[Open] An Unwelcome Reunion

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Anaxas' main trade port; it is also the nation's criminal headquarters, home to the Bad Brothers and Silas Hawke, King of the Underworld. The small town of Plugit is nearby.

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Lacey Lovell
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 6:49 pm
Topics: 4
Race: Human
Location: Old Rose Harbor
: Yar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Writer: Raksha
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Sun Jan 27, 2019 6:12 pm

19th Vortas, 2718
OLD ROSE | MID AFTERNOON
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"By Hulali’s tits, it’s cold! The blonde piratess snarled to no one in particular as she trounced down the hard packed dirt street of the Rose. The weather was chilled that day, