conversations: human
conversations:  The air is hot and stale in Bar Mon's Club. The four of you sit stage-left against a dry brick wall. Mona and her band are in full swing. She's a proper Puma dressed in white. Her voice is robust and carries well beyond the walls of this popular dive within the Nightmarket district. The band is groovy. An ensemble of talented musicians that keep Mona in stride. Mona's hips sway and her back arches as she holds a note to near infinity. The crowd cheer and clap, whistle and slap the table. The set is over for now, but the band will return after a short break.
  
  Your server stops by. Her name is Candy. Candy is all legs and horns, stereotypical for a blonde gazelle. After taking your order, you notice she's left behind an envelope. The note is from Hoxley. There is a small crate of whale bone arriving by rail within the next twelve hours. It will be siezed by the Bluecoats as contraband unless the Ethers are johnny-on-the-spot and nab this box of white ivory first.
  
  What do you do? What's your plan?
conversations: DyerMaker:
conversations: human
conversations:  Milos, currently a bright red and wearing a gray suit, had been lightly flirting with Candy while she took their orders. He quickly read the note and passed it off to whoever next wanted to read it. He crouched down in his seat (for no particular reason other than for effect) and whispered to the others in a conspiratorial tone,  "Well well my friends. It seems we have a spot of trouble to deal with eh? My first thought is to go with my specialty and have us disguise as the boys in azure and nab what is ours before they can. And if they get there before us, well we'll at least have an opportunity for confusion and chaos. How'd that suit you lot?" 
conversations: Ramsus:
conversations: human
conversations:  Traven Rowil , aka  Chit  the Leech
  
  Chit takes a brusque bite of his bamboo snack (bamboo filled with peanut butter and cockroaches) as he reads the note.
  
   "Huh, not a bad idea." 
  
  He speaks between chews. Chit's red fur is subdued by the bar-light, but the bright white of his snout and ears is plain to see that he is twitching in beat to the music. He puts the note down as he takes a claw and scratches near the eye-patch over his right eye.
  
   "But we should work an exit plan if things go extra wrong. Which means we need to figure the right place to pick up the package that works in our advantage." 
  
  He leans back as he takes another mouthful of bamboo into his mouth.
  
   "Course, I can always break something if we need a distraction." 
  
  A small smile could be seen as he chewed his snack.
conversations: Feirgon:
conversations: human
conversations:  Deirdre, who sighs somewhat wistfully as the singer departs the stage, pricks an ear back at talk of disguises and shenanigans.
  
   "Mm all good, all good. A shame we don't have just a little more forewarning, or I might suggest we retrieve our fancy before it even pulls into the station..." 
  
  She cranes over the table a little to get a better look at the note in question, nearly upsetting Chit's drink in the process.  "I don't suppose it says whether or not the train's already left, and from where?" 
conversations: Raine_Sage:
conversations: human
conversations:  Dierdre scans the note. However, there is no indication of a departure location or a time. Only that the train will arrive at Gaddoc Rail Station twelve hours from now.
conversations: DyerMaker:
conversations: human
conversations:  She tsks at the paper.  "Ah Huxley, so helpful and yet so vague. I suppose distraction and disguises it is then, unless you think it would be worth it to try and coax a little more out of him." 
  
  She settles back down, playing idly with a deck of cards while she thinks.  "So then, maybe two stalling the bluecoats and two retrieving the goods while they're preoccupied? Stop me if I'm being silly of course, but here are my thoughts. Get to the bluecoats before they get to the train, maybe a good thirty minutes or an hour or so before it's due to arrive. Hold them up in whatever way seems easiest. The other two pose as bluecoats, get on the train and 'confiscate' the shipment before the real bluecoats arrive." 
  
