TRP: Azriel, Larkin, Sam (Inquisitors)

[SETTING: Day 357 -- the day after Letters (Larkin/Azriel), the day of Follow (Sam/Goro). Around noon.]

It was always nice when Azriel had Larkin to himself for a day. They'd both been so busy -- she with her Redbirds, he with his fucking family. He was feeling chipper today, though, after a lovely night and a lovely breakfast, made lovelier by enjoying them with Larkin.

He did, unfortunately, have something of a business meeting planned for today. It was the sort of thing he had sat in on with his mother dozens of times before, but never run himself. He was the entertainment. He was there to look pretty and talk sweetly if it was called upon, not talk business, which made the ordeal somewhat nerve-wracking. Azriel was extremely good at his job, and not prone to nerves.

It was just that this man was extremely good at his own job, which was, most often, killing people.

Much as he didn't like having to spend all of his and Larkin's precious time together on work, it also made him more confident to have her here. He buzzed around the townhouse's sitting room, tidying up although everything was perfectly tidy, making sure there were enough cups on the tea tray and the flowers in the vase were bright and alive, and so forth. Things bounty hunters didn't much care about. But it was the principle of the thing -- the Redbirds were a serious organization, and Azriel was serious about being their face to this man. He was going to do it properly.

"His name is Obsidia," he said as he worked, more to have something to say. "He's worked freelance for my family before. He's a powerful man to have at your fingertips -- a bounty hunter. A warlock and a sorcerer, they say. He's, hm. A bit rough around the edges, frankly." He glanced at her. "I'm sure it'll be fine." He was not sure of that.

JEN

"Hmm," Larkin made. Azriel was rambling and probably not even listening to anything she'd say. She tilted her head back so she could keep watching him scurry over to the other side of the room without having to move out of the armchair too much.

Azriel was in a state Larkin had seldom seen him in. Nervous, that was. Not afraid, not indignant, not caught off-guard. Nervous as if he was having stage-fright. Azriel. Imagine. It was... kinda worrying.

He bustled back over to the couch to re-arrange the pillows for the third time. Larkin looked down at herself, found a grain of rice stuck to her shirt and flicked it off, then felt kind of a dick for getting the floor dirty. Unfortunately the grain was nowhere in sight, else she'd have picked it back up. Not that it would matter to this Obsidia dude. Guy was a merc, a bounty hunter. He probably stored enough spilt rice in his beard for a whole meal. Larkin had half a mind to tell Azriel he was wasting his energy, but she suspected he knew that himself. So she just shifted again to better watch and said nothing.

IZZY

Ah, Larkin was stoic as ever. Yes. Good. Excellent. Azriel took a breath and bustled back over to her, leaning to tap his horn against hers affectionately. It was funny, in a way -- there had been a period in his life where he had been quite used to Gabriel watching his back, being a protective presence, but that had never been as soothing. He always had to worry over what Gabriel might do in the process of protecting him.

But Larkin's being there was simply and wholly reassuring.

He was just about to say as much, but then there was a brisk knock at the door, and he jumped. Yes, the very picture of reassured, he was. He laughed briefly -- perhaps, slightly hysterically -- at himself.

"Well, then," he said. "Showtime, my love."

He straightened out his vest and took a breath, then made his way over to the door, peeking through the peephole just to be sure before opening it. Obsidia was a tall man, broader than Azriel, though it didn't take much. He looked much like Azriel remembered him: faded, worn-thin clothes, a scruffy beard, a mass of hair partially in braids, and a lyre on his back, which Azriel had always found rather curious.

"This is the right place?" Obsidia asked flatly.

Azriel backed up hastily, waving him in. "Yes, yes, of course. Please do come in, have a seat."

Obsidia sauntered in. He sized Larkin up and nodded to her.

JEN

Larkin stood up from the armchair, hands in her pockets, and nodded back. She'd let Azriel do the introductions.

IZZY

Azriel hurried around, closing the door and then coming back to stand by Larkin. He was accustomed to his mother doing all of the talking, and was quiet for just a second too long before holding his hand out, quickly saying, "I'm Azriel Melaine, of course. We've met, a handful of times. You're familiar with my mother Jade."

"Sure," Obsidia said. He was clearly not impressed, and although Azriel was decently sure that he had never once looked impressed by Jade, either, it gave him a pang of anxiety. They shook.

"And this is my associate, Larkin Basha," Azriel hurried to add, gesturing to her.

Obsidia offered Larkin his hand, commenting, "Basha, huh."

JEN

"You know the name," Larkin said as she took his hand. Strong fingers and rough skin, just like his face. In fact, this Obsidian looked so much like she'd imagined, she couldn't keep from grinning a bit.

