RP:No False Moves

Part of the Lunar Tides and Silver Linings Arc

Synopsis: Tiber sends word to Meri to meet him. She does, and Tiber has a favor to ask of her. The two bust in to talk to the man who betrayed Tiberius' and Lanara's favor. Tiber leaves a message for Skitch, and Meri takes the innocent guard doggo. She deserves it, especially after falling down some stairs. Thanks, Meri. Tiber owes her one.

A Dark Alleyway: Cenril

Tiberius had sent word through a single note. One that was etched with ‘Meet me at the alleyway next to my apartment complex in two days in the evening. Please.’ and signed with his name--Tiber. In two days time, he would wait. The man did not request much from Meri, so what an odd request it would be. The man stands in the dim-lit alley as it blocks out the rays of sun. One leg was kicked back against the side of his building, and a cigarette lay in his fingers to take the edge off of what had been an underlying rage. Lanara had been off on a journey to Rynvale. Something about an amulet, and finding a smith to carry out the task. Tiberius was left to carry out the dirty work of interrogation, so Lanara and Tiber’s plan would not blow up in their face again. There was a problem, however. Tiberius would not be able to carry out this interrogation without possibly killing a man. Who might have been able to control the Catalian? Well, the only trust he had was with Meri. The witch’s best friend. He knew that the tattoo artist would do a lot for Lanara, and so he knew that she would fit perfectly for the job.

Meri was not always the best about putting a lot of detail into her notes. There were times that notes were written with the mindset that maybe they will be intercepted, prompting her to be intentionally vague. The blonde assumes that this is what Tiber must be doing as well. Even if the lycan male was prone to asking for more assistance, Meri would have still offered it. He might be cranky, she may enjoy harassing him, but he was still Lanara’s fellow and therefore if he needed help? He would get it. Meri would meet Tiber down the alley at the time he presented, having no trouble in locating the lycan male. As the blonde approached, Tiber would notice that Meri is dressed accordingly for the job. She’s got on black pants, black boots, and a long sleeved black shirt. Perfect for hiding any of the blood that might spatter her clothing during this interrogation….not that she had a full realization that this is what they were doing. Meri was more sinner than saint, however, and assumed whatever dastardly deeds they would get up tonight would require a stealthy outfit that was not prone to drawing attention. “Tiber,” Meri states quietly once she is close enough to do so. “What’s up?”

When Meri approaches, Tiber smiles, but not as warmly as he should--considering the task at hand. Meri’s appearance is noted, and for the lycan, he is actually pleased. “Hey,” he gently says while he blows out his last drag, and he flicks the cigarette down to smoosh the rest into the cobble below. “You’re the only one who I could think of. Trust, really.” The man pushes himself off the wall and stands tall rather than that hunched, lazy position. “Context: I don’t know if you know how Lanara and I met, but we met through a slave trader--not the most romantic, I know,” before Meri has time to throw a frown at him, he holds up his hands, “I paid to free Lanara, of course. Trust me, I’m not some slave owner,” he defends himself. The blonde runs a hand through his hair. “Thing is, Lanara and I have a lot of background history with this slave trader. He’s always trying to do Lanara wrong--only because he wants to get under my skin because I freed her. I’m sure if he got the chance, he’d kill me.” Pause. “Either way, through history, the guy owed us a favor. He goes by Skitch. When Lanara and I went to request said-favor, he did us wrong--again.” There was a grit in his teeth for a moment. “Skitch set us up. Told us that we would be meeting a guy we requested to meet by the name of Alastor. Instead, Skitch sent a random scum-bag slave buyer and captured Lanara to make her be his wife. Completely battered her until I was able to... kill him," he says those words cautiously to the woman before him. "You and I both know, Lanara has been through the ringer--I had to. Lanara -wanted- me to,” there was a moment of regret and remorse for even letting Lanara in that situation anyway. “I want to kill Skitch.” He stares at Meri. A very dark and tense gaze. There was a long moment of silence before saying, “I can’t, however. Not yet. I still need him to give me the connection to Alastor. So, here is my request: I need you to come with me. Scare the hell out of Skitch to demand a true meeting with the real Alastor Ambers, and prevent me from killing Skitch because… I will, and I’m fully capable of it, as I’m sure you know.” He was a lycan, after all. “Lanara told me not to kill him--right now, that is.” Truth was, Lanara was right in this situation. They needed Skitch alive. A tongue pokes the inside of his cheek as he observes the woman in front of him before looking over her head to make sure no eavesdroppers were dawdling. “Tell me now, and you don’t have to come, but Meri, I don’t know anyone else I can trust besides Lanara, and I’m not putting her through the risk around that slave-trading bastard.”

It would be clear by the expression Meri wore that she had never heard any of this story between Lanara and Tiber. Slave traders? What? Which might make her reaction to the detail that Tiber murdered someone a bit harder to read. Her expression is shocked, but not because Tiber killed someone. That is not something Meri cares about. Yet Meri is not one to brag about the more sordid details of her life, this was not the time for bragging anyway. This was the time for listening. “Well this is really all a lot to process.” Yet she did not fault anyone for not telling her this prior to this moment. While Meri did not fully understand all of the connections in this plot, like who Alastor Ambers was in this mess...she understood enough. Skitch needed to leave, for now, so that a meeting with this Alastor could be arranged. Was Alastor really that elusive? Meri could not help but wonder, at least for a few seconds. “This is the first that I am hearing about all of this. So you’re just going to have to forgive me if I seem a bit lost when it comes to almost everything you are speaking of currently? But...I think I understand enough that I can safely say that I should be able to help you with this little problem. I might have a bit of experience in this area…And I suppose this is where you go ahead and lead the way?” Meri gives a slight wrinkle of her nose. “And maybe give me a few more important details about your friend Skitch on the way. Is he a lycan, for example? A mage? Him being a slave trader tells me a lot, but not enough.”

Tiber studies Meri’s face carefully. It was -a lot- to process, and he knew that. Though, there was a lot of context. He guessed he could have made it vague, but then again, it was probably best that he let Meri know the truth--in case something happened to either Tiberius or Lanara in the future. “It’s… a handful. I know. I don’t expect you to remember every little detail.” The man then gives a firm nod at Meri’s suggestion and he pulls his chin in gesture for her to follow. They walk the Cenrilian streets. His hands stuffed in his pockets idly as they saunter casually. “Skitch,” his voice lowers at the name, for the sake of listening ears, “Not a lycan. He’s not a mage either. Really, he’s just this wealthy loser with too many men watching due to his coin. Think of him as a… mobster. Like the head leader of a gang. He has these people who… will do anything for him, so mages or lycans could be involved if things get too out-of-hand? Who knows what kind of men he has up his sleeve? Most of those men know who I am due to history with Lanara. I'm not a friendly face to them, though most of them know not to mess with me unless.. I harm him.” Pause. “In Skitch’s office however, is a guard dog. One that is actually really obedient as he was trained to be. You can tell the dog doesn’t want to be under Skitch’s hand because Lanara pulled some empathetic ability on the dog. We both know the dog wants another life… Lanara’s not here to bring out the best in the dog, so the dog will -have- to attack us if we do something stupid. So… we need to figure out how to get rid of the dog without hurting it.” They begin to come to a slow as there was an opening to a darker alley. “Skitch will also have men outside the door. They will know why I am there and be on extra guard. We need to either knock them out or smooze our way past them.” Tiber gestures his head to the pitch black alley that was very, very thin. “Just down that alley his office is. Any ideas to take tweedle dee, and tweedle dumb out?"

