway -- not when it was in the process of being linked to a very particular guild hall that happened to be all the way in Vailkrin; as such, not just anyone could go waltzing around in that space, and she now leveled her pale, mirthful eyes toward the storm mage. When she spoke, it was to the other blonde although her own seafoam gaze didn’t waver from Callum’s darker oceanic blues. “Whit dae ye hink, Meri?” The sonsie-bodied spell-rogue’s smirk blossomed into a dimpled grin, crooked though it was as she playfully sized up Callum. “ ‘hink he's ready tae be a body ay us?” For the intention of joining her growing guild, she’d still prefer hearing back on this ‘Keptin Brain’ situation, but she was still keen on finding out if there -was- any interest in Cal to join. Her gaze eventually slid toward Meri once more in order for her to add, “Ye ken Ah want ye baith, Ah've ne'er bin shy abit 'at - heel, wasnae Ah jist sayin' th' other day …” Eleanor’s attention drifted back toward Callum, and the playfulness of her expression was effortlessly replaced with a serious one, as if her mask was lowered just a fraction for his benefit. Her tone dropped, became huskier as a result as she offered up an almost coy, “Ye ken Ah want ye tae wark fur me - we make it official, there'd be nae reason fur us tae keep onie secrets frae ye - but if nae, Ah cannae guarantee thaur willnae be things she cannae teel ye.”

Meri understood the implication of what she was saying quite well, she had the notion in the back of her mind that not everyone would be welcome downstairs. Meri was not trying to force Eleanor's hand on this matter, but it was Callum's home they were plotting with and if Cal was not welcome downstairs then bare minimum they would discuss it elsewhere. He always afforded her respect and she was inclined to give him the same, especially with his possessions. Of course that did not mean that Meri was not trying to hedge the conversation into him being welcomed amongst the Rogues Guild, if Cal expressed an interest in such things. "I think we should call him Sprout." Her gaze shifts between Callum and Eleanor, looking thoughtful a moment. "But we can always reach a decision when we come back to discuss the situation with the ship. For a conversation that one way or another, I'm going to want him in on if we are looking to move forward as discussed."

‘Work for me’. That phrase didn’t sit quite right with Callum and he tried not to let it show as the two blondes joked back and forth. He stood there in silence for a few moments, considering the spellrogue’s heavily accented words, first eyeing the bar, then Meri, then the speaker of that phrase herself. “I won’t work -for- you. Those that I work -for- do not gain my trust or any semblance of friendship that might be hoped for at some point.” His tone was a rather serious one, but he soon let out a sigh, and the severity waned a bit. “I won’t work for you, but I’ll work -with- you.” There was a difference between the two, between working with and working for, and he wanted it made obvious. He’d let it sink in before continuing, “We’ll deal with Brand and find you soon enough.” Here he’d try to offer Eleanor a smile in spite of that businessman demeanor, then tapped Meri on the arm before heading towards the door.