IZZY

He nodded. Azriel got the sense that he was sizing her up again, now that he knew who she was. "I heard the big guy left town. You're, what, his kid?"

JEN

"Niece." That second glance he gave her didn't go unnoticed on Larkin and her grin faded. He didn't seem like he gave a shit. Which was alright, because he wasn't supposed to, but still. Obsidia gave the impression he'd be hard to bargain with.

Larkin raised a hand and gestured at the table. "Let's sit," she said and went to grab a chair, not waiting for Obsidia to make the move.

IZZY

Azriel buzzed around the two of them, hastily moving to pull a chair out for the bounty hunter, who seemed puzzled -- granted, he looked like he lived in the woods -- was that a twig caught in one braid? -- Mask, he might get along better with Ba'ob -- and setting out three delicate porcelain cups from the silver tray.

"Sugar in your tea?" he asked. He felt his voice was too high. "Honey? There's milk, as well."

Obsidia just looked at the fine cups a bit blankly. After a beat, he said, "Honey's fine."

Silently cursing himself, Azriel prepared the three drinks, and set the small dish of pastries from the Chipped Teacup between them. Perhaps Obsidia didn't like tea, and Azriel had forgotten. He looked like someone who quaffed coffee by the gallon -- indeed, he looked somewhat like he needed some now. Dammit. Dammit.

The meeting could still be salvaged even if it wasn't perfect, he told himself, and sat next to Larkin. Subtly, under the table, he reached for her hand and gripped it tightly. Obsidia didn't touch his tea.

JEN

Larkin squeezed back and kept her eyes on their guest and her posture relaxed. Azriel was taught as a bowstring so that meant it fell to her to keep up their image. She reached for a cup with the other hand but only clinked a nail against the porcelain. "Have you worked with my uncle before?" she asked.

IZZY

"It's been a long time back," Obsidia said, thoughtfully. "He needed someone tracked down outside of the city. I don't remember the details, but I brought back their head."

He said it with absolutely no emotion. How pleasant. Azriel didn't enjoy rubbing elbows with these sorts of people, but they were a necessity to his way of life, regrettably.

"You've always done very fine work for my mother," he said, smiling, regaining his composure somewhat. He'd become too comfortable in Skyport, and required a mild adjustment. That was all. He was fine. He was, in fact, amazing at this sort of thing. "Very admirable."

Obsidia just looked at him.

JEN

"So is that still what you do?" Larkin said to bridge the silence.

IZZY

Obsidia looked from Azriel, who was dithering, back to Larkin. "Collect heads? Yeah."

JEN

"Alright," Larkin said with a slight chuckle. "I think he know some heads that need collecting. If you're interested."

IZZY

Obsidia shifted in his seat. He glanced around the room; Azriel couldn't read if he was judging or uncomfortable.

"Hey. Why does it smell like a wet dog in here?" he asked.

Azriel paled a little, caught between embarrassment and defensiveness. It smelled of wet dog because of Ba'ob, and because the scent of the wolf hadn't worked out of the furniture yet. Which was a horrible situation, speaking as someone who was trying to impress a guest, and it was rather mortifying to realize he had simply gotten used to the smell of his own home. On the other hand, it was Ba'ob, and his precious departed wolf, Azriel had a minor flare of preemptive anger at the idea that Obsidia might sneer at Ba'ob when he himself looked about feral.

And because Skyport had ruined his ability to always say the correct thing, because now he on occasion wanted to say the right thing, what came out was a delicate, "Ah."

Obsidia looked at him blankly, again, then looked to Larkin.

JEN

Larkin, in turn, looked to Azriel. She'd never seen him off his game like that. Not in this way. She teetered for a moment, trying to decide which tactic to choose here. Something was clearly off about Azriel and Obsidia must notice (unless he had the emotional intelligence of a rock). Trying to act like nothing was wrong could do their cause more harm than good. On the other hand, Larkin did not want to expose Azriel.

She squeezed his hand again and decided for middle ground. "Babe," she said, "I really could go for coffee." She threw Obsidia a questioning look.

IZZY

Obsidia raised an eyebrow, squinting slightly. Azriel was making a poor impression. Dammit.

He cleared his throat and stood abruptly -- too abruptly -- saying, "Ah, yes, no, of course, darling." He smiled -- too sharply, too many teeth; was he trying to threaten the man? -- at the bounty hunter and asked, "Can I tempt you as well, Obsidia?"

Obsidia frowned. "Sam. And sure. Why not."

Azriel all but fled for the kitchen.

When he'd gone, Sam looked at Larkin and commented, "I was just curious if you had a dog."

