[color=9e0b0f][h1][center]Nina[/center][/h1][/color] [hr] [sup][@Hekazu][/sup] [hr] As Nina got out from the shower, she calmly walked towards the bed, stopping in front of the locked chest in front of her bed, where she kept her crossbow and the armored suit, she took a brief moment looking at it. On top of the chest were a tight, long sleeved turtleneck sweater with white and black horizontal stripes and black jeans, carefully folded. Wearing only her underwear, she grabbed the black jeans, putting it in front of her legs while standing in front of the mirror, admiring her figure for a brief while. Her athletic body with perfect dimensions, her firm muscles and even her bio-cybernetic legs, displaying an exotic, unique beauty drew a fair bit of stares. [color=9e0b0f]"Maybe tomorrow..."[/color] Nina said to herself in a disappointed tone, remembering about the reservation on the La Croix restaurant she would miss, but as she looked to the sweater and the jeans again, she hesitated for a bit before finally taking them. If she was going on a gang's place, going with casual clothes would be much better than going with a freaking armored suit... It would be much more... respectable and fitting with the code of conduct an outsider should have when going inside a gang's hideout and it would attract less attention... Well... it would attract a lot of attention, but not the wrong type... [color=9e0b0f][I]"And I deserve wearing something pretty every now and then, right?"[/I][/color] Nina thought to herself with a giggle as she finished wearing the clothes she had separated, standing in front of the mirror admiring her figure with a satisfied smile. She had planned to commemorate her birthday that day before receiving a call from a man called Ribby, from the Colonel's Corner Amphibians about a possible job. She even had a reservation for the La Croix restaurant on the City Center, which she could afford thanks to a job she completed earlier in that week that gave her a bit of spare money but she couldn't afford to pass up a good opportunity to obtain some valuable intel. While her financial situation was honestly... far from perfect, spending a little bit once per year to have a fun, relaxing day was something she could do. Wearing beautiful clothes instead of armor and forgetting about any job was good not only to relieve her stress, but to her self esteem as well, after all... Not being able to talk with anyone about her old life and having to keep that a secret was pretty stressful sometimes. The apartment she was renting was located in a pretty discreet part of the town. Cheap due to the proximity to dangerous districts, it's residents were mostly families or old people who didn't have enough money to go to a safer part of town. It was the perfect place for Nina to hide due to the fact that most gangs had an unspoken honor rule to not mess with the people of that building. The old gatekeeper, who coincidentally was also the landlord, was a man that most inhabitants liked due to always having a smile on it's face. While his job as a 'guard' was merely symbolic, seeing as due to his age he wouldn't be able to fight even against a lowly thief, people knew that whoever messed with him would attract a lot of attention. In that city replete with violence, the 'Old Albert' as he was known, was a proof that there were still kind people alive on that city. [color=gray]"Hey missy! Getting out again? Ye looking mighty fine lass!"[/color] Nina heard the familiar voice from the old gatekeeper and a hearty laugh as she got down the stairs, approaching the lobby. [color=9e0b0f]"Thanks Albert!"[/color] Nina said with a kind smile and a chuckle to the old man. As she stopped on the lobby to greet him. After looking to her and seeing she wasn't wearing her armor, Nina could see the worried expression on his face, partially hidden behind his thick mustache. [color=gray]"Just... be safe, ya hear? Honest, carefree smiles such as yours are rare to find nowadays... Oh, and happy birthday!"[/color] Old Albert said looking at her with a worried expression, as he handed her a silver necklace with a small, cute silver fox pendant. [color=gray]"It's not much but I hope you like it."[/color] the old man said, with a kind smile looking at her. [color=9e0b0f]"Thank you... A lot."[/color] Nina said, going over the counter and hugging the old man tightly for a moment before wearing the necklace and heading out. [hr] Getting on the bar that Ribby indicated wasn't that difficult for Nina. Few were the people that could keep up with her as she moved through the Night City's combat zones, thanks to her speed and how silently she moved herself while avoiding unnecessary conflicts. Being an information broker/runner meant that Nina was mostly regarded as 'neutral' in the gang's eyes, doing business with all of them. That didn't mean she was trusted or seen as an ally, but differently from the others on that same line of work, Nina had an advantage regarding those matters... Her cheerful behavior, smile and innocent appearance made others quickly dismiss her as not posing a real threat, thus, trusting her a bit more. While the Colonel Corner's Amphibians weren't an overly aggressive gang, Nina was still careful walking through their territory. She had already made business with other gangs before and she knew how... tense things could get regarding the more... aggressive gangs. Since she didn't knew that well if the Amphibians were one of those, when she arrived on the bar, she was sure to show them that she wasn't armed... Not that she would able to hide something using those clothes but the intention was more important. [color=9e0b0f]"Hey, would you know where I could find Ribby? He was the one that invited me. Said he wanted to talk about some things."[/color] Nina said, waiting for the waitress' answer.