  She deals herself out a hand as though she were playing poker.  "Of course that doesn't leave much in the way of Plan Bs but I was never terribly good at those, they take the fun out of things."
   
conversations: Raine_Sage:
conversations: human
conversations:  Milos smiles and nods and says,  "That sounds good to me my dear. Plan B can just be to improvise. So no leaving your weapons at home."  He gives a chuckle at that, as if anyone in their line of work would ever do so.
conversations: Ramsus:
conversations: human
conversations:  Some days you just wanted to be pretty, right?
  
  And hey, that was just an advantage that came with being a cute girl in the big city. No one's going to stop you from spending half an hour filing the points out of your gross fingertalons, or from thoroughly shampooing and conditioning your fur so it ripples and shines. You can go out on the street wearing a bright blue dress with a big flower in your hat and maybe just a  slight  hint of ankle without it even being a harvest festival or celestial event or anything. Not every day needs to be spent lurking around in stagnant pits of cold water, and Zoe makes careful note of all those shadows and hollows she could be lurking in but  isn't . She's not on the job. The job doesn't own her. She is her own bat and she can look fine if she wants.
  
  Mrs. Clavindale is selling ribbons today. Zoe buys one and wraps it around her neck so that it flutters behind her in the breeze. People look at her and that's  fine .
  
  Mostly fine. It's fine so long as she's not the one doing the looking. Whenever she spots a mirror or a reflection she holds her breath and carefully avoids making eye contact. It's not that she doesn't like the dress - the dress is wonderful (if not very revealing), the ribbon is cute, the hat - the  hat .
  
  She reaches to turn a door handle and catches a glimpse of her wrist. Muscles like steel coil for a moment are visible in the narrow gap between glove and sleeve.
  
  She hurries through the door.
  
  Briefest of glimpses to the others on her crew. They're plotting. Narrating. Scheming. Deirdre is sitting there like a fallen angel, dominating the entire scene without even noticing.
  
  Zoe glances down a bit. That was the problem with the dress. It wasn't for  her . It wasn't a good fit for an ex-baker with too much muscle and no curves at all. She hadn't even been thinking about herself when she'd been purchasing it - she'd imagined Deirdre's beautiful limbs wrapped up in this colour and some part of her had wished-hoped that she might look even half as pretty as the image in her head.
  
  It took her no time at all to realize that she'd been entirely mistaken. Now she was here dressed awkwardly in a style that wasn't hers and oh Architect this was a mistake. Was it too late, had they seen her? Was this just going to ruin their entire conversation and make everything about her and her terrible fashion sense? Oh Stars, were they going to pity compliment her?
  
  Too late now.
  
  Chin up. Brave face. Smile.
  
  "Hey, everyone," said Zoe Rosen - Khoyshekh if we're doing crime names. Even her attempt to sit down was rendered less than graceful by a flash of Mona's serpentine tail from the stage, and Zoe got her leg half caught on the chair leg, banged her knee in that way that's incredibly painful, but smiled so widely and aggressively that it didn't show. "Hey. Sorry I'm late. We're doing crime," play it smooth, Zoe, "Hi Deirdre, you look amazing," too smooth, abort. "I am ready to do some crime. Crime we should do. Let us focus on the crime." Perfect, nailed it.
conversations: Thanqol:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Oh Zoe darling there you are."  Deirdre glances up, eyes sparkling with mischief as the fourth member of the crew arrives.  "You're looking well, is that a new dress?" 
  
  She doesn't dwell on niceties, just slips her the paper from Huxley and settles back in her seat. " And you're just in time too. We've got a train coming in twelve hours and we were just discussing who should be the distraction and who should slip off with our crate before it's missed. Now I am of course, very good at being distracting..."  She grins wide, a smile full of sharp teeth that manages to be at once alarming and enticing.  "But then again so is Chit, and so are you." 
  
  Deirdre takes a drink from the cocktail she's been nursing through the evening so far. She loves the taste, but not so much the being drunk part. She likes to be able to remember her recklessness after the fact.  "Mm I don't know. Milos do you think you can do me up like a convincing blue coat? I bet I look just dashing in a uniform." 
conversations: Raine_Sage:
conversations: human
conversations:  Milos greets Zoe with a familiar (perhaps a bit too familiar?) smile.
  
   "I'm sure I could and I'm sure you would my dear."  Milos replies with a grin. He seems like he's about to follow it up when Candy returns with their previous orders. He remarks in some way about the drinks mostly as more flirting with Candy before she goes off to other customers. Then he resumes talking to the group as if there wasn't an interruption at all.  "Are you two fine taking on the role of distracting and delaying then?"  he asks Zoe and Chit.
conversations: Ramsus:
conversations: human
conversations:  Originally Posted by Raine_Sage 
    "Oh Zoe darling there you are."  Deirdre glances up, eyes sparkling with mischief as the fourth member of the crew arrives.  "You're looking well, is that a new dress?"  
   
  
  Resume smoothness. "Oh, this old thing?" Zoe said. Wait, does that come across as humblebragging? Because she certainly hadn't earned  that  right. Walk it back, Zoe. Wait, looking well? Well as in healthy? Did she normally look sick?
  
  
   She doesn't dwell on niceties, just slips her the paper from Huxley and settles back in her seat. " And you're just in time too. We've got a train coming in twelve hours and we were just discussing who should be the distraction and who should slip off with our crate before it's missed. Now I am of course, very good at being distracting..."  She grins wide, a smile full of sharp teeth that manages to be at once alarming and enticing.  "But then again so is Chit, and so are you."  
  
   I wonder how hard she could bite without breaking skin.  "Oh, yes, distracting." was that a compliment? Be gracious, Zoe. "Thank you?"
  
  
   
   Originally Posted by Ramsus 
   Milos greets Zoe with a familiar (perhaps a bit too familiar?) smile.
  
   "I'm sure I could and I'm sure you would my dear."  Milos replies with a grin. He seems like he's about to follow it up when Candy returns with their previous orders. He remarks in some way about the drinks mostly as more flirting with Candy before she goes off to other customers. Then he resumes talking to the group as if there wasn't an interruption at all.  "Are you two fine taking on the role of distracting and delaying then?"  he asks Zoe and Chit. 
   
  
  "... Glass! When did you get here?" said Zoe, startled. "I mean. Yes. Yes that is a thing that we can do. As a team."
conversations: Thanqol:
conversations: human
conversations:  Milos gives Zoe this over-exaggerated hurt expression along with a change in color to blue, but then has a tiny bit of a smirk on the edges of his mouth as he takes a sip of his drink.
conversations: Ramsus:
conversations: human
conversations:  Deirdre chuckles and offers Zoe a sip of her drink.  "So tell me, are you getting ready for a special occasion or did you just feel like being fancy today? I have to say the ribbon is absolutely adorable." 
  
  Zoe seems nervous, but whether it's actual nerves or the usual raw energy her teammate exudes is hard to tell. The ribbon is indeed cute though, she has to resist the urge to reach over and tug at the ends. Deirdre can be a terrible fidget.
conversations: Raine_Sage:
conversations: human
conversations:  Time seems to fly at Bar Mon's Club. A couple of hours of drinking and planning brings you to the hour of Coal and a new musician to take the stage. The Raptors are a group of hip birds with a slow roll and a soulful sound. A new flow and a thumping bass brings a slightly new crowd. A few of the Wraiths walk into the club. These cats are on your turf, minimal as it is. Maxim, the calculating white tiger, moves toward a stage-side table. The three Wraiths know your position within the club and they are keenly aware that you notice them.
  
  What do you do? What is your next move?
conversations: DyerMaker:
conversations: human
conversations:  Originally Posted by Raine_Sage 
   Deirdre chuckles and offers Zoe a sip of her drink.  "So tell me, are you getting ready for a special occasion or did you just feel like being fancy today? I have to say the ribbon is absolutely adorable." 
  
  Zoe seems nervous, but whether it's actual nerves or the usual raw energy her teammate exudes is hard to tell. The ribbon is indeed cute though, she has to resist the urge to reach over and tug at the ends. Deirdre can be a terrible fidget. 
   