JEN

"There used to be a wolf," Larkin said.

IZZY

"Eh?"

JEN

"Uh, y'know." She tapped the porcelaine. "A wolf. She used to live here."

IZZY

"Huh." Sam raised both eyebrows. "All right."

BirdjenYesterday at 10:52 AM

Larkin snorted. "Yeah. I know."

IZZY

He glanced around the room. "This seems like a nice place to have a wolf living in it," he commented idly.

BirdjenYesterday at 11:03 AM

"It was a nice wolf, too. As far as wolves go. Didn't bite me once."

IZZY

"Huh," he said again, looking slightly amused. He scratched at his beard and brushed some dirt out of it.

BirdjenYesterday at 11:17 AM

"Anyway," Larkin said, trailing off as she looked to the kitchen. Hopefully Azriel was using the time to pull himself together. She wasn't really sure what to pitch this guy so he'd work for them. Larkin glanced at him. Well. He looked straight-forward enough to just ask.

"So what's your deal exactly? You're a freelancer or are you looking for something more permanent? We can do both."

IZZY

"Strictly freelance. I don't work for anyone." He gave Larkin that appraising look again, and cast it around the room. "I'm looking for challenges. Honestly, you seem kind of small time," he said bluntly.

BirdjenYesterday at 11:30 AM

"You haven't seen much of us then," Larkin said with a half-smile. Her nail clinked against the cup with the cooling tea again, then scraped over the table. "What do you know about Skyport?"

IZZY

He shrugged.

BirdjenYesterday at 12:02 PM

"So, the way it used to be was there were two big players here. Three, if you wanna count the guild. Renar was one of 'em. Then that whole shit show with the Sanguines went down and now instead of Renar keeping them in line-" She waved a hand. "More or less- there's a ton of small gangs all fucking each other over. And only one of the big players is left but them..." Larkin sneered. "If you ask me, they're worse than Renar ever was on his shittiest days. The gist is, they gotta go." She paused and tapped a finger on the table, fixing on Sam's eyes. "You know who I'm talking about?"

IZZY

Sam listened politely, then said, "Nope," sounding bored.

BirdjenYesterday at 12:14 PM

"We're basically a theocracy here in Skyport. I'd like to change that."

IZZY

He looked at her for a moment, then said, "Huh," again. He sat up a little straighter. "I'm listening."

JEN

Larkin smiled. "Yeah, you don't look the religious type. Not gonna lie to you, it's not gonna be fast. Won't be just about just choppin' off some heads either. This is gonna be more like... surgery."

IZZY

He grumbled slightly, disgruntled. "I'm more of a headchopper." He drummed his fingers on his knee, though, clearly thinking it over. "Point me in a direction and I'll see what I can do."

JEN

"Hey babe!" Larkin called in the direction of the kitchen. "What kinda heads do we need chopped?"

IZZY

There was a clattering from the kitchen. Azriel rushed into the doorway connecting the two rooms, alarmed. "Excuse me?" His voice was pitched too high again. "Heads chopped? What?" He laughed, and that came out too high and nervous, as well; he moved swiftly over to Sam's chair to put a hand on his shoulder.

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly at that, which Azriel didn't notice.

"Oh, no, no," he was too busy saying, letting his voice drop back lower, soothing and familiar. "No. We ... don't require anything from you today. No head chopping. Just a friendly social visit, yes?"

He squeezed Sam's shoulder.

JEN

"Nah, we're through with the small-talk," Larkin said. "I told him we're coming for the church."

IZZY

Where Sam couldn't see, Azriel widened his eyes at Larkin in horror. Oh, Mask. No, no, that wasn't how things were done. They were befriending Obsidia. Making him aware of their presence, wining and dining him, cultivating a positive impression with him, so that -- later, possibly much later -- when they called upon him, he would be pleased to work for them. This was how Jade Melaine worked. It was slow, and creeping, and insidious. It was effective. It was careful.

(He was ruining it, and he was a failure, and he should have just kept on with what he was good at -- being a pretty face with honeyed words.)

Azriel's grip tightened. Sam shrugged him off roughly, abruptly and stood, casting him a dark look.

"Ah." Azriel smiled and held up his hands, going immediately into damage control. Soothing, again, flirty. "I apologize. I'm afraid I'm a little nervous. You're a very powerful man."

Obsidia did not seem amused. He glowered at Azriel, then glanced Larkin's way, then back to the glower. "Get your shit together," he said flatly, and started for the door.

Azriel contained a shriek and flapped his hands once Obsidia's back was turned, shooting Larkin a desperate look. Mask. Hells. He needed to lie down, and a dark room, and a cool compress, but he needed to fix this somehow.

