[Color=darkgray] [Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pBcrYFH.png[/img][/center] [center][h1][color=peru]Minerva[/color] [Color=7DBC89]Meiyu[/color][/h1][/center] [Center][B]Location:[/b]Odds & Ends Stall, Point Verge[/center][hr] The feline and the serpent. The two couldn't have been more different, especially with how the two respectively reacted to Captain Beckett’s answers to the questions asked of him. While Minerva’s expression changed with every word that came out of his mouth, Meiyu remained poised and calculating. [Color=peru][i]Awwww! This can't be true![/i][/color] Minerva appeared nothing less than distraught. [Color=7DBC89][i]The Captain’s answers are theatre, designed to disarm and confuse. The bindings were a test of compliance, not a precaution. His 'type' is a cheap deflection, and the two rules are the only honest currency he spent. This Ravic Dane wants a weapon. We are now being assessed as such.[/i][/color] All the while, Meiyu picked every answer apart. Oddly enough, and as stark as their reactions were compared to one another, the two had both determined that Captain Beck had given them little of value in terms of information. His boss, Prince Ravic Dane wanted sole claim over the Principalities, a goal shared by most if not all the princes of this region of cutthroats. Then there was his type– Minerva's primary concern which was met with the most promiscuous answer one could give. Meiyu’s question was answered, sure, but there had to be more lying within the intentions of these envoys. In most cases captives set free by their captors were no different than insects scooped up from the soil by a curious child. They'd be watched to see how they acclimated to this foreign setting– in this enclosure of sorts. The last answer stood somewhat alone compared to the rest as it revealed something of worth to a careful listener if they held the information given in the very first answer to ring true. It revealed that whatever the prince wanted from them, was something that might serve him in his conquest of the other principalities. Gears turned and imagination gave way to a list of possibilities, but they'd never be voiced, at least not now. [Color=peru]“Tch!”[/color] Minerva leaned toward Meiyu. [Color=peru]“It’s definitely you he likes most. He wasn't even upset that you walked here on your own. Aaaand since I don't really trust or like you aaaand because you owe Wendel coin, I'm not only gonna be on you like a birdy on a Tiefling… I'mma let you have that braided ponytailed whore of man.”[/color] Minerva only looked at Meiyu out of the corner of her eye as if what she said to her was spoken inconspicuously. Meiyu let the words settle, her golden eyes resting on Minerva with an expression that was part amusement and part subtle pity. Her lips curled into that slow, wicked smirk, the one that conveyed far more confidence than kindness. The two continued their measured pace, moving deeper into the chaotic sights and sounds of Port Verge. [Color=7DBC89]“Such generosity,”[/Color] she murmured, her voice a low, dry rasp of silk. [Color=7DBC89]“You mistake his interest in me for something personal, and your attempts at leverage with dead men’s coin are flimsy. Follow me if it brings you comfort, little feline, but understand: I don't need your permission to take what I desire, nor do I require a distraction like Beckett when there are secrets worth killing for. Focus on staying alive, your curiosity is currently outrunning your common sense.”[/Color] Minerva raised a sharp eyebrow toward Meiyu. [Color=peru]“What?!”[/color] She questioned as the two walked through the town side by side. Minerva felt she was right about Captain Beckett liking Meiyu the most, and though she could have argued for hours on the matter, (yes she could) she decided to focus on the other matters at hand that also triggered her exclamation. [Color=peru]“Listen! No. Look and listen! Wendel made a bet with you, and he won! He's not dead! He's like the most unkillable person because he's just that kinda guy. Have you ever even fought or fucked a dwarf? You think you're dominating but no… They are on another level, lady! ANOTHER LEVEL!”[/color] Minerva shouted shamelessly while pointing at Meiyu. Meiyu remained unbothered by the raised voice, meeting the dramatic finger-pointing with a look of serene, golden-eyed condescension. The loud proclamation only seemed to deepen the cruel curl of her smirk. [Color=7DBC89]“Yes, I have done both, and in both cases, the dwarf eventually died. One from poison, one from a heart attack.”[/Color] She cast a brief, cold look around at the passing crowds, dismissing the spectacle Minerva was creating before returning her gaze to the feline. [Color=7DBC89]“I am a woman of my word, even to a ghost. Tell me the exact terms of the bet and how Wendel supposedly won, and I will gladly pay the coin to him the next time our paths cross. Otherwise, you are trading in loud, sentimental noise, and I have no currency for that.”[/Color] [Color=peru]“Um…”[/color] It was a rare occasion for Minerva to find herself left without a quick comeback. [Color=peru]“One moment!”[/color] The shifter declared as she brought out the journal she and the other personas shared as a means for loose bookkeeping and limited communication. Minerva quickly scanned through Wendel’s most recent writings before side-eyeing Meiyu with a glare of contempt. [Color=peru]“You’re a sly do- I mean, snake… I'll give you that and only that… this time!”