“You are starting to put a lot of stipulations on a job that I am helping you do as a favor,” Meri is smirking, but there was a bit of truth to her statement. Don’t let him kill Skitch, don’t hurt the dog. Not that Meri wanted to hurt the dog...but…! Details such as these would have made a difference into what Meri brought to this whole affair. That would not stop her, she would not be able to boast the title of rogue if she was not quick thinking in tight situations. “Yup,” Meri says, an idea quick to come to her mind just because the alley way was so dark. It being narrow, well that could work to Meri’s advantage, so long as she thought her every move through. “If you can’t keep up, then stay back and out of sight until I signal you to follow.” There was not a lot of time for Meri to explain what she was imagining as a plan, but Tiber would soon come to a clear understanding of what the blonde meant by ‘keep up or keep back’. The blonde steps into the shadows of the narrow alley and vanishes completely from sight, at least to the eyes of most. If Tiber is able to figure out where his rogue companion is depends on how far he has gotten with his discussions with Eleanor. If she has not gifted him with a certain rogue charm, then Meri will be lost to him for the time being. She is there though, creeping ever so quietly toward the entrance of this office while also keeping a keen look out for these two goons that Tiber has spoken of. Meri blended in perfectly with the shadows and that was a detail she was going to use to her full advantage, as soon as her sights are set on the two goons. As the theme of the mission tonight did not seem to include killing every living soul they encountered, Meri would have to time her attack just right. So she would watch their movements, waiting for the correct moment to burst forward and take both men by their hair, so that she can crack their skulls together. This means she is waiting for them to be in fairly close proximity to one another, and probably distracted by conversation. She’ll take whatever window she can get though. Perks of Tiber bringing another lycan to the team, it would be hard for Meri to accomplish this without that added speed and strength. If she was successful, great. If not, they might have a problem on their hands as verbal alarms may be sounded.

(1 of 2) Tiber shrugs. “I’m just trying not to tick Lanara off,” for once. Then again, Meri should know Lanara’s temper, and if they hurt a dog? Well, that would not go over well. The man continues to follow Meri into the shadows until she warns him to stay back if he cannot keep up. Tiberius gives the woman a peculiar look before watching the woman disappear. Yeah, he would not be able to keep up with that one. A mission where the two were not allowed to kill people for once. A challenge in itself to not let anybody scream that they are there. The man lingers in the darkness as he watches that faint light of the two guarding the door. Then, hands are clutching hair and bonking noggins. Both the men offer a cut-off ‘hey’ and then a grunt as they tumble to the ground.. A small frown with a raised eyebrows is given before he follows her lead. That was the Catalian’s cue to move from the shadows. “Perfect. Follow me.” The man then cautiously opens the door to the building. As the door opens, there is a shadowed staircase with a huge man at the top. One with spiked knuckle cuffs. And a smaller woman who is cackling like a hyena like the huge man is the funniest man on the planet. Tiber’s eyes look to Meri before his fingers move to the two at the top of the staircase. A gesture of his chin and he slips past the door. Quiet as he stays close to the walls of the staircase. With a stealth, the lycan moves up to instantly take the bulky man head on at the top of the staircase. The two watchmen are hollering at this moment for backup.

(2 of 2) The bulky man throws a spiked bunch towards Tiber’s shoulder which connects, but with that punch came a very feisty lycan who used the momentum from the man to throw him down the stairs. Before doing so, however, the blonde yells after the psion below. “Watch out!” The big man then tumbles down the stairs due to his weight--not able to balance himself correctly. Bulky man is easily out of the picture. Meanwhile, there is cackle girl who is now moving after Meri in a gymnastic fashion. One of flexibility and stealth. She does a backwards cartwheel on the stairs, so her feet can knock Meri down with Mr. Bulky Guy. Gymnastic girl was left, and then beyond the door at the top is the sound of a barking, riled dog, for Skitch would be beyond that door above. Best hurry before the other crew shows up.

Even if Lanara and Meri were best friends, the witch’s temper was less of a concern for Meri than it was for Tiber. She did not have to return home for the witch. Besides, even friends have differing viewpoints, Meri just adopted a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy for most of these instances. She could humor Tiber’s request about the dog though, who really wanted to hurt a dog? While these thoughts raced through Meri’s mind in an instant, none of them were verbalized to Tiber. They were on the move and Meri was not the sort to gab needlessly in this moment. The woman would not remove herself from the shadows, they worked to her advantage as so long as there was darkness nearby, she was nearly impossible to see. That brief trip up the stairs though, her position is made more obvious by the fact that she has very limited options in the direction that she can travel. She had one choice, up the stairs, and this path was currently being temporarily blocked by a man toppling down the stairs. In Meri’s attempt to avoid being barrelled over by this burly man, she is forced to step out of from the shadows and looks like a mass of darkness standing upon the stairs...Giving Gymnastic girl window enough to actually knock Meri back down the stairs, sending her toppling onto Mr. Bulky. For a few short moments, Tiber is going to have to deal with the entire situation. At least until Meri recovers from her backwards fall down the stairs. It could have been worse for her, at least Mr. Bulky broke her fall. When she does recover? Gymnastic girl is the target of her ire. It will like two unseen hands wrap themselves around the girl’s ankles and rip her feet straight out from underneath her. Was she fighting a ghost? She may as well be at this moment. Unless Meri’s current foe has a way to stop the psion’s telekinetic assault, she’s going to be drug forcefully down those stairs, head smacking every step on her way down. In the mean time, Meri is trying to peel herself up and off of Mr. Bulky so that she can make her way back toward Tiber.

