The Ace Fur Trade [Finished]

[carcinoGeneticist]

"Hey hey, if I'm buying her drinks, she can cover you, I'm sure.[/b]" Seth replied cheerfully, lightly patting the girl on the back as if assuring her that was true. He was trying to assure her, but not in regards to money - he wanted her to feel secure in the fact that they'd be bringing her Fluffy back alive, no matter how many necks he needed to twist to make sure of it. Heilyn had asked him to do it, and even if he didn't care for Aces, damnit, he'd do it. Who cared how whipped it made him?

He leaned back into his chair and let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes briefly before closing them. He was beginning to feel the tension in the air, and was twitching for a fight. If Fluffy wasn't with his goods... Well then. He'd find ways to locate the girl. Much more physical ways. All of this talking was quite a bore, especially when there was potentially physical convincing to be done!

"Well, if all of you ladies are going to go, and since I asked so nicely...[/b]" he said, scratching at the back of his head and sighing before shooting Heilyn a wide and toothy grin. "I'll do the gentlemanly thing and accompany you.[/b]" he stood slowly, putting large hands on the bar and stretching slightly, his wings shadowing both women and the bartender. "If you'll show us the way, it'd be much appreciated, good sir.[/b]" he said, eyes locked on Danny. If he didn't know any better, he'd say the man looked almost... drunk. Strange, but it'd make things easier.

[The Jenn]

Danny got another rush like the one before as Xiven downed her drink, but of course didn't make the connection. Why would he? This inexperienced girl was drinking the stuff and besides providing her with more, he didn't have all that much interest. Two Dragons would probably have her on the floor in ten minutes, especially if she was still building a tolerance. They were incredibly alcoholic. He could take two and go for a few more, but more than five and he was out like a light. Even two would mix him up a little bit. Heilyn though, he should... should... refill her drink. Yes. He should. But he should also show her the stock. Hmm. Maybe the one could come after the other.

"Now keep in mind that these things are 'spensive as anything," he said with a small chuckle. "One reason 's such a lucrative hobby. After all, supply's limited to what we can buy on the market and raise for a few years. There're only so many Aces being born and put up for sale." He shook his head and rifled around under the counter for a minute, coming up with a keyring in his hand.

Seth's posture made him pause. He was definitely feeling fuzzier now than he had been. That looming didn't help. Regardless, the man probably wanted to make sure he wasn't cheating the woman of his interest out of anything. Damn expensive present for someone you only just met...

"This way." He motioned for them to come behind the bar and opened a door in the back, pausing to look back at another man on a stool. "Hey, Bert, watch the bar, yeah? If I come back and anything's missing, I'm telling your wife you been here again." With that, he went in and ushered them in along with him.

It looked to be a large store room with shelves lined with various things, many of them bottles. There was also another door, which he used a key to unlock, that revealed stairs descending into a torch lit room. He went down, assuming they'd follow and holding onto the handrail because his steps were a tad bit unsteady. Weird.

Down there were maybe eight cages, large enough to fit an adult Card comfortably but with bars closely spaced enough that a baby wouldn't be able to fit through. Several heads raised as they descended, five Aces currently in the room. None of them had any Highland blood in them, but there was a wide assortment. "This 's the stock," he said with a gesture towards the Aces. "You c'n see we take good care of 'em before we use the pelts so there's no scarring and the fur's at peak health. Likewise, the feathers on that one." Four of them were mammals, while the fifth was an avian.

To anyone who really knew the smell, there was the faintest hint in the air of lavender and chamomile. It was very faint, but... there.

[Kiki]

Jenn, Kari, Satra and Xenon receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[Satra]

Heilyn felt that the conversation was moving a little too fast to specifics. That paranoid feeling began to surface... but then vanished as not only did Danny not seem to notice, but seemed to get... no he couldn't be tipsy. He didn't so much as have a sip of water since their arrival. But why was he...?

"Are they really?" she asked about the price, "I wasn't terribly interested in the subject until recently.... well, I suppose it would make sense, since you put it that way..." she stood and wiggled Seth's leaf-shaped nose with a finger, "You still sure you'd like to foot the bill?" she laughed. Danny's condition still perplexed her. He loved her as a customer, to be sure, but he was still a slime bag. Wouldn't he have wanted to booze her up a little more before making such a supposedly expensive purchase?

"Well, that's good. Even if they're Aces, they should be treated well." It honestly hurt her to say that. She sent a mental apology to her Uncle and kept playing the part of the potential customer. "If I don't find this selection to my liking, who else could I go to?"

Being in her Human form and having not spent much time around the young Ace, the scent of lavender and chamomile was lost on her. Had she noticed, Heilyn would've only assumed Danny put it there to keep the Aces calm. Keeping consistent with her story, she began walk toward the cages to look through the cages at each of them.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven was uncomfortable on so many levels as she went down the stairs, following the group. The Danny person seemed to be having some issues. Apparently a Nova was a strong drink after all.

The cages were unnerving. Xiven held back a shiver as she looked around. Not a single one hand Highlander in them. Then her head snapped around. That scent! Fluffy was somewhere! She had only fallen asleep to that smell for how many years?

But Fluffy wasn't in this room. There had to be more "stock" of Aces or something. Danny was definitely hiding something and Xiven didn't want to fool around for much longer. Something could be happening to Fluffy right now--or worse something had happened to her already.

