Sevinya

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Kaufmann's head snapped up sharply, but the grin only faltered momentarily. Annoyed by Titan touching him, but unbothered by his words once he saw the chipper, he shrugged Titan's hand off his shoulder. "Yeah, good. I can confirm the payment 'round the corner." He motioned to a retrieval dock hidden in the opposite corner. "And once you pay for your drinks, absolutely, you can be on your way." His words were ever-so-slighty tinged with anger, but greed filled his coal-black eyes. He waited for Titan's go-ahead almost sarcastically before making his way to the dock.

Tau sat in the corner, speechless, frozen in disbelief.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Kaufmann's smile slowly faded. At first, he said nothing, but Tau could see the gears turning in his tiny brain, trying to figure out if he had been threatened or not. He leaned back slightly, eyeing Titan warily, and stood up to his full height, but made no other move for a few agonizingly long minutes.

Tau found herself holding her breath, waiting for Kaufmann's response. She'd been this close to freedom before, but every time it had slipped through her fingers. Of course, no one had come with his asking price. "... All right," Kaufmann said slowly, nodding now as he worked out some math on his fingers. "All right, you can have her. For a ship." Tau's eyes widened in disbelief-- "However... So unless she's going to quit right now, and leave her coworkers to pick up the slack--" His cruel grin returned, and his gaze shifted to Tau. "She still has a shift today."

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Kaufmann shook his hand roughly and laughed a bit after he spoke. "You wanna buy Tau? Why?" But he laughed again, shaking his head. "Never mind, I don't care. But she's not for sale." And he eyed Tau, a cruel smile forming across his face. "Even if you could afford her habit, I'm not letting her go until she replaces my ship." He looked back to Titan. "But tell ya what. I'll rent her to you. On the condition that she doesn't leave the Debris."

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

"What the fuck!" She stood up rapidly, knocking the table around. Grabbing Titan she desperately tried to pull him back into the booth, but couldn't budge him. "What the fuck, dude?" she hissed angrily as her boss slowly made his way over.

Marcus Kaufmann was a huge man, built in a way that hid impressive musculature. He grinned wickedly at Tau when he saw her hiding in the booth, attempting to make herself even smaller. "How can Marcus Kaufmann be of service?" he asked, now making eye contact with Titan, who stood only an inch or two taller.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Tau didn't speak for a long time. She stared at the cage, brow furrowed. Sipping her beer, she fingered the tiny pouch in her pocket. A small taste could easily help make up her mind. She felt she was always her best on Slush. As her thoughts raced through her mind, her face flushed in embarrassment. She was consumed by her addiction. The reality check hit her hard. Staring intently at her half-full glass, she finally spoke.

"Even if I wanted to," she chose her words carefully, "it's out of my control. Kaufmann owns me. I owe him so, so much. So unless you're going to buy him a ship--" Tau looked up to watch Titan's reaction carefully-- "-- I belong to him."

With a burst of confidence, she drained the rest of her drink. "And, really, dude..." She gazed up at him, an intense sadness in her eyes partially hidden by an emotionless face. "... really, I'm just a junkie." She spat the word in contempt. "My only redeeming quality is my dashing good looks." She didn't seem to be making a joke, and withdrew into her oversized coat, the tiny pouch of powder now between her fingers.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

The young waitress Bri could barely contain her surprise as she eyed the chipper. She shifted her gaze to Tau, eyebrow raised, but she held her tongue. She left to get their drinks. While she was gone, shouting could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Tau remained silent, fidgety, until after the drinks had arrived. Bri had brought Titan a fruit-flavored ice-blended cocktail of some sort, and Tau a dark, flat ale. Picking up her mug, without even taking a breath, she downed the entire drink within about three gulps, before Bri had a chance to leave. Looking unsurprised, Bri again left to refill the large glass.

"Defend myself?" Tau looked at him suspiciously. "My line of work generally doesn't require me to." She fell silent once again as Bri dropped off her second drink. She was once again waved off. Tau sipped this one. "I'm just a runner, man. I don't fight people. That card doesn't even contact me. If you send a message it goes to Freedom, who sends the order to the Contractors, and then I'm given the item to deliver once someone else deals with it." She shrugged. "It's not a glamorous job but it's good and easy money. I don't ask questions and I've never-- NEVER-- had a problem. Until today. But I guess that was minor, all things considered."

