PM to join All in a day

[Berend]

"Yea" Berend answered quietly, his eyes more on his feet than anything else. He kept glancing to look at the people passing by, but mostly he just looked at their feet. It was easier that way, he didn't want to be looking into those endless eyes of hers when she refused him. His hand was still held out though, the gold rimmed miza cradled in his palm. The cold weight of it, and his arm outstretched caused him to shake a little, not much but enough to make him uncomfortable standing there quietly as he was while she thought. He forced himself to look at her, watching her features carefully as he withdrew his arm tight to his chest so he could support it with his hip so his hand wouldn't tremble so much. It came right back out when she started talking again, him wanting to make sure she knew the offer still stood. He put a finger into the pouch at his hip, ready to withdraw more, provided her price was reasonable. To his surprise though, she didn't immediately take the coin from his hand, leaving him to shuffle from foot to foot awkwardly as he thought about what she said. "Don't need nothing fancy, just your scratchings will do" Berend ended up shrugging, stepping closer to her so he didn't have to hold his hand out so far, and the move gave him a better view of the materials she brought out. All went unrecognized, but it stood to reason they were important to her work. He didn't watch long though, preferring to focus on her face now that a deal was afoot. Her face has been thus far unreadable, but he could hope that he might spot the hint of this plan going wrong. "Do it out like this, to my new friend, I know you've got stock in the warehouses, had a close look at it myself last night. We could do some cleaning for you, or you could settle whats owed. Either way, be seeing you" Hard as it was, he kept his eyes locked on hers while he spoke, though he couldn't help but to blink a lot. It was all he could do not to flinch away. The coin, all but forgotten for a bit came to mind again, and rather than stupidly continue to hold it out while she wrote, he curled his fingers around it, allowing his arms to drop at his side. With his other hand, he crooked a finger at a man that was a ways down the street, bartering something from a poorly built stall. "Need it taken to that man" Berend scratched at chin when she looked the man's way, focusing on her again as he breathed in deep through his nose. "Thing is, if you could wait a little, I can go get lost before you deliver it, given its' content ye know? Pay it all up front I will too" He showed a teeth with his smile, and his hand dropped down to where he kept his coins in anticipation of hearing the price to be hand. "If it all goes well enough, next time I see you, a round of drinks on me"

[Shakune]

She wanted to bring confidence to this lad, who seemed intensely nervous and barely met her eyes. So she looked strange compared to the average human, but that alone did not explain how his gaze seemed to dart between his feet and the ground.

Trying to ease the mood, she feigned upset at his comment about her so-called scratching. "My handwriting is basically calligraphy." She sniffed dramatically, and then set about writing his letter. She took her time, ensuring that her writing was neater than usual. The message sounded innocent enough -- too innocent, to Shakune. She was familiar with such vaguely worded letters, and knew that their underlying messages were usually far heavier than what the words actually said.

With an ached eyebrow, she completed the letter and showed it to Berend for his inspection. Then Shakune took the gold coin with an easy smile, slipping the miza into her pocket with a casual shrug and a wink. "That fella over there?" She did indeed glance in this stranger's direction, seeing a non-descript male with a beard and shaggy hair. "Fair enough."

Another shrug. This was perhaps the easiest coin she'd ever made, and a little glimmer of excitement set her feet alight. To his suggestion that she wait before delivering it, Shakune nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course." She waved a hand dismissively to portray a casual air. "Perhaps we should sepsrate now, then, and I can wander around for a bit and then make my delivery."

His offer of drinks almost aroused guilt from the courier. She would never usually charge someone a whole gold miza just for just the deliver of a letter, especially for a job where she stood less than fifteen paces away from the end location. "No worries for the drink. You've paid me already." She gave a final nod before turning away from Berend and beginning to saunter off towards the male who would receive his letter.

[Berend]