JEN

Ah no. Ah, fuck. Larkin grimaced but forced herself to stay seated. She even shifted, taking on a more casual pose. Like she didn't care. Like Sam was making a scene here.

"So you're passing on that challenge?" She called after him. Flatly. Almost mocking, but only almost.

IZZY

Azriel flapped his hands more. Mask help them, she was playing hard to get, and Obsidia already didn't want them.

The bounty hunter grunted in disinterest. "Look me up when you know what you're doing."

JEN

Larkin grunted. Motherfucker. She'd misjudged him thinking he was the typical bounty hunter who'd rather have a few shit jobs secured rather than waiting for the big hit. Maybe Obsidia didn't mind sleeping in the gutter. He looked the part, anyway.

"You're not giving us a chance to show you."

IZZY

Sam stopped at the door, and Azriel had a second to compose himself before Sam turned back with a belabored sigh. He gestured around the room. "Everything in here is full of shit. It looks nice, but --" he indicated a couple of pieces of furniture -- "old, dusty, stained, scratched. You probably inherited it. Those look expensive --" he indicated the tea cups -- "but they're knock-offs from Gentleglen, they're not quality Moorland porcelain. And that tray isn't real silver -- neither are the candlesticks. It's plated, what, iron? I'm betting the candlesticks are hollow, too. Even your jewelry." He flicked a hand at Azriel dismissively. "It's not real gold, it's copper. You think you can get away with it because your skin's purple, but the stain's still visible, friend." He gave Azriel a deeply unimpressed look. "Learn how to fucking scam people better." Then he glanced between the two of them again. "Are you fucking serious, or are you just little kids in here playing at being your uncle and mom? Because right now that's all you're fucking showing me."

JEN

Larkin took a moment to cast a flat look at Azriel. This had been a bad idea. Trying to impress this guy with a glamor. At least now they knew he wasn't stupid.

Larkin hung an arm over the back of her chair and idly scratched the side of it to cover for the tension in her jaw. Half a dozen snide comments came to her mind but they'd all just antagonize him and as satisfying as it would be, they wanted this fucker on their side. Also, she didn't want to let him walk out thinking he was justified. Larkin Basha and Azriel Melaine weren't fucking around.

"We don't waste our funds on luxury," Larkin said slowly, calculating. She picked up the teacup with her free hand, looking at it for a second, before setting it back down. "Azriel is not his mother. He doesn't have his own militia. I'm not my uncle. I don't have an empire. We're not pretending any of that is true. But here's the thing, Obsidia, I hadn't pegged you for a guy who gave a shit about candlesticks and teacups or whatever show Renar or Jade would've put up. You're wrong about the jewelry, by the way. It's rose gold and taken from the nightstand of- ah, right, I can't impress you with that 'cause you don't know shit about Skyport. You don't know shit about our position here, what our connections are, who we're friends with and who we've taken down. Nah, you just judge us by our furniture." She cast another look at Azriel, and judging by his pale face she was fucking up spectacularly right now. Oh, well.

"We've been at this for what, five months? And we've been coming out of a fucking massacre. One that Renar ran away from, by the way, but we're still here. We killed a demon, we took down the bitch that destroyed both Renar and Jade, and we're gonna chop off some high and fucking mighty heads."

IZZY

Sam listened. He considered this, studying Larkin. He cast Azriel another unimpressed glance, then ignored him completely. "I'm not judging you by your furniture. I'm judging you by your choices. You're choosing to look fancy. That's what you're wasting your funds on, presumably -- trying to look bigger than you are." He crossed his arms and tilted his head, shifting his weight. "I bring you Bishop Freddy's head, how much gold can you actually give me? Or is it going to be copper, too?"

JEN

"How much do you want?" She ignored that last part.

IZZY

He looked at her evenly. "Hundred K."

JEN

Goddamn. He'd gotta be shitting. If so, he didn't show it and Larkin copied his blank face as if considering. Then she smiled. "Why don't you sit down and we talk like some civilized fucking people, alright?"

IZZY

"Are you going to keep trying to fucking scam me?" he asked flatly.

Azriel spoke up, having recovered somewhat and now just angry. "I'm not trying to fucking scam you, I like nice things, you fucking animal."

Obsidia looked at him, and he shrunk a little, crossing his arms but still glaring.

Then the bounty hunter snorted something like a laugh. He sauntered back over to sit down, and Azriel relaxed a little, letting out a silent sigh, and widened his eyes at Larkin in relief.

