<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/08/dc/b6/08dcb66af76f79ed5eb8a99d80d99931.jpg)</div><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Date / Time:</strong> Monday 26th, Early Afternoon</div><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Name:</strong><strong>Dimitrius Maranzano</strong>(https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=334101.msg15907266#msg15907266)<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>As Pictured, minus Goggles.<br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Night Daze<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Lady Anna<br/><strong>Warnings:</strong>None<br/><br/><hr/><br/>It always amused Dimitrius - in a sly way - how coy the two of them seemed to act around each other. This polite, almost chaste embrace and the polite Noble-esque kiss to his cheek she delivered...it was the same way people of the upper crust greeted both friends, lovers<em>and</em>enemies. You would have thought that the two most powerful individuals in Delinquent Town could afford a more familiar hello, especially considering the parts of each other they had kissed before in private, but alas, proprietry had to be observed and maintained, did it not? Not so much for his reputation - he already had the image of a charming ladykiller - but for hers. Whilst women could easily have an extensive collection of public lovers of their own, it was their difference in stations that she had to consider. Were she to publicly fall into his bed and swoon into his embrace, why, people might start assuming that his favour came simply by way of her taking him to bed. Nobody would dare say it out loud, of course, and most would likely not care much given the abstract nature of their rule to the common individual...but as always, it was the loudest minority that was often heard above the silent majority.<br/><br/>Fae had worked hard for her position, so he was not about to put her in a precarious balancing act by being overly familiar when she wasn't happy being so herself in public. It was a matter of respect; she wanted their more intimate moments to remain behind closed doors...and so they would, until such time as she changed her mind. He had an inkling that it wasn't just about her position - she was not a woman to open up easily, and he didn't doubt that vulnerability was hard for her - so he would respect her boundaries. He cared about her, after all, and that meant that her boundaries were his boundaries too. That being said, of course, he would be lying if he said that the sensation of her plush, curvacious body pressing up against him, her soft curves and ample proportions flowing into his muscular form was not pleasant to him. The feeling was muted by layers of cloth and cotton, certainly, but it was tight and warm enough that it reminded him of more...intimate, less obstructed moments of similar proximity. It was only a flashing memory - he was not a lecherous old pervert<em>yet,</em>regardless of what Cassie might say - but it was a pleasant thought nonetheless.<br/><br/>He turned to follow her back down the stage steps - cheeky woman, making him climb those stairs only to take him back down them! - and allowed her to take his hand in hers. The kiss to his cheek emboldened him a little to amplify the familiarity a little; she had a code of sorts, he had figured that much out, and that little kiss told him that so long as he stayed within polite bounds, she was perfectly happy for him to show more familiarity and affection than most other people could get away with. He always tended to assume with Fae that his more flirtatious antics were not only encouraged but<em>enjoyed,</em>but it was always nice to get the confirmation. As her hand wrapped around his he shifted his palm to match her position, his fingers interlacing with her own, making it less of a polite contact between host and guest, but a somewhat more intimate contact. It was nothing major, and many people might miss the small nuance, but he knew Anna wouldn't. Behind her painted smile and her demure attitude, he knew full well that she missed meeting up as often as they used to just as much as he did. Or at least, he thought he did; was that arrogant to think? Possibly, but she was certainly not giving him any reason to doubt his conclusion. She likely used similar language on many of her favoured customers, but he liked to believe that with him...they rang a little more true than with the others.<br/><br/><strong>"Perhaps so,"</strong>he laughed as he followed her through the tables towards the booth that had been set up in advance, by the looks of it.<strong>"But alas, it seems to be the only dance we have time for you to grace me with these days."</strong>He gave her a sly, charming wink.<strong>"And with that in mind, is it any surprise I make the effort? A lady deserves the best, after all, and how can I expect you to go the extra mile to keep <em>me</em> happy if I'm not prepared to reciprocate, hm?"</strong>He chuckled salaciously. He knew exactly what she was alluding to - he was a generous and considerate lover, a fact he took pride in! - and was more than happy to play the game. She looked as if she was about to continue the flirtation, but of course, her better judgement overrode her more wicked side, and it was back to business. She was right, of course, business before pleasure, but could you blame him for wanting to enjoy the foreplay a little? Business with Fae was<em>always</em>a pleasure, and it was hard not to get caught up in her clever tongue and the saucy looks she gave him sometimes. She was a beautiful woman that he did - after a fashion - trust a great deal, and he was a hot-blooded man. Could he really be blamed for enjoying her company so?<br/><br/>Dimitrius relinquished Anna's hand and sat down opposite her at the booth, smoothing down his suit as he did so. He would have loved to sit beside her as she poured, perhaps enjoyed her company as she leaned against him and played with his hair, but that was a more...pleasurable interaction than business. This was a meeting, first and foremost, and that required decorum. A small smile graced his lips as the image played through his mind nonetheless, before he shook his head to clear it. His eye swept over the assembled beverages and snacks, and whilst he was not hungry - he had eaten before he left - it would be rude to refuse such an offer.<strong>"Tea, please,"</strong>he answered,<strong>"Black. No sugar."</strong>It was his usual order, without frills or luxury, but that was his way. One, he just liked the strong, bitter taste. Two...well, many people in Delinquent Town didn't even get to enjoy<em>tea,</em>and it felt wrong to him to throw luxuries like sugar and chocolate and honey at a drink when the people he ruled still had so little. Besides, when he was first climbing the ladder, it was how he had had his tea before they had the money to buy more luxuries, so it ended up being a bit of a habit. It was a silly moral principle, he knew, which was why it was one he kept to himself. But he was getting older, so he was allowed to have some silly sentimental habits, was he not?<br/><br/>He gratefully took the tea as it was offered to him, momentarily - as always - impressed by her slow, deliberate, almost sensual motions as she made the drinks. She hadn't had to fix drinks with any great regularity for a long time, he knew, so it was always a wonder that she moved into the motions so effortlessly. He knew from experience how agile and precise she could be, of course, but proper tea-pouring was a skill that was hard to master and harder to maintain. And yet...like a great many things, Fae made it look exceptionall easy. He offered her a flirtatious smile and a gentle chuckle.<strong>"How vexxed would you be if I were to change my mind solely to watch you pour again?"</strong>He teased lightly.<strong>"It's such a rare-and-hypnotic sight, I feel I should savour it more."</strong>He shook his head again and set the tea aside on one of the provided placemats to allow it to cool enough to drink, and stayed silent as Anna gave her news. He had heard similar rumours, of course, but it was disturbing and disheartening to hear them confirmed. They were not surprising revelations, of course, but that fact was just its own brand of unpleasant.<br/><br/>Still, Anna was correct; issues of trust and discrimination aside, the lockdown did give them a unique opportunity. If the Delinquent Gate was being barricaded, then at least riots wouldn't spill into Midtown, and the guards would need to at least give some visual indication if they attempted to sally forth on a purge. That gave them a great deal of security from retaliation from the Palace, at the very least. Checkpoints at the other gates, well, that was expected, and he imagined that could be turned to their advantage. He nodded to himself slowly. It was business now; the time for flirtation had temporarily disappeared, and it was time to focus on the matter at hand.<strong>"This can indeed work to our advantage. Locking the Delinquent Gate offers us far more security than it does them, and it allows us to use the main road without fear of obstructing traffic and being harassed by the Guard for it. As for the checkpoints...those will only attract more attention to the fact that something is happening in Delinquent Town. If you can select some of your best girls from The Sweet Kiss and Night Daze to act as tour guides, of a sort, we could curry some good-will or at least doubt about Delinquent Town's dangerous reputation. If some of those wealthier citizens spend some gold or whisper some secrets, then so much the better."</strong><br/><br/>He paused, taking a slow sip of his tea as he thought carefully.<strong>"Some careful...donations...will place sympathetic guards on duty. Through them, we can get a list of the comings and goings between Delinquent Town and Midtown, and lend an air of legitimacy to your...tours...should the girls wait at the guardpost for possible clients."</strong>Dimitrius's fingers drummed contemplatively on the tabletop as he considered, nodding quietly to himself. The guardposts were expected, and he had factored them into his plans. The only way to take advantage of them was to use it as an attention draw to what was happening in the slums, and to get people he had on his payroll installed there for the night. Plus, if they were watching the gates, they wouldn't be watching the harbour...so he could sneak some of his own contraband out of Delinquent Town and into Midtown via the docks. Though...Anna didn't need to know that. She would quite possibly find out eventually if she didn't know already, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of confirmation! She'd have to work a lot harder to get that piece of information out of him!<br/><br/><strong>"In any event, I believe the best way to handle the checkpoints is to - as far as the public is concerned - pretend that they're not there. We shall pull strings behind the scenes to use them to attract wealthy patrons to our celebrations, and to keep track of comings and goings...but sliding our fingers too deeply into that pie might be dangerous, considering how closely Darius is likely to be watching. Should we keep the populace occupied with our own festivities, with any luck they won't go looking for trouble elsewhere."</strong>He took another sip of his tea, made a contented sighing noise from the back of his throat - she really did make spectacular tea - and gave her a dazzling smile of his own.<strong>!Speaking of which! I trust your staff is ready to assist with the refreshment and attraction stands? And are the 'Daze Girls' ready for their headlining performance?"</strong>He chuckled softly. Neia would be in that band act, of course, which meant that there would be extra security around her just in case somebody didn't know that she was "His," as it were.<br/><br/>"His." He almost despised himself for saying it. It was a crass turn of phrase, and there was more nuance to it than that...but the average thug or drunk who couldn't understand the word "no" was often too thick to pick up on those intricacies...so for their purposes, yes, he was prepared to let them think that Neia was His, if only for her protection. Midtown and Castletown had the most famous artists, certainly, but he knew for a fact that Night Daze had some of the most<em>popular</em>talent in the city. It would be a waste to not use them to lift his peoples' spirits, now wouldn't it? And if some of the Noble guests let slip some extra gold or secrets - protected by Anna's girls' presence, after all, given how everybody knew what happened to people who hurt them in Delinquent Town - then so much the better. Every piece of gold that went into Delinquent Town's pocket was another gold coin that wouldn't grease the palms of their oppressors...and if that wasn't a victory in and of itself, he didn't know what was.