Berend could only chuckle in response, and rub the back of his neck as he watched her, eyes intent on the way she drew. He had tried scratching symbols before, back when he was just toddling along, but that was with a stick in the dirt, not the small device she now held in her hand. It looked hard cradling it so carefully to write on something so thin. “Could you read it back to me?” His voice was soft, verging on a whisper as he hesitated to even ask while she was so engrossed in her work. If she looked at him, he’d look away, pretending to be focusing on something in the crowd while his cheeks brightened a trace scarlet. Even if she didn’t, he’d change a shade, and feel it, making him cover his lower face with a hand as he faked a yawn. “Sorry.. Yea didn’t mean to interrupt” He glanced again to the parchment, chewing on his bottom lip. It made him wish he’d learned how to read, maybe stayed at the Community long enough to anyways. Just as well, it was probably all for the best. Reading never fed him. Taking his eyes off of the page, he looked at her again, glancing from her mouth to her eyes, then back to the page she was presenting to him. As he suspected, it had that fancy scratching you could find in some petch’s quarters, and was like a drawing really. Kind of pleasing to the eye, so he nodded his head, handing it back to her. “Yea, thats the one, and thanks for this, really, I’ll get going” He didn’t though, hanging around for a few more moments staring at her to see if she might say anything else. This was going so smoothly, and it freaked him out, his heart hammering in his chest, fast too. Sweat even beaded down his temples to soak into the collar of his cloak. Berend was aware of all of it, so after a few moments more of standing their quiet and stock still, he took his leave, walking out the opposite way before turning a tight corner. As soon as he was out of sight of her, he leaned against a rough, wooden wall, and breathed in deeply, waiting there for several moments before peeking back around. If she was gone, he would take in another deep breath before walking back up to where they just stood. It was a cramped little alley that offered plenty of shadows, but none deep enough to make him feel comfortable hunched down as he crept forward so he walked a bit straighter as he neared the street. He stopped when he reached it, leaning out to look in the direction he indicated, trying to spot Shakune. When she started talking to the guy he’d indicated, Berend walked out into the street. He needed to be close when she showed it to him, so he would try to keep behind others as they walked along. This might just work if he managed not to get caught.

[Shakune]

Shakune watched the male go, somewhat... befuddled. He seemed pleasant enough, if not a little strange. Perhaps he was a drunk, or a drug addict, someone whose sense of reality lay in a parallel domain to everyone else's. But who was she to judge? There was a chance to make a profit here, so Shakune decided to not bother about anything else, east of all the mind of new customer.

She lingered momentarily after he had left, ensuring that enough time had spanned between his departure and her approaching of the other male. Even after two or three chimes, she was still lingering at the corner Berend had left her, her black eyes scanning the page of parchment in her hands.

Her target was also moving slowly, milling his way further down the alleyway at a leisurely pace. Another drunk, perhaps? Though the man had seemed sober enough earlier. A business associate, then. But judging by the content of the letter, no longer a trusted one. Sunberth was full of those types; fragmented partnerships that divorced away from each other. Shakune viewed herself as the go-between for such parties. Sometimes it was entertaining to see the back-and-forth that went on between two individuals who knew enough dirty on each other to sully their names even in Sunberth:

If you don't cough up the money tomorrow, I'll tell the missus about that dirty whore you keep hidden.

Yeah? Well if you do that I'll tell your missus what happened between you and that very male cousin of yours.

But the letter Shakune held now was nowhere near as interesting and that, but the pretence was not far off. With a final nod, she approached her target and tapped his shoulder. "'Scuse me," she began, extended out her hand that held the parchment, "letter for ya."

[Berend]

Against that wall, the shadows did not seem deep enough, and his heart beat too loud. Even more so when he peeked around to spot her still there, waiting. He vanished behind the wall as quickly as could be managed, but there was that nagging thought, had she seen him? Aside from his heart, and heavy breathing, there was a quietness to the alley, no scuffling of boots. Not even a whisper of her clothing flapping in the breeze. His didn’t because he was against the wall, and some of it clung tight now that he got a good sweat going. Maybe she just ran off with the cash.. Gritting his teeth, and tightening white his fingers around the edge, Berend looked around the corner again, and this time relieved to see that she was not there. It allowed him to relax somewhat, yet still he kept to that corner for a few moments longer, staring at the end of that little, winding, side street. He waited for her to come around that corner, or even behind him, to tell him that she knew, but as the moments stretched on, her face didn’t show up. Neither was there anyone approaching behind him, though he glanced back more than once. Finally, he crept forward, one foot in front of the other, staying low and keeping slow. Occasionally people would pass by outside, and he would stand up straighter before sinking back down into the posture he had adopted. Meager as they were, he preferred the shadows to the light though soon he would have to leave them anyways. She was out there, with he gold, and all he had to do was take it. This time he peeked out more boldly, leaning against a shacks wall while trying to adopt a casual pose. Someone looking particularly at him wouldn’t be fooled, but maybe it would be enough to dupe a passerby. He only needed to remain here for moments anyways. Fortunately for him, the guy he’d indicated hadn’t moved far, and the woman he spotted from there. She was getting close now, perhaps had already even greeted him, and so that didn’t leave him much time. Leaving the shadows behind, Berend walking into the middle of the narrow street, keeping his head low and eyes forward. He didn’t even try sly stepping now, letting his boots splash in the snowy muck as he moved forward, trying more than anything to blend in. Others didn’t much mind his presence, except for when he got in there way, and he allowed them to shove past him. His eyes as well as focus was solely on Shakune now, especially now that he was close. One step, two, she was an arms length away. He took a large step forward at that, closing the distance with a hand outstretched. Maybe she wouldn’t notice his quickening pace behind her, and if she didn’t, his right hand would grasp her shoulder. His other, now grasping a dagger would press the flat of it against her back. Leaning in, he would say: “Give me all ya got”

oocSo I took some actions in this post that are dependent on how you react, so if you don't see these events happening in this way, shoot me a pm, and we'll discuss!