  
  "I - uh -" Zoe glances between Glass and Deirdre and then there's a glass of something in her hand and whoops she's drinking it and was that just an innuendo? Should she have been, like, cooler, about this? "It's a secret," she said and immediately kicked herself because now she'd just trapped herself in a stupid lie and, woah, this drink must be really strong because she was blushing like crazy at that obviously fake compliment.
  
  
   
   Originally Posted by DyerMaker 
   Time seems to fly at Bar Mon's Club. A couple of hours of drinking and planning brings you to the hour of Coal and a new musician to take the stage. The Raptors are a group of hip birds with a slow roll and a soulful sound. A new flow and a thumping bass brings a slightly new crowd. A few of the Wraiths walk into the club. These cats are on your turf, minimal as it is. Maxim, the calculating white tiger, moves toward a stage-side table. The three Wraiths know your position within the club and they are keenly aware that you notice them.
  
  What do you do? What is your next move? 
   
  
   Sweet Architect why is Maxim so cool. Why are cats all so cool. He wouldn't blink if you set his tail on fire. 
  
  Still, it was a chance to perform a combat disengage from a conversation that had started off trainwreck and was only getting worse.
  
  "Hey Maxim! Mr. Maxim? Can I call you that? I mean, I don't know if it's your  name  name or, like, your secret crime name, is there a grammar school for crime etiquette -" Zoe thought she heard of a blimp disaster that resembled her handling of this evening's conversation. "You want some drinks? I can buy you some drinks. On the house. Which I am, sort of, I as the house would be doing the buying. Your face is incredibly cool." Smooth as silk.
conversations: Thanqol:
conversations: human
conversations:  -Flashback to Earlier-
  Milos seems to have something on his mind as he enters the club. It's distracting him enough that he even forgets to give a friendly greeting to a few of the strangers he passes by as he takes a seat.
  Once he's seated at the table with Chit and gives him the standard warm welcome, he asks,  "You wouldn't happen to have any Trance Powder on you would you?" 
   
   Spoiler 
  
  Question for the GM: Does Trance Powder only work when inhaled or would it work just fine if ingested with food or drank in a liquid?
   
conversations: Ramsus:
conversations: human
conversations:  Deirdre can't help the high pitched mirthful laughing that Zoe inspires with her less than graceful attempts at diplomacy, but she still puts a hand on her friend's shoulder.
  
   "Zoe, dear,  darling,  precious creature.  Breathe  a little. Count backwards from ten. You look like you're about to vibrate right out of your skin."  She shoots Maxim a look and a smile that speak to a sort of gracious embarrassment. The sort of unspoken communication that says 'Ah youth' without actually rescinding Zoe's invitation. After all if they want to behave themselves and be civil then Deirdre is hardly going to complain (and that Maxim fellow is fairly easy on the eyes).
  
  However when she turns back to Glass and Chit her demeanor is less accommodating.  "Well then,"  she says in a low murmur,  "someone's being awfully provocative tonight." 
   
   Spoiler: OOC 
  Not interfering with Milos' plans, just wanted to respond to Zoe. Chit and you commence with the flashback before mentioning anything in the present.
   
conversations: Raine_Sage:
conversations: human
conversations:  Traven Rowil , aka  Chit  the Leech
  
  --Flashback to Earlier--
  Chit gives Glass an odd look. With an eyebrow raised, he begins to respond.
  
   "Why would-"  He pauses as he has a sudden realization that his incredulity would be rather self-incriminating.
  
   "Yes. Yes I do."  He says as his face falls flat.
  
  He then shuffles through a satchel on his hip and pulls out a small, tightly sealed bag. And holds it in his hand below the table between them.
  
   "Any particular reason you want this stuff?" 
  
  His attention seems to shift suddenly as Candy approaches.
  
   "I'll have an order of Bamboo Bites and a glass of Leaf &amp; Tonic."  He says with a big grin.
conversations: Feirgon: