I am tired of this stinking hole, I am tired of having nothing to do. Stagnation is not in my blood. Hiding in the shadows is not in my nature. Amani thought with a glare at the drink she had in front of her. Neither is being poor.

She was in the black dove, as usual. Her eyes scanned the room and caught sight of a particularly shady looking man. This is it. I'm done waiting.

Amani got up and approached the man, leaning over the table, "I need information." she said in a sweet voice, sitting down and producing 4 tallies to hold the mans attention. "It involves a man named Silas Hawke."

The galdor highly doubted the man would reveal information for so little, but she did hope it'd give her an entry to more civilized conversation. Mainly involving her getting hired. Hopefully.

The shady looking man lifted his large, floppy hat to reveal bright blond hair and a rather sunny smile at the four tallies presented to him by a lovely, dark-skinned woman. His teeth were impeccable and practically blinding, and Amani realized it was only under the shadow of his hat that this fellow could ever be considered shady.

His blue eyes were cold, however, despite the summery smile that was mainly focused on the woman's hand with the coins, "You need information. I need a drink. I see now that these two things are not mutually exclusive."

The sunny man leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table right in front of Amani's fingers. He removed his hat, running a four-fingered hand through his curly, golden hair. His trigger finger was missing on his left hand. He may or may not have missed it; it was hard to tell in the blinding light of his toothy grin.

"I'm not a veritable fountain, ma'am. You're going to have to give me more direction. You have four questions - one for each tally I see before me."

Amani raised a thin eyebrow, and shrugged noncommittally. In truth she wasn't sure what he meant by 'mutually exclusive', so she kept silent. She doubted it was important. Instead she took the chance to look the man over, and felt she recognized a little bit of herself in this man, noting where he kept those pretty blue eyes of his. She wondered idly if Amani would lower herself to taking money for information.

Probably, she thought reasonably, It all depends.



Amani resisted the urge to roll her eyes, recognizing the danger in this man. All smiles, no laughs. But she hated all this cat and mouse shit she had to go through.

"Big words, blue eyes." She said, lowering her lashes for just a moment, "But this agreement is well with me." The fighter tapped the first tally on the table. "How does...Mister Hawke feel about galdori?"

If he does not deal with them, then I am out of luck... Somehow, though, Amani didn't think Hawke would much mind dealing with them. They are rich here, anyway.

"We're an equal opportunity employer, if that's what you're really asking."

He replied simply, exhaling through his nose slowly as if he had been holding his breath. His lips might have moved and his fingers twitched, but with a slow tingling sensation, Amani realized the man had been hiding the strength of his field. His grin widened, straight white teeth glaring back at her, and with another slow inhale and a slight movement of his lips, his field faded to a level one would normally expect of a wick.

Without his hat, it was easy to see the galdor might have been a bit older than the Mugrobi woman. His bright grin and youthful golden curls made him look much younger than his forty or so years upon first glance, but the creases at his eyes and cheeks revealed he was no longer a young man. The extra time had done little to dull his well-bred features, however; it only served to improve them like a fine wine.

He caught the gaze of Naulanda the waitress, and while he said nothing, she appeared to already know his order, disappearing behind the counter moments after his sidelong glance.

"Well, my lovely desert flower, that's one tally down. Why don't I order us some drinks and we can introduce ourselves proper-like before you hand over the other three?"

The blond man laughed, kicking out a chair and indicating with a wave of his four-fingered hand for the dark-skinned woman to have a seat. The movement revealed a single, rather long-barreled pistol on his hip, but the well-dressed man appeared otherwise unarmed. Replacing his foot on the tabletop and leaning back in his chair, the galdor laced his fingers together over his chest, studying Amani with his blue eyes.

"You can call me Corwynn." It was obviously not his real name. He might have even made it up on the spot, but he smiled brightly anyway.

Amani blinked when she felt the force of his field and an eyebrow rose. She couldn't help being impressed, if only reluctantly. Her eyes flicked over his face carefully, taking in the details. The verdict: Extremely handsome. And he knew it.