[Shakune]

The scruffy male stared at Shakune with deadpan eyes. Nevertheless, she extended her hand once again, this time forcing the folded letter onto the man's chest. When she let go, he snatched the parchment before it could drop into the wet snow. He unfolded it, scanned the words briefly, and then peered at her with a snarl. "Are you takin' the piss?" Before she could answer, he was waving the letter in his left hand, his right hand extended outwards stiffly to emphasise his displeasure.

"I dunno." Shakune answered meekly. Sure, she'd delivered things people hadn't particularly wanted to receive before. About a year ago, she had given a woman a package that had contained her husband's index finger. The woman had screeched and wailed, flinging the digit back to Shakune like it was a wet fish. But the wife had nevertheless been expecting such a gift after her husband had crossed paths with the wrong types. But this customer, in the here and now, seemed utterly confused. "I was told it was for you."

His rage enflamed even more. The male glanced, panic-stricken, to his left and right, before tugging at shakune to draw her closer to him. "I'm a petching stone mason, about the only honest businessman in this damned city. And you're trying to sully my name, aren't you? Why?"

The courier raised her hands to portray her innocence. Had she got the wrong bloke? No, surely not. Berend had pointed this man out only chimes ago. Perhaps this whole palaver was a prank? Maybe Berend was standing behind her, pissing himself with laughter as he watched her flounder and struggle.

Well, petch that."

She glanced behind herself, hoping to spot Berend so she could catch his eyes, silently ask what the petch!? But he was nowhere to be seen. "Look,"" she retorted, turning back to her disgruntled client with a newfound confidence and persistence, "I was told to deliver this to you personally. Ain't my fault if you don't understand what's about."

He opened his mouth to throw out some poisonous reply, but the bearded fellow standing opposite Shakune instantly seemed captivated by something behind her. His dark eyes flittered from the courier to the street behind. Shakune did not have time to investigate; before she even turn her head, something was pressed against her back and a hand clasped her shoulder.

Give me all ya got.

For a tick, Shakune did not react. She simply stared at up at the stonemason client, who was slowly backing away before he high-tailed it out of the alley. Then she realised the situation she had found herself in: Shakune was being robbed.

This had happened before, but only once. And she had been with some friends at the time, so the kid who had held a broken shard of glass to her had been chased away before he could even lay a finger on her coinage.

And then she realised who had just spoken to her.

"Berend?"

So it was a case of a client turning into a thief. How unexpected. "Y'know, giving people money and then robbing it off them probably isn't the best way to go about your line of work." She wouldn't usually speak so boldly to a man with a knife to her back. But she could remember Berend's earlier nervousness, though of course that could have been a rouse. If it wasn't though, maybe she could break his confidence now. Surely it would be hard to rob someone if you could barely string a sentence together. "And you bought me that drink earlier. The best possible outcome of this is that you remain slightly out of pocket. But--" She tried her best to throw out a casual shrug before Shakune began to rifle through her pocket. Retrieving the gold miza he had given her earlier, she reached her arm backwards to return it to Berend. "This is all I've got."

[Berend]

Berend smiled, and took a step closer so the grip was a little less awkward. The dagger he kept where it was, wavering between them as he adjusted his hold to the side of her shoulder. Her height made that a bit of a problem so he held her gingerly as his thoughts were more on his other hand that had a far better chance of keeping her peaceful. “Lets get a little further on, yea? Then, you know.” He muttered just behind her, pressing against the back of her right foot with his own. The shadows were deeper there, and they wouldn’t be so near the hustle of the market which would suit him just find. It might even keep her from getting any ideas. So, if she moved, he’d move with her, taking it step by step in a way that kept him from breaking contact while remaining quiet while she talked, his smile faltering. He hadn’t put much thought into what happens next because it was surprising it even got this far, and what about that man. His grip tightened on Shakune’s shoulder as the other hand moved away so that the dagger was no longer against her. “Here, yea” Berend dared to look around for a moment and was comforted a little that he could not see anyone, nor could he hear anything besides what noises they made. The noises of the street they had been on were hardly perceptible now, making it almost quiet in the alley. His breathing was too loud for that, though he could hardly hear it over the thumping of his heart. He was behind her with all the advantage he could want, and yet still she unsettled him. “What about that other job? That one you had this morning, yea?” There was a hesitance in the way he said it, something he couldn’t hide because he was unused to this sort of thing. So much easier it was cutting purses that confronting them bold as can be in an alley, but it seemed right at the time. His arm was starting to ache from the awkward angle, and his hold on her lessened a little. The other that he kept out in front of him was growing heavy too, reminding him to make this quick. “I don’t want any trouble, but I got to eat, and drink, and keep warm, same as you, so give me what you can. Going to be another cold Winter”

[Shakune]

"That's not how my business works." She grumbled, more irritated that he had bought up her lack of payment for the job this morning rather than his continued attempt to rob her, "the sender pays me, not the poor bugger who receives the letter." Shakune shook her head, at the young man's naivety, at his nerves.