[/color] Minerva grimaced at Wendel's entry as he failed to add any details to this bet he made. She quickly wrote “Dummy!” into the margins next to the entry and drew what most would describe as a tiny angry face with cat ears. [Color=peru]“Also…”[/color] her face twisted as she hated to admit it. [Color=peru]“You did good by those two dwarves.”[/color] Meiyu offered no response to the strained compliment, her gaze instead flickering down to the exposed pages of the shared journal. Her eyes instantly locked onto Wendel’s entry, confirming the note about a sudden, sharp blow to the neck. [Color=7DBC89][I]A shard?[/I][/color] She questioned internally, noting the precise point of injury and instantly linking Wendel to the others. Another victim of the shattered crystal, perhaps. She watched Minerva deface the page with a crude drawing and closed the book with a quiet finality, an act of judgment. [Color=7DBC89]“A dollop of grudging praise and a crude drawing of your associate as a ‘dummy’ is noted,”[/Color] she stated coolly, tapping the cover. [Color=7DBC89]“However, this ledger intrigues me. Wendel notes a specific injury to his neck, one of clear consequence, yet you and your associates house the totality of your vulnerabilities and communications within this single, easily compromised location. Is this carelessness an intentional strategy, or merely profound idiocy?”[/Color] [Color=peru]“What?”[/color] Minerva asked while looking at Meiyu as if she had spoken words in reverse. Tucking the journal into her bag, she shook her head. [Color=peru]“Nevermind, I think I understand… I think.”[/color] She shrugged but her face didn't quite hold the matching confidence of her words. [Color=peru]“Just say you want to know more about the journal, instead of trying to be [i]snooty[/i] about it. ‘Intentional strategy or profound idiocy’”[/color] She playfully mocked Meiyu’s sophisticated way of speaking. [Color=peru]“Be plain with me. I’m gonna judge you anyway, so no point in trying to speak so uppity. Traveler knows I deal with enough of those. Aaaanyway, what do you want to know, Miss Snakey Snake? Do you wanna read it?”[/color] She leaned toward her with a wide grin while bouncing her eyebrows. Meiyu allowed a slow, dismissive smile to stretch across her lips, her golden eyes momentarily softening as she adapted her approach to match Minerva's playful aggression. [Color=7DBC89]“I only use clear language to match that quick mind of yours, Minerva.”[/Color] She gave an easy, almost flirtatious shrug that seemed completely at odds with her demeanor moments before. Minerva leaned away slightly and narrowed her eyes, a subtle movement caught by the serpent’s observant gaze. [Color=peru]“At least [i]someone[/i] gets it.”[/color] Minerva nodded matter of factly. [Color=7DBC89]“But this book... why rely on a single, shared ledger for logistics and secrets? Are your associates unreachable, or do you simply enjoy unnecessary risk? Wendel’s note about a blow to his neck suggests a shared problem. I am curious what struck him.”[/Color] [Color=peru]“He did mention that, right?”[/color] Minerva squinted, thinking about that small excerpt she had so easily disregarded. Sure, she felt the presence of the anomaly on her nape but she hadn't let herself worry about it. Despite all her confidence, the shifter knew she lacked the ability or knowledge to discern the object. To her, it was another member of the Crew’s problem to solve. [Color=peru]“Well… hmm… How should I put it? Oh, yes! Wendel! Wendel’s problems are my problems.”[/color] She pointed to her own chest with a smile. [Color=peru]“Like how the debt [i]you[/i] owe him is something I’ve been asking you about.”[/color] A sly smirk formed on her face after bringing up the topic of the gold that had caused a bit of contention between them, which could make one wonder how much Minerva actually cared about receiving the gold in the first place. [Color=peru]“As for the book. No secrets. Just a ledger or hmm… a log. Not the tree kind of log. The log that's like a ledger… and my associates? Associates. Associates. Associates. Ugh, you're worse than Menzai with these words, y’know?”[/color] She placed the book in the satchel but didn't remove her hand from it. Meiyu simply smirked at her as she watched her struggle with the word. [Color=peru]“Wendel is one of my buddies and a member of a little crew I helped put together. He's just not here right now, and sooo I write in the book because it's honestly the only way I can talk to the guy.”[/color] Minerva shrugged. Meiyu offered a minimal nod, her eyes unblinking, acknowledging only the fact of Minerva’s statement and completely disregarding the debt. [Color=7DBC89]“I see.”[/Color] [Color=7DBC89][I]So that confirms it. This isn't poor planning, it's a structural necessity. Why are Wendel’s problems her problems? I need to analyze why direct contact is impossible. I see three primary possibilities: extreme physical separation, dimensional movement, or a flaw in a shared composition. Minerva and Wendel.have become far more interesting.[/I][/color] She silently mused. The Meiyu stopped abruptly, turning her attention away from Minerva and the journal. She pointed ahead with a delicate, unhurried finger toward a rickety kiosk draped with mismatched fabrics and tarnished trinkets. [Color=7DBC89]“That is the Odds & Ends Stall. That is where I am going.”[/Color] [Color=peru]“No. That is where [b]we[/b] are going, Meiyu.”[/color] She shot Meiyu a deathly glare as she found her exclusion in her plans quite offensive… And to the stall they went. [/Color]