Amani's lips twitched and held. She sat down fluidly, as only trained swordspeople could. Her eyes were caught by the pistol at the man's waist, however and a small intake of breath revealed her excitement. This was the first she'd seen, although she'd been in rose for awhile. Perhaps he would let her see it later. She pulled her eyes away from the weapon reluctantly and looked at Corwynn through veiled lashes again.

"Indeed. It seems you are a man full of secrets...Corwnynn." She had caught the use of 'you may call me', and appreciated it. At least the man wasn't lying just yet. Amani rolled the tally to where the man was sitting. It stopped just short of falling off the table and fell on its side. Her smile broadened just a little, "My name is Amani."

A lock of hair fell in her face and the woman blew it out of the way casually. "It seems the goddess smiles on me tonight. I thought I would be speaking to a human." She leaned back in her chair, frowning absently, "Which I do not mind, you understand-- but it seems many do not feel ah--" she paused, "Comfortable, speaking to women such as myself. They seem to feel it is...dangerous."

Amani looked up and met his eyes directly, this time matching his smile with her own, showing as much tooth as he was. It was an odd sight, like two wolves grinning at each other. "Perhaps this is a wise thing, but I feel it is inconvenient when I am trying to look for an honest job." Her voice had that musical quality that most of the mugrobi had, she simpered coquettishly. It had been awhile since she'd met a man that wasn't a complete brute. Although, to be fair, this one is probably still a brute. If a very handsome, well spoken one. We shall see.

The man shook his head in amusement, his expression reading plainly that he was never uncomfortable speaking to women, regardless of their nationality. His smile thinned a little, toning down the brightness of his face, "Honest job? You're sitting at my table, passing me tallies, asking about Hawke, and you're looking for honest work?"

He added with pure mischief, "Maybe we should be finding a different topic of conversation?" He laughed, blue eyes all but disappearing into weathered wrinkles at his temples.

Naulanda arrived with two identical glasses of wine. Apparently, the blond galdor maintained his expensive tastes regardless of his Brotherhood lifestyle.

"Thanks," Corwynn nodded at the woman as she wandered off to find more thirsty customers, finally sliding his feet from the table top and sitting up to reach for his glass. He leaned back again, one arm over the back of his chair, the other bringing his glass to his lips for what could only be described as a delicate sip.

Peering at Amani from over the rim, he indicated with a tip of his hand that the other was for her, "Don't be shy. What's your second question, then?"

Amani smirked, "A little joke at my expense, you understand. Perhaps I should have said 'I honestly need work' instead."



Shy? Me? About free drinks? Amani thought, amused at the very idea. She picked up the glass, matching his delicate sip while considering what next to ask. The wine wasn't bad, although Amani had never really considered herself a 'fine wine' sort of person. She couldn't differentiate between the different types, anyway.

"Thank you," She murmured with a polite nod, and picked up the next tally with her left hand, "I do not suppose...Corwynn, that you would know the person to speak to about finding employment?"

Is it you, handsome? Amani lifted the cup to her lips again, keeping her own violet blue eyes on his lighter ones.

The blond galdor's grin became a sly smirk as he watched the other tally move cross the table. It wasn't quite small change, but it wasn't necessarily significant either given the reality of his current employment. The game that the cheerful man had decided to make of things, however, was terribly entertaining.

He raised an eyebrow at Amani's question, wondering if she knew that the answer might only consist of one word. Which it did. Corwynn sipped his wine with a hint of smugness, revealing that he enjoyed what he was toying with.

"Yes."

"Hmmph." She made a noise that would have been a snort from anyone that was less refined. She rolled the second coin over to where the man was sitting and it fell to a stop just short of the first.

Amani smiled, "If one were to need a job, I do not suppose you could tell me what sort of pay is usually arranged in these circumstances?"

