Breathe

[Death's Apprentice]

Closed. Takes place following Dance with the Devil (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?22375-Dance-with-the-Devil).


"From here on out, you live here in the bar. Feel free to grab your things from your apartment, but I prefer my deadbeats to live in house if they're going to work for me," The words hung in the air, the finality of them seeming to cut off any potential argument. The man who spoke him was a rather burly fellow, his head shaved clean, even as a towel rested on his shoulders. His brown eyes drilled into the very soul with their gaze, even as he seemed to never be caught off guard.

To say Lynura Du'Galle was in trouble was a dramatic overstatement of the situation.

Lynura was the eldest daughter of the Du'Galle family and with it had come heady responsibilities. Her blonde hair had escaped its normal braid, and her clothing was highly disheveled, leftovers from the night before. Were she freshly dressed in her attire one would call her high class, without that advantage, she looked like a streetwalker who had finished doing business. Sitting at the bar she looked at the bartender who was merely cleaning a glass, seeming to wait for what he knew would be some form of counter argument, "You trust me to go alone?"

"Of course, I trust you farther than the other louses, because I know where your family lives. It wouldn't take much time to track them down, and for them to find you either. I can only imagine what the 'Heir of the Du'galle Family' would do to avoid having their parents find out about their latest blunder..."

Lynura's face flushed red in embarrassment, the heat stilling her tongue before she spoke softly, "You did not need to threaten me, I was merely making an idle observation." Her head still ached from the hangover, though the water she had been given to sip was helping on that front, even if it was only a little.

The tender shrugged before he spoke, "I'll have Levi help you empty out your apartment. I figure it'll be good for a few gold off his tab."

Lynura looked to him before she spoke, "Will that make him even?"

The tender let out a loud laugh before she shook his head, "What? No, nothing of the sort, he's in as deep as you are if not more..." She deflated at the comment, the last of her hopes dashed at the thought of that crude form of a man joining her on her trip to the apartment. The last thing she wanted to hear was that she would have to endure time alongside the brutish oaf. "Don't like him?" the tender offered, seeming to read her thoughts.

"If I were to say otherwise I would be lying," Lynura returned.

"He's okay, if a bit dumb at times. Give it time, I'm sure he'll get his head out of his ass before it finally suffocates him," The tender offered.

"At least I have a new hope to await," Lynura returned.

"And that would be?"

"That he suffocates under his own ego before I am forced to endure too many of his crude advances..."

[The Rake]

"Whadaya mean I have to go with the prude?!" The voice raised to an alarmed pitch as a man ran his hand through black locks of hair. The man's blue eyes looked into amber brown before his hands slapped on the counter, "I mean come on, it's bad enough I'm going to be stuck with that snob but really? You're going to turn me into her servant now too?"

"You will do this, because I told you to," The tender responded as he turned to grab another glass. His eyes showed a bit of boredom, despite his conversation partner being in near hysterics.

"No way, I ain't doing it man! You can up the tab higher, just don't put me in a room alone with that harpy!" Levi replied his arms crossing in front of his chest.

"I know who you work for, and if you don't want Lynura to figure it out, you're going to help her," Was the blunt reply.

Levi sputtered at the admission before he shook his head and sat heavily on a nearby table, not trusting his legs to support him. His hand went through his black locks of hair before he said softly, "How in the-"

"You pick a few things up in your years. In my case I know how to spot 'em a mile away. Only reason I haven't contacted them is because I don't think you really want to work for them. Either that or you're too dumb to realize just what it means..."

Levi was biting his lip before he look up towards the back area where Lynura said she was going to freshen up before returning for the trip to her apartment. That had sparked the entire argument which now was succinctly ended with Levi unable to tell the tender "no". Finally he shook his head before he sighed, "You going to always hold that over my head?"

"Probably not, but now that you know I won't have to. The risk would get you killed as surely as Lynura finding out would," The tender replied setting the glass aside. He finally turned around before he came back with a letter and spoke, "Give that to her land lord. Once he sees that he should let her grab her things, and I want you to make sure she grabs everything. She doesn't leave a single item behind no matter how large. I got a wagon out back you can use to carry it back if need be."

"First I'm an escort, now I'm a mule?" Levi asked his jaw hitting the floor.

"Correction, you're a servant. Get used to it, cause 'til you pay this off, you're going to be doing a lot of work. This should be good for a hundred gold, now stop gawking and get the wagon round front, she should be back any moment now," The tender replied slapping the letter on the counter, "Don't forget to grab that, and don't let her see it."

"Just who the hell are you anyways?" Levi asked finally.

"I'm the bartender, what's it to ya?" He said as he looked over his shoulder, "That wasn't a suggestion, get out of here..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Levi muttered as he turned to leave. He sighed heavily grabbing the letter from the counter and stuffed it in his shirt to hide it from the noble girl's eyes. Last thing he needed was her to ask the tender about the letter and get him in more trouble. How the man had dirt on everyone was just annoying, and combined with the fact he was truly stuck without help? There just was no justice in Vorsport. The southernmost port city of Corone was just another prison, and now he was beginning to wonder if that was going to be a trend with him.

Grabbing a mule he quickly lashed it to the wagon before bringing it about and let out another disgruntled sigh. Climbing into the driver's seat he looked into the tavern before he muttered under his breath, "Some days it's just not worth being the best..."

[Death's Apprentice]

The trip was rather uneventful. Thankfully Levi was not keen on talk, and other than the obligatory comment on how she cleaned up nice she was left to sort through her thoughts. It had been at the very least three months since she had been cut off from her parents, and the resulting time apart from them had taught her nothing. If she had any hope of returning home, she would have to figure out first and foremost why she was here. Obviously it had to do with the Gala, for she had been rather rude to the delegates from Fallien. The problem came from her attempt at a joke, that went far too far.

Though humor could hardly be the culprit in such a disaster.

Still the silent trip was a godsend for her. Their trip to the apartment completed she walked into the initial floor and knocked upon the door with the land lord before she sighed. Levi moved up and finally spoke his first words, "Why don't you go on up, I'll talk to the owner..."

Lynura raised an eyebrow at the statement before she managed, "What are you going to do? Assault him with bad breath?" It was only after the look of anger crossed his face that she realized this was possibly the reason why she had been exiled to begin with.

"Look, just go upstairs and get your shit ready. I'm not going to wait for four hours so you can decide if you want to change boots or some stupid shit like that, got it?" Levi replied, his words biting into her as they seemed to echo the statements she had received from her parents. With a reluctant sigh she moved up stairs to begin packing away her things.


~*~

"About damn time she left," Levi muttered as the door opened revealing an older man who gave Levi an appraising look before he moved to shut the door. The young rake immediately stopped the door from closing before he let out a cocky smile, "Hold it there buddy, we haven't even exchanged pleasantries..."

"I don't think I want to, good day," The man replied, as he once more attempted to shut the door.

Levi sighed pinching the bridge of his nose before he reached into his shirt and produced the letter from the tavern. Holding it up he spoke sternly, "Look, this is about rich bitch, tavern owner of Boomtown said you'd want to see this."

"Oh, he did? I'll give you a second then," The man said swiping the letter from Levi's hand faster than the thief could pull it back.

What is with the people in this city. It's like I can't spit without hitting some all powerful arch mage or something. Next thing I know this guy was a Lavinian Thief that knew Seth Dahlios or some shit like that...

The hand expertly pulled the wax seal apart before with a flick of a wrist he had the paper out of the confines of the envelope. Finally he read over the letter before he raised an eyebrow and shook his head slowly, "Guess I do owe him a favor or two...alright she takes all her stuff with her, but I don't want to see her ever again."

"That makes two of us," Levi muttered as he moved to leave the door. The owner let out a dark chuckle before the door slammed shut. Moving up the stairs he couldn't help but feel like he was marching towards his death.