[h3][color=9e005d]Doc Siward[/color][/h3]
S-iward kept walking, neither changing his pace to put distance between himself and the familiar voice of Mizu nor positioning himself to face him. While his chances of being noticed were low, standing still in an abandoned nook attracted more eyes than someone just passing through. The new set of footsteps following behind him rang in his ears.

[color=9e005d]"Not nobility, dear. Just wealth. Wealth of which, you may be interested in knowing, more than enough remains banked to offer a... Saucy bounty."[/color] The usual and necessary tensions that came before even the faintest trust. The reality of the set of claws lurking out of eyeshot didn't do much to alleviate the Doc's feeling that thusfar their exchange had been little more than spoken terms-and-conditions. You stab my back, I'll stab yours. [color=9e005d]"That kind of banter tires me, though. I prefer to be simple. My name is Doc. Yours is Mizu- For now, anyway. I won't ask what your real name is. It doesn't matter. You feel as if you've been wronged. Well, I won't apologise for stopping the violent kidnapping of a young immigrant. Funny, isn't it. His motives are the same as mine."[/color]

Siward turned a corner, taking them further into the outskirts. Houses became poorer, often makeshift. Here Pokemon had their own problems to deal with, and the wilderness loomed surprisingly close. [color=9e005d]"I reached out to you for the same reason that many penniless wanderers do. For the same reason they go to the Guild, really. I'm looking for opportunity. Places to ply my trade. For that I need to know the shape of the market."[/color] He slowed, just enough to take a sip from a small gourd of water, just enough to look sidelong at the Gabite. [color=9e005d]"What do you want from the Axew, Devin? Or, maybe, who [i]paid[/i] you to make a move on a target so useless?"[/color]

[@floodtalon]