She checked the time on her wrist. A couple hours yet until her shift started. Her gaze shifted to the cage in the middle of the floor, set high atop a platform, surrounded by tables and chairs. She was not looking forward to a turn in the box.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Tau tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I usually don't make a habit of knowing very many people personally, Titan," she said pointedly. "But it's such an unusual name that it does sound a little familiar. I can see if one of the girls recognizes it? Freedom probably knows." Tau bit her tongue as she thought of Freedom. She would pay for likely having lost a client when she stopped by tomorrow morning.

"It's not that I don't like the work I do..." Tau trailed off and absentmindedly watched as a pair of young men changed the floorplan of the tavern for the night's events, including setting up a large cage in the middle of the room. "... I just don't really have much of a choice," she said, once again vague. Her eyes glazed over a bit as she fidgeted with her pocket. That Slush was inches away yet for some reason she felt it rude to imbibe in front of her new companion.

A very young waitress came by, dressed in an entirely inappropriate uniform, during a brief pause in conversation. "Whatever he wants, Bri," Tau said curtly, and looked to Titan for his order. "And lots of booze."

"Thought you quit drinkin'," the girl asked, smirking slightly. "Ain't get your Razzies again today, eh?"

"Fuck right off," Tau snapped viciously, glaring at her. The girl, Bri, said nothing more, quickly turning her expectant gaze to Titan.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

Tau listened to his explanation, and, after scrutinizing Titan, seemed to accept it. Recalling the moment-- "Vitals...?" --she then spoke: "Oh, yeah." Grimacing, clearly very uncomfortable, she offered an explanation: "There's a lot of people in the Marketplace. It makes me nervous. I needed to keep my head clear. So I took... medication... to help me get through it." Tau folded her hands on the table; they were shaking. She averted her gaze in shame and chewed on her lip. "I took a different one for a more... energetic focus, after we left Freedom's to deliver the parcel." She began picking at some dead skin on her finger. "Usually I take a different one to get through... my shift," she said vaguely, casting a glance full of sadness towards the main bar, which was now empty of patrons. Kaufmann was nowhere to be found, probably in the basement preparing for the next onslaught of customers. "And," she whispered, "another to sleep..."

She slumped back into the seat, raising her eyes to him and preparing herself for negative reactions and judgement. He hadn't seem too accepting of the drug culture here so far, and she doubted her explanation would affect much change in his mind.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

"Fuck him," she muttered as they seated themselves. "Kaufmann's a genuine asshole but he did me a real solid back in the day, so he basically owns me." She made a face as though she had just sniffed garbage.

As he spoke, it took a moment before she registered what was being said, then-- "Oh yeah, what the fuck!" Her voice was hushed, but panicked. "With that freaky eye thing!" She had completely forgotten he had scanned her. "You got x-ray vision or something? Peeking through people's clothes, huh?" She folded her arms over her chest, irritated once again.

Tau & Titan (Sevinya & Silverwit)

The bird was constructed out of delicate, thin paper. It had Tau's name written in a few different languages on its long neck. On its wings, in glowing golden letters, was what seemed to be the name of her employer: "Freedom Lost And Found" with the cheesy tagline, "You want it, we'll get it!" along with a slew of ways to get in contact. It also smelled quite tasty and hummed strangely.

As she passed the large window, Tau took a last look at the planet below and heaved a heavy sigh. "Who knows when I'll be back up here." Probably not any time soon, since her client hadn't been very impressed. She was too tired now to be mad at Titan. They had a long way back. But if he did pay for drinks, it would help ease the sting of missing out on refilling her stash.

By the time they got to the Lucky Salt Tavern, Tau was spent. She groaned as she stopped suddenly near the entrance. The last person she wanted to deal with right now was Kaufmann.

She dipped her long fingers into her pocket, feeling around for the small bag without pulling it out. Maybe some of her special stuff would make the shithead a little more bearable.

Securing her pouch, she then turned around to Titan.  "Don't let Kaufmann talk you into the house brew. It's piss. And if you're hungry, make sure the Missus is around, unless you like mystery meat." She made a face. "The mystery is whether it's meat or not."

Taking a deep breath, she stepped up towards the doors, which opened automatically. She hadn't even fully entered the building before Kaufmann called out to her: "Well if it isn't the Debris' favorite little junkie! You're getting in the fucking box tonight, girl!" A large, greasy man shouted at Tau from behind the bar as he tended a customer. The customer looked up and leered at Tau.

"Up yours, you fat fuck," she muttered under her breath, avoiding eye contact and hurrying to an empty booth in the corner. She settled into the booth, back against the wall, fidgeting with the small plastic pouch in her pocket. So close, she could almost taste it...