-RP- oAsiS

It’s cool out, especially in this alleyway. The breeze running in between the two old buildings sweep Azo’s hair out of her face. It apparently isn’t as dark in here as she thought, but she’s pretty far in. Even if people were walking by on the sidewalk, they wouldn’t see her. These old buildings have been here a long time, she’s not sure where they came from, or when they were built. Their construction is incorporated into the construction of the surrounding buildings, which are much more modern. The newest ones equipped with the most state of the art protection and security systems, cautionary to every type of disaster. Why would they need to be protected from things that couldn’t hit them in New Serra? Even the glass windows are made specifically to not break in sandstorms and both the interior and exterior frame are reinforced way more than needed. It’s confusing how they find it necessary to do that to the buildings, every day finding a new way to keep them from falling down, and yet the security system for thieves, and assassins have been the same for years. Too long it has been left to be figured out, abused, and manipulated by every greedy, deranged person out there. It’s not safe, and no one even realizes it. Azo stands up from the wooden box, her coat straightens itself out around her legs, and a splashing noise is made from inside her coat pocket. It’s very quiet, but to her ears it is heard. Looking to the left where the alleyway forks she sees a dark figure. She didn’t have to look, she already heard his chains hitting together as he walked down behind the buildings, but might as well give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s surprised her. Neither of them says a word as he walks closer and stops in front of her. He’s skinny, and appears malnourished, with a gaunt face and scars on every bit of skin that’s showing. At a glance he doesn’t appear too thin, that’s because some parts of his clothing are bulky pieces of steel, and every other bit of clothing are just layers upon layers of material… and filth.
“You stink today,” Her words come out smooth, ghostlike, and unwavering. Her eyes coldly stare into his; she attempts that of a robotic personality.
“No conversation. Somewhere to be,” His voice is high pitched, yet rough, and the very act of opening his mouth lets out a smell so vile that it wouldn’t be absurd to assume an animal died in there. He holds out his hand, expecting something. She stares at it for a bit, her face showing not her disappointment as her eyes slowly glide back up to his.
“Oh, right,” He shoves his hand back into his pocket, but this time he’s fishing for something. Azo becomes tense; he should have had the payment out before he even left his cardboard box. Her arm slowly and quietly makes its way into her trench coat, and gently grabs a hold of the handle of her knife. She’s alert, and subtle, he doesn’t even notice she had moved a muscle. Finally his eyes light up, he had found what he was looking for. Any other trashy seller would have taken this as a sign that he was eager for his next fix, but not her. She’s smarter than that. He pulls his hand out of his pocket, he’s holding something tightly. She’s anticipating anything, and whatever it is, she’ll be ready. His hand slowly opens to reveal… jack ****.
“All out…” He coughs. Her hand does not retreat from the knife; instead she eyes him closely, seriously. Staring until he makes a reply.
“Uh, yeah, so... I can’t pay you today, but I can pay you tomorrow!” He smiles.
“I won’t be here tomorrow,” she whispers, “Leave. You’re not getting anything from me today, especially since you’ve pulled this same stunt on me three times in a row.” His eyes look frantic; the only thing keeping her from running away from him is that she hasn’t known him to be a dangerous person. She hates herself for that; she doesn’t want to blindly trust someone. Anybody could be lying, after all.
“Hey, listen! I know a guy that can pay you for me! How about that? I can take you to him!” His entire face beams. He can be a very ecstatic individual, always seems a bit excited.
“How do you know he’ll pay for you?”
“Well… because he owes me money!”
“Ahahaha,” Her laugh is half sarcastic, and half seriously entertained. Does he really think lending someone money means they’ll pay back? She can’t help but think that what he thought was lending may have actually been a mugging. “No. I’m not going to get myself into that. You need to help yourself get the things you need. I’m not giving away anything for free, and I’m not going to get into trouble for a payment when I could sell this stuff to any low life in here.” Her face shows amusement.
“Please? He owes me a lot, I could pay you back for the other times too,” he begs. It’s like he’s practically on his knees crying. She’s not used to begging from clients, they usually only show anger.
“Christ, what is wrong with you?” She sneers at him; she doesn’t understand how someone could bring themselves down in front of another person. It’s disgusting. Then again, maybe she’s just making a request into a bigger deal than it really is? No, no. He’s definitely making a fool out of himself. They stand there in silence. She watches him, her sneer has faded and her mind has gone into circles. Circles are bad; her mind is cloudy, not alert, but her knife being in reach gives her a false sense of security. His head has dropped, and he stares at the ground, trying to think of what to do.
“I can’t pay you with money.. but do you want, like… a car, or something?”
She snaps back to reality.
“What? No, I don’t drive, too flashy.”
“Well, it’s not really for the roa-“
“It’s for dunes?!” She interrupts. Her curiosity to know makes her question too showy. She didn’t mean to let him know she’s looking for that sort of thing, or that she wants to get out, but she couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
“Yeah! Exactly!” He points at her, positive response, and then he frowns, “Except… It’s not my car.”
“But you must know how to get it if you offered it to me!” She steps closer; her excitement causes her grip to tighten around the handle of her knife.
“Yeah, yeah, to get it is something I know. I’ve researched it completely; know my way around the owner’s defenses.” He leans back a bit and his voice quivers, slightly intimidated by her sudden closeness and excitement.
“Bring me there, tell me how to get it,” She whispers. Her face is uncomfortably close to his, she’s bearing her teeth, and has crazy eyes.
“Alright, alright, step off of me!” His face turns and he tries to push her away from him, but he’s not able to even touch her. His sudden movement caused her to jump back, pull out her knife, and assume the defensive position. Pointing it towards him, she glares.
“But I’m not giving you a chance to explain yourself if I think you’re planning against me. Remember that.” She feels like she’s given in too easily, but she needs this. She’d do anything to get out of this place… Anything for survival.