Tiber looks wide-eyed as Meri is knocked by Gymnastic Girl. The flexible woman is cackling as the blonde shadowed blonde falls back on Mr. Bulky Guy. “You two are pathetic,” the girl would scoff before she felt a grip on her ankles. The woman looks down, but she does not have enough time to react, for she was swept from underneath her feet. Her head bounces along the stairs. “The. Hell. Is. Ahh!” With a couple more thumps, that Gymnastic Girl is now out cold as she lies on the ground next to Meri’s feet. Tiber gazes at Meri and gives a shrug. “Well, that was… easy?” Except for Meri’s fall. The dog that was beyond the door begins to scratch and howl on the interior. The Catalian looks over his shoulder down at the psion. “You think you can do that freeze thing when we open the door? Will it hurt the dog?” Tiber would wait for a response, and then he would reach for the door. The canine behind the door snarls his teeth and lunges forward towards the Catalian. Of course, Tiber would take the blow if the dog jumped on him because the lycan could probably shake the dog off easily. Biting, vicious dogs were not really in his top tier of things he preferred to deal with. Behind the dog, however, is a balding man that looks pretty amused right about now due to the fact that Lanara, the animal empath, was not here to save the dog from attacking Meri or Tiber. “Tiberius Lowell!” Skitch would chime snarkily in the background.

Meri gives Tiber a look when he mentions that this has been easy so far. She’s the one who fell down the stairs! She gets to decide. Beyond that look, the blonde answer’s him with a light shake of her head to indicate that ‘freezing’ the dog should not actually hurt the creature. Nothing is spoken, every word uttered is another second wasted and another moment that they might get caught, or that things might go sour. Tiber opens the door and a large black cane corso is what is going to be lunging at him. The dog is fast, but Meri is also pretty quick with her abilities, given that they are utilized with her mind. However, since Tiber has gone in first and she is entering the room shortly behind him, it’s not immediately clear to the blonde if she managed to suspend and restrain the dog with her telekinetic abilities prior to the man being bitten. A sweep is made of the room, trying to determine if there are any more enemies to be dealt with or if they have left the two behind them and hopefully unconscious at the base of the stairs. If Meri sees no one, that dog is going to be levitated toward her and set on his feet right at Meri’s own boots. The blonde does not relax her telekinetic hold on the dog, not yet. She doesn’t trust him yet, but Tiber did mention this dog does not really seem to want to be under Skitch’s control. So what is Meri going to do while she let’s Tiber have a little conversation with Skitch? She’s going to try and convince the dog that she’s alright by talking to him in a calm and soothing voice. Despite her soothing voice, everything she says seems to be about the dogs relationship with Skitch. Was Skitch mean to the poor pups? He was? Not everyone is like that though. Skitch was just a real ugly bastard. And Tiber was about to teach this bastard a lesson. Yes, that is the sidebar Meri is having with the dog. She’s also of course trying to split her attention between making sure that Tiber does not actually kill Skitch….while also making sure that they are not jumped from behind from any of their four earlier problems. Maybe Meri should have tied them up...

(1 of 3) Tiber knew that look, for he, most of the time, got the same look from his girlfriend in certain situations. Meri -did- fall down the stairs, and Tiber somehow made it out clean. Unfortunate, but Tiber still had his fair share of bloody tussles in his life. What was a little tumble rumble down the stairs? Besides the risk of breaking a bone or the neck? Okay, it was pretty messed up to say ‘easy’. Anyway, they move through and as the dog begins to attack, the psion is quick with her telekinetic wit. The dog is halted, levitated, and gracefully moved. As for Skitch, Tiberius is quick to stride to automatically lay hands on the older, pathetic man. “What, Tiberius? Don’t want to have a civil conversation about your girlfriend being swept off her feet?” The balding man taunts the sandy blonde lycan, and a very sinister expression washes over the lycan’s face. “You’re lucky you’ll still have a tongue to even have a conversation,” the Catalian taunts as his hands are wrapped around the fabric of Skitch’s torso. “Oh, Tiber, you and I both know you don’t want to do that. I’m the only gateway to the thing you want most, and you know it,” the crook of a man was talking about Alastor Ambers. “But that doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Because I won’t let you, and I know you won’t kill me because you’re smarter than that.”