Deep inside, Shakune was also nervous. She had been robbed before, but always out in the open, in view of other people. Dead bodies often appeared in dark alleyways with multiple stab wounds and no personal belongings on them. Would she become one such victim today?

But she would swallow down that fear and conceal it with cockiness and pride. Shakune would not allow this male, who had won her friendship and trust with a smile and hot cider, to know he was unsettling her. She had nothing against thieves - as he said, everyone had to find a way to eat and sleep - but she did have issues with men and women who gave false smiles and friendships.

Perhaps that was her naivety, though.

"Yea, you gotta eat and drink," she muttered, twisting her head so she could watch Berend out of the corner of one eye, "but so have everyone else. You doin' this means someone else starves and dies. You're killin' someone, but you haven't got the balls to do it directly."

With an irritated sigh, Shakune shifted her weight so the satchel bag hanging at her side would be thrown behind her, towards Berend. "Search it, if you want." Inside, he would find a standard quill and a collection of parchments, most blank. "But the coin you gave me is in this pocket," she gestured with her right arm to indicate, "which all the money I've got. If you take that, you'll at least break even."

[Berend]

He stiffened, and his hand clenched tighter around the hilt of the dagger so that his knuckles whitened. “No, petch that.” Berend’s voice cracked in his ears, thick with uncertainty, and despite the cold, the tunic he was wearing clung to him like a second skin. Why did she let this happen? His heavy breathing filled in the silence between words. He wanted to scream, to use every profanity there was, and maybe even make up a few. Instead, he took a step back to slump against the opposite wall, letting his hand fall from her shoulder. Then he too sighed, tucking his chin against his chest so his head moved with every deep breath.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

It came out a mumbled little thing, blurted more or less to fill the silence. His eyes went from where she had indicated to the back of head where they would remain unless she turned around and he found himself looking into those strange eyes again. Part of him hoped she wouldn’t but he knew it was inevitable, and he was in no position to stop her. Shyke, she could run if she wanted to. Berend held the dagger so lightly now that a breath of wind could have probably knocked it from his grasp.

“You know what, I don’t care. Just go.” He clenched his eyes shut, hoping she might just disappear quietly, and leave him to the rest of his day. The dagger clanged against the ground, and then all was quiet except for any noises that she might make. It was on those noises he focused to block everything else out, but if she spoke they would reluctantly open again, forced to stare back at hers. That was if she spoke though, for he would otherwise continue to keep his eyes shut until her steps sounded faint. When all was silent again, he’d open them, grab his dagger, and head home. Sleep suddenly seemed very appealing.

Mod NoteWill be updating my ledger soon

[Shakune]

Yet again, the atmosphere of their interaction seemed to change incredibly quickly. Shakune' spine was stiff, her abdominal muscles taut. Her heart ticketed away nervously whilst she tried to maintain a cool and separated exterior.

What is he meant to do now? She almost felt guilty. Perhaps Berend would go without a meal tonight, or without a bed to sleep on. The nights were frighteningly cold, and each morning revealed a new half-frozen corpse. Maybe one would be wearing his young face this time tomorrow. She wanted to say something, some word of encouragement or an act of charity, but something stopped Shakune. She couldn't, in good faith or intact mentality, offer a man who was trying to rob her any advice or kindness.

So she remained silent, her jaw muscles twitching as she listened to the young man dismiss his attempt and drop his dagger to the ground. Released from his grip, Shakune stepped away and turned around, finally facing her assailant. His eyes were tightly closed, as if he simply refused to acknowledge the existence of the world outside. With a nervous glance around her, she stalked away, walking backwards to keep her black eyes on the young man. When she was ten or so feet away, she turned around and began running.

It was her own confusion that betrayed the half-breed the most. She disliked doubt even more than she disliked young men who bought her beer and then tried to mug her. It made the half-breed question how she perceived others, and of all the things Berend could have robbed of her, Shakune's confidence was her most prized possession. She jaws her jaw tight as she jogged onwards, breathing heavily and trying to put as much distance between herself and the wannabe criminal.

She should have been thankful. But more than anything, Shakune was simply confused.