"Don't you have anything else? None of these seem quite suitable for what we're looking for...." Xiven looked up at Heilyn. She tried to make it a meaningful stare that Fluffy was somewhere in the basement, but she wasn't sure if she could pull that off. "I imagine someone like you has better stock for higher paying individuals."

[The Jenn]

Danny's judgment was a little muzzy, the beer he'd had earlier not mixing well at all with the Dragons he'd been hit with just a few minutes ago in quick succession. He couldn't figure out why he felt so 'off' and it was starting to freak him out a little, but he kept it to himself and just smiled at the potential customers.

Heilyn's question was a bit disappointing. "If you're not so fond of the pretty things I have down here, I s'pose I could talk to someone else in the business and see if they were interested in a new customer. There aren't many, you understand. It isn't like the supply can be easily put out, for all that demand is booming."

He paused when Xiven asked her question. "Eh? Better stock? Not here with me, but I might be able to talk to my associates about finding something more specific if you really have your heart set on something. It's not so easy to find and we usually make do with what we get." He wasn't about to divulge his less 'legal' stock, drunk or no. As far as most people knew, he was on the fully legit side of the business, however distasteful some may have found it.

[Kari Muffin]

Okay. Think. How do you tell your comrades that your Fluffy is somewhere in the bloody building and you don't exactly no where. You can use muscle. She trotted over to Seth, temporarily ignoring the bartender. She was going to get her Fluffy back one way or another, she just wanted her in once piece and not scarred for life.

Xiven was sure Fluffy would me mentally scared regardless of what she did or didn't do. She tugged on Seth's fur for a moment, indicating that he should bend down a bit so that the bartender didn't hear him. "She's here. She must be behind some secret panel or something, because I smell her."

This really was happening. It didn't seem like it but Fluffy had been kidnapped, she was inches away and they couldn't see her, and they were in the basement with a shady bartender who obviously did illegal things.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Truth be told, this was not the first time Seth had been assigned a job like this, where his main purpose in being somewhere was to beat some sense into somebody, should a situation arrive at the point that brute force became necissary. Generally the jobs involved money, but in a way an Ace was money... to the man he was watching babble, at least. He knew when his time would come. For now, the man simply stood to the side, arms crossed in front of him, letting his muscles bulge beneath his richly colored Highland coat.

He would just watch for now, and it would be clear when it was his time to step in, that was one thing he was quite sure of. So long as he got to beat this slimy man into a pulp.. Well, he'd be happy.

When Xiven came up to him, he was quick to notice her attempts at subtlety. He leaned down to her, very slightly, one large ear pointed in her general direction. Being a bat, it wasn't hard at all for him to catch her words, as quietly as they'd been uttered, and his brows furrowed slightly. He looked at her face for a long second, then nodded, stepping towards the man. In a flash, the bat was standing behind him, wings flaring slightly in an unconscious attempt to menace, and to make his already large frame even larger.

"So sorry to break the news to you, sir,[/b]" he replied somewhat cheerily as he sneered at the rat, his colors shifting and patterns blending until they regained their usual appearance. "You've got someone we need, quite badly, and we aren't going to leave until you show us to where she is. We can do this quietly, painlessly, and easily, or I can let my blades taste you until you bawl like a fucking baby. I can really go either way. I want to see the Aces you've obtained through less legal means, and I want to see them now.[/b]" he reached out quickly, intending to grab the other man in a headlock.

[Satra]

Cruel amusement curled the edge of Heilyn's mouth as she watched Seth's muscles flex and bulge. She knew he was getting impatient, and a large part of her enjoyed it immensely. She watched from the corner of hooded eyes at the interaction between Xiven and Seth. Then the wings flared.

Ah. Things were getting started, were they?

Ugn, just the way he put that growl into his voice when he threatened~ it gave her the happy shivers. Heilyn casually strolled back to the group as Seth's fur returned to its normal browns and blues to add as extra barrier against Danny's escape.

"My sincerest apologies, Danny," she said in a fairly apathetic tone. "No hard feelings?" Hmmm, I'll have to find a new bar after this, most likely...

[The Jenn]

Danny hadn't heard Xiven's comment to Seth and assumed it to be something unimportant, but the way the bat flexed the muscles certainly drew the rat's eye and he leaned back involuntarily. He really didn't like dealing with the uber-buff types that often. He had a regular built like a truck who agreed to help him keep the bar from getting out-of-hand whenever he came in, but he didn't have any regular security or anything like that. Muscle men just made him nervous, especially after that huge row between the Highland Kings. The stock he'd had in that night had been red hot and he hadn't had time to properly squirrel it away. Boy had that been an unpleasant night.

Of course, as soon as he saw the bat begin his 'intimidation', he had a sinking feeling in his gut that tonight was about to get a lot worse. That feeling only intensified when the normal Highland patterning bled away into something entirely foreign. Glacier? He hadn't seen one of those in a damn long time, certainly not in his establishment.

He squealed like... well, like a rat when he was caught in the other man's headlock and squirmed, both back feet curling up to push against the muscular appendage. It wouldn't do much but scratch up the thick fur on the bat's arm a bit. What the hell was going on?! It was serving to sober him up pretty quickly, as much as was possible. He didn't react well to physical intimidation, in the I'm-going-to-piss-myself manner. He'd always been told that he would react terribly to any kind of torture. "Oh no, no no no no no... How the hell- gack!"