(2 of 3) “Bet.” Tiber is quick to respond with a spit that flies on Skitch’s face. Tiber breaks away from Skitch before circling the man, and the lycan does not have a clue on how much longer Meri could hold that dog who she is talking to, nor have a clue when the other foes will catch up with the two. At least Meri was having a decent time with the dog, he assumed. “You’ll set up an ‘actual’ meeting with Alastor Ambers, and maybe I won’t kill you in the future. Lanara made it clear not to kill you, but I have other thoughts in mind.” Tiberius takes out a pocket knife from his pocket and flicks the blade open. Skitch looks at the blade that is shown. “What…? Gonna stick me?” Skitch mocks. “Do it, Tiber.”

(3 of 3) One thing about Tiberius Lowell is that he was very patient when a job was on the line. He took the bounties and would torture them in slow ways rather than raging how he did in break-ins or at the local taverns. What happens in almost a blink is a callused hand is thrown and directed towards the slave-trader’s hand to pin against the man’s oak desk. Skitch begins to scramble from the chair, but the lycan has a solid hold on his hand. Skitch was weak--let’s be honest--normally Tiber was getting his you-know-what kicked, but for the sake of pressing stories forward, Skitch was going to be easy. The blade that Tiber holds lowers down over Skitch’s ring finger. “You sure do have a pathetic crew. Probably should run a tighter ship around this place, eh? Now, you will contact Alastor, set up a meeting, and send one of your morons to drop word off. If you don’t, I’ll pick everyone in this place off and make you wait in anticipation when I will show up wherever you are next. I’ll stalk you. Afterall,” amber eyes glimpse at Meri, “You know what I am now, don’t you?” There was a beat in satisfaction now as Tiber runs the blade over the man’s ring finger which makes Skitch cry out. A crimson puddle seeps into the stained oak and a lonely finger lies on the table. Yikes. “And for our trouble, thanks for the ring.” Skitch does not say whether or not he would get in contact with Alastor, but only time would tell before Tiber would return to Skitch again, so the Catalian assumes so. It was probably best to leave now, anyway before others showed. “And we’re taking the damn dog, too,” the man notes before nodding to Meri and offering the ring. A silver band with a sapphire gem in the middle. “Keep it.” Time to go, so they can leave the slave-trader in his agony.

Meri had plenty of experience in the area of intimidation, but the rogue woman knew that this was not her message to send. Besides, she was curious to see just what Tiber is made of….So she watches, she stands guard, and she tries to befriend the dog. Nothing that she is seeing or hearing seems to unnerve the blonde in the slightest, suggesting that this is not the first time that Meri has been in this situation. She has been able to fall into the roll well, without needing to ask for too many details nor requiring instructions at every turn. Tiber can take from that observation what he might. While the woman is known for running her mouth, it seems at this exact moment she proves that she is capable of being stone silent. There is nothing that she needs to say, no snarky comments, not rating on performance. Not even when Tiber says its time to go, no talking then, and it’s not because she is shocked or upset by what she has been pulled into. Tiber is answered with a nod and Meri turns to leave, taking the dog with her yes. It’s not released from her telekinetic hold just yet. That would happen once Meri was back at her own home as the dog is probably spooked, despite Meri’s efforts to make friends. Releasing her psionic hold on him now could mean that Meri ends up chasing him through the streets at night. Meri makes her way out the very same route that they came in, still mindful of the enemies. It will not be until they are back out onto the streets that Meri will speaks to Tiber, her voice barely above a whisper, “If you don’t get that meeting like you want? You just let me know. We can come back for another more in depth talk if we need to. And I would know what to expect this time around.” There is something menacing about the smirk that pulls at her red lips, but that smirk is quite short lived. “Hopefully it don’t come to that, though.” There paths would part on that note, Meri had a new dog to get home.