JEN

"So, about Freddy." Larkin paused and frowned. "Actually, first things first. You can probably guess I get accused of doing a lot of things, and honestly I don't appreciate being accused of shit I didn't do, so cut that out. We're doing business now, you and I, and I don't have a habit of fucking my partners over."

IZZY

"Sure," Sam said. "I'll judge that for myself."

Azriel scoffed openly and stalked over to sit next to Larkin again, glowering at Obsidia. He supposed that meant the merc would be listening to them, at least.

JEN

Larkin pressed her lips together but didn't comment on that. Not worth it. "So, the bishop. We're gonna take care of him, and you can have your hundred grand to do the honors then, but actually, for now he's not a target. In fact, we need him alive for a while."

IZZY

Sam yawned. "All right. Who, then?"

JEN

"There's... four in particular. There will be more but these are a start. They're Inquisitors and believe me, they're really a bunch of asshats. People won't miss 'em but the church sure will."

IZZY

He had crossed one ankle over the other knee, and drummed his fingers against his boot. "Sure. Fucking Inquisitors. I can get behind that."

JEN

"Yeah. They hooked one of our lieutenants and word's gotten out there. Gotta show people what happens when you fuck with us like that. That's the catch, though. It needs to be public."

IZZY

"That's not a problem," he said. "Beheading folks isn't subtle, as a rule."

JEN

"Sure. What I mean is, not giving the church a chance to cover it up. Fuckers gotta be rollin' down the streets."

IZZY

"Oh, yeah. No. I got you."

JEN

"Good." She smiled. "After that, we're gonna target some more. Mainly those with a reputation. Get us on the good side with the right folks, ya know. And after that..." She tilted her head at Sam. "If you're willing I'm sure we can use you for some other operations, too."

IZZY

"I'm willing to get paid," he said flatly.

JEN

"We can do that. Not the hundred grand, though, that's for our friend Freddy. Three thousand per Inquisitor."

IZZY

He tapped his fingers against his boot, considering. "I'll do some scouting on the house and see for myself if that's a reasonable price."

JEN

Larkin nodded. That was fair. "We know where two of them live. We can have the others followed. Might be less risky to get them at home."

IZZY

"More public to get them in the streets. I'm not that concerned about risk."

Azriel scoffed again, more quietly this time, at the bounty hunter's bravado.

JEN

"Hm. Their bodies in the streets would be enough. Just saying."

IZZY

He tilted his head. "How do I let people know it was you?"

JEN

"Huh. Uhm." Damn good question that was. Larkin glanced at Azriel. How indeed. The Redbirds didn't have any symbol that identified them. Would be stupid to leave such an obvious hint, too, same with pointing the murders at Jonn. What though... She tapped her fingers on the table. Something to reference the Redbirds. Blood birds.

"There's... a fountain on the square before the cathedral," she said slowly, forming an idea. "It's got a statue of a bird on top. How about you paint that red."

IZZY

The corner of Sam's mouth flickered in a smile. "Dramatic. I can do that."

JEN

Larkin nodded again, smiling back. "Gotta put up a show for these people."

IZZY

He drummed his fingers on his boots a moment more, then dropped it to the floor and straightened. "Get me the names and I'll see what I can do."

JEN

"Gimme a minute." Larkin got to her feet, paused, looked between Azriel and Obsidia. Eh. They'd be fine for a moment. She left for the stairs to get a pen and paper to make a list. The Inquisitors hadn't exactly made introductions when they'd hooked Jonn off the streets but their Redbirds had done good work at finding out their names regardless. Larkin scrawled them on the paper and returned downstairs.

IZZY

Azriel was glaring at Sam, who was looking back at him blandly, unfazed.

JEN

"Let us know if you need resources," Larkin said into their awkward silence as she walked over to hand Sam the paper. "I'd like this to be... y'know. A partnership. Not just a deal."

IZZY

He took the paper, glanced over it, and folded it over to stick it into a pocket. "I don't do partnerships," he said, standing back up. "Nothing personal."

JEN

"Hm. Pity." Larkin dug her hands into her pockets again, watching Sam get ready to leave. "How long are you planning on staying in Skyport anyway?"

IZZY

"A few days, maybe. I'm waiting to hear back from ... an associate." He looked annoyed about it. "It might be some time before I can take care of this," he added, patting the pocket the paper was in. "But I'll get back to you."

JEN

She nodded. "Alright."

IZZY

He nodded back before leaving.

(She made him think of Corinne.)

[END]

Azriel, Larkin, and Sam (Inquisitors). Day 357. Azriel arranges a meeting with bounty hunter Sam Obsidia, but bungles it because Sam doesn't like fancy people. Larkin saves the day and Sam agrees to work with the Redbirds.