She wondered why the man even bothered. He had a pistol, and it was obvious he made much more than a few tallies... Yet here he was, egging her on. This northerner cat and mouse shit...sometimes it pisses me off. She thought idly. Luckily it wasn't one of those times right now. It helped that she got a glass of wine to soothe her throat as part of the deal.

And it helps that he doesn't smell. Always a plus.

Corwynn laughed again, setting his glass nonchalantly on the table and folding his hands together, studying the woman carefully with his blue eyes. He seemed to be trying to determine if she was uncomfortable, new to this sort of thing, or just crossing some cultural thresholds he wouldn't necessarily know anything about.

The blond galdor might even have been sizing the Mugrobi woman up, but he wasn't about to let such a thing pass over his features. His smile stayed intact almost invitingly, obviously curious.

"That's a rather subjective question ... The answer would of course would depend on two things: one, what kind of job you were working. And two, if you were hired in the first place. The greater the risk, the greater the reward."

Absently, the index finger of his right hand moved over the small scar where his left had once been, "It's always that way, regardless of your employer."

"Ah, you are correct. I did not specify. I'm sorry." Amani shrugged, "I am a fighter. I am looking for a job...like a body guard? I do not really know. This does not concern me, as long as it is not below my abilities." She paused, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted, "I am...an all purpose fighter? Like a soldier. You tell me what to do, I do it. No questions, as long as I get my pay. Very simple."

It was obvious the woman was very pragmatic. She didn't expect things to be explained to her, and didn't care about any of the 'why's' either. "And if you do not need anything big, I can be a bouncer or something of this sort." She took a small sip, "As for whether or not you will hire me, I think you will..."

A small smile, "It is okay if you have doubts now. We have just met, after all." She wasn't bragging, she was merely confident in her ability. She did train hard, after all. "I will leave it up to you to test my ability..."

After all, I am lacking amusement...

Corwynn chuckled, "Employment's not my line of work for Hawke, but that's another conversation." His blue eyes twinkled with coy, but mysterious mischief as he grinned, "So, there are certain abilities of yours I am not at liberty to be testing."

The blond galdor laughed, eying the Mugrobi woman's weapons, but it was unclear as to whether or not he was referring to her combat experience, "I am sure there are many things you are able to do, Amani, but unfortunately, it's just my place to answer your questions. For now."

He took back up his glass and tilted his head at the coins on the table, a few strands of curly blond hair falling in his face, "One more left."

Amani suppressed her irritation. Now you are just playing with me. She considered threatening the man for half a moment before dismissing the idea. "Fine." she said shortly, "Who is it that I have to speak to so that I may find employment?"

Maybe I should withhold this tally if he does not give me a satisfactory answer... An image of her dumping the rest of the wine in her glass onto Mr. Handsome deeply satisfied her mental annoyance. Even though I really shouldn't...it is tempting.

"Remses." Breathed the blond galdor from over the rim of the glass at his lips, blue eyes fixed on something past Amani's head instead of on her face. He finished his wine and returned the empty glass to the table, leaning forward so both his palms rested on the top. His missing finger was made more obvious as his two hands rested side by side. Hints of stylized wave tattoos disappeared up both his sleeves.

The age lines in his face reappeared as he smiled coyly at the dark-skinned swords woman, "I know you're out of questions, but I bet your next one would be asking me how to meet him. I tell you what ... you come back here in two day's time, midnight, and I'll see what I can do for you. Consider it a favor. Or a date, all be it with Remses as a third wheel."

He winked.

Amani rolled the last tally over with a pleased smile, although inwardly she was disappointed. Now she's have to search for this Remses person...



Amani laughed out loud, relieved that the man had decided to help her out. "I am very thankful. Besides, I doubt Remses will be as well mannered as you are, Mister Corwynn. So you have nothing to worry about."

Her violet blue eyes crinkled at the corners in silent laughter, and she put a finger to her lips, "But I will pretend he has a chance with me. You must not get jealous, or the game will be up."