Khymarah made her way down to the seedy little tavern Fion had taken her to last time. She wore the grey and brown attire from previous and her red hair was tightly tied down and wrapped in a brown hair scarf. Pushing through the doors, she walked inside, looking around for Fion. The seamstress wasn't in her immediate site, so she walked up to the bar and sat down.

Her belly felt like it was a wave of knots. Being here without Fion made her incredibly nervous. She only hoped she wasn't ruffling to many feathers.

Stu was alone at the bar, absentmindedly tinkering with a small gear. He looked up as Khymarah entered and grinned tiredly.

"Evenin', Miss Khymarah," he said; his voice sounded hoarse. "Sorry I couldn't say goodbye the last time we met. How are you farin' these days?"

He glanced upstairs to the rafters, wondering if Ox was nearby. But the skinny man was nowhere in sight...

The red head smiled at the man, he seemed rather morose, compared to their last meeting.

"Hello Stu, that's quite alright. It wasn't your fault. I'm doing rather well actually. Thank you for asking." She patted her hands on the bar.

"How are you dear? You seem...tired."

Fion slid into the stool next to Khymarah.

"Sorry I'm late." She said quietly, turning to give Khymarah a weary but warm smile, "Hello Stu."

Stu had been on the verge of answering Khymarah, when Fion took him by surprise, and he became flustered enough to forget the question.

"Fion!" he said, his voice cracking slightly. "Er...good you've come, probably safest that way. Ox should be along any moment now..."

He glanced up to the rafters again. Where was he? Surely he hadn't been caught...

Stu bit his lip, worrying. "While you're here, you might as well meet our new staff," he said apologetically. Cupping his hands, he shouted "Riot, could you come up for a mo'? Got some people you should meet!"

Jake's head popped up at the sound of his alias. He was about halfway done cleaning quite the mess left by a group that had just recently left and wondered if he should finish first. He came to the conclusion that no one was going to sit themselves at a table that was still dirty, but left behind the cleaning rag just to be sure that anyone who passed by knew it was still being worked on.

He picked up his messenger bag and slung it over his right shoulder. He had left his coat in the basement where he slept, but brought the bag along in order to easily carry his pen and paper, his best method of communication since he can't sign well.

He made his way over to the bar, and nodded to Fion and Khymara, the left sleeve of his shirt hanging empty at his side.

"This is Fion, and Khymarah," said Stu, nodding at each of them. "Friends of the B&B. If they ever come in needin' anything, you help 'em best you can. Ladies, this is Riot. Ginny hired him a few nights ago...without my permission, though that's all right, 'bout time that girl started taking things into her own hands..."

His expression looked a little strained as he spoke, as though Ginny taking more responsibility in the tavern was at once favorable and saddening.

Fion gave Stu what she hoped was a reassuring half smile. She had always thought that Stu intended for Ginny to take over if he ever retired, though she didn't know for sure. This wasn't the easiest way to live, even if Ginny was more than capable. Fion worried about the future too and she felt a harsh pang of sympathy for him.

Fion smiled at Riot when he walked forward, instantly aware of his hanging sleeve. She could make him some nice shirts that only had one sleeve but it probably wasn't polite to ask just yet. She continued to smile warmly, ducking her head once, politely.

"It's nice to meet you, Riot." Fion said, trying not to look too tired even if the black circles under her eyes were advertising it.

The front door creaked slightly as Tito pushed his way into the B&B. Dressed in his usual get-up, he looked strangely pleased with himself. Perhaps he had gotten a good deal of coin today, or maybe something out of the ordinary had happened.

Regardless, he sat down at the bar near Stu and dropped five tallies on the counter. "Could I get a Blushing Hingle?"

Stu gave Tito an odd look.

"Business been good lately?" he said, eyeing (and pocketing) the coin while looking for the cherry syrup.

The bar was now mostly empty - except for Fion, Khymarah, Tito, Riot and Stu; the latter realized that the crowd might be keeping Oxidus at bay. He cleared his throat and nodded meaningfully to the galdor and the seamstress.

"You ladies might be more comfortable upstairs, in the private room," he said, gesturing with his thumb. Though he was sad to see Fion go, he realized this was an important matter. "It's unoccupied tonight."

"Thank you." Fion said, inclining her head gratefully. "It was nice to meet you, Riot. Have a good evening Tito."

Fion slipped her arm companionably around Khymarah's.

"Let's go." She said quietly, ready to walk up to the private room. This going to be important.

((This is what I get for oversleeping. ))



Jake smiled and nodded at Stu, acknowledging the instruction.



Jake smiled at Fion in response, noticing that she did look very tired. He decided it was best not to make it out to be a big deal.



Jake gave Fion and Khymarah a friendly wave goodbye. He wished he could have been able to talk to them more, but Stu's request for them to move to the private room sounded important.

Jake turned to Stu and motioned over to the table he hadn't finished cleaning yet, as if to ask if Stu wanted him to continue or if he wanted Jake to take up another task.

"That'd be great, Riot, we're almost closed up here," said Stu, wiping some sweat from his brow. He picked up the last of the clean mugs and began hanging them up for tomorrow.

"What a terrible day...first that huge group of thugs come in wanting a "special discount"..." Stu made air quotes as he recalled the beating he had narrowly missed. "Then those late taxes came back to bite us in the erse, lousy collectors..."

He avoided saying anything negative about the galdori, but he was feeling it. Knowing Khymarah was on his side was nice, but thirty-three years of oppression can turn a man to hatred that's harder to scrape off than week-old sick on a counter-top.

"You ever have any dealings with the government, kid?" he asked Riot, grinning.

Khymarah smiled back at her, a casual smile, but inside it was like her insides had defrosted. Suddenly she didn't feel quite so nervous.



The galdor looked around, curious to meet this Riot person. Anyone with a name like that must be interesting.



She tried not to look, but she'd never really seen someone with missing limbs before. Flicking her duel coloured eyes to his empty sleeve and back to his face again, she blushed, embarrassed by her reaction. Her smile was slightly apologetic.



Nodding in agreement, Khymarah mumbled a quick hello.



She slid off the stool, glad Fion had taken charge. Everyone seemed to talk at once that she'd sort of gotten lost. Finding her voice before they left, she turned her head.

"Thank you Stu. Nice to meet you Riot. And hello..erm...Tito the Purple. I remember you from the Caoja. Sorry, I have...prior business to attend. Perhaps we can have a drink later and introduce ourselves properly. Seems everytime I try to meet you, I have to rush off." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders slightly, then turned back to be led by Fion. As they walked, she couldn't help but think how this one night might change her life forever. It was a good feeling.

Jake hesitated slightly. His phantom limb grew itchy. As he groped at the air where his arm once was, he nervously shook his head. He finally decided it would be a good idea to finish cleaning that table and turned around to head back to his task.

Stu raised a bushy eyebrow, but didn't pursue the matter.

He assumed the answer was "yes" - that might explain Riot's missing voice, missing arm, and possibly his missing identity. Not being the nosy type, Stu decided that Riot was probably happiest not dwelling on the past.

The door to the tavern began to rattle, suddenly, and Stu started from his pondering. "Can you get that, Riot?" he asked, trying to see through the window.

--

The private room was little more than a closet built onto one of the lofts on the third floor, but it was cozy enough, with a neat feather bed and a little woven rug, and even a tiny, grubby window that looked out on Vienda.

Jake had just dropped his bag to the floor when Stu brought his attention to the door. The rattling made him nervous, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. No one ever got anywhere in life by jumping at every little thing, he thought to himself. He quickly made his way to the door, opening it for whoever was outside.

Ginny stumbled in, wrapped tightly in a thick woolen shawl, her hair drenched with rain.

"Sudden downpour," she gasped as an explanation, teeth chattering in the warmth of the tavern. "Ran all the way. My feet are frozen to my shoes..."

She looked up at Jake and grinned, and then noticed Fion and Khymarah heading up the stairs. Exchanging a glance with Stu, she too looked upwards into the rafters, wondering if Oxidus was waiting for them.

Jake stifled a chuckle when Ginny walked in, soaking wet. The feeling of amusement was a nice change from the nervousness he felt just seconds before.

He looked between Ginny and Stu. What the devil were they looking at?

Fion sat herself down on the bed, muscles aching.

"How do you feel?" She asked Khymarah, "I'm sorry about postponing the other day, I couldn't get a sitter and I hate missing evenings with Piran to begin with. Thank you for meeting today."

Fion let herself slump onto the bed a bit more, she wouldn't mind getting some sleep. Her mind wandered a little to Demkaih and she smiled softly to herself.

The red head sat down beside her, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

"I feel a little nervous to be honest. Like, my stomach is doing flip flops. And I am excited." She smiled.

"Thats okay Fion, I understand. Your son is much more important."

Nestled deep in the shadows, a tall, thin man dressed in black and grey was waiting patiently. As the girls were talking, he stepped out neatly and executed a formal bow.

"Miss Fion," said Oxidus, tipping his rather flamboyant black top hat at her. "And Miss Khymarah. It is an honor."

Khymarah turned with a start, staring wide eyed at the tall monochrome dressed man. She stood and looked from him to Fion. This had to be the man Stu had been talking about. Scolding herself for being like a frightened hingle, she smiled and curtsied to the man.

"Good evening sir."

Fion made the symbol for human solidarity against her brow.

"Hello Oxidus." She said, her face serious.

She was proud of Khymarah for standing and greeting him. She was doing well.

"I was told a galdori woman was interested in joining the Party," said Oxidus, in his crisp Bastian accent, "but I was not expecting such a nice strong field. You have a radiant field, daughter. Tell me - what do you have to gain from the resistance? What, as they say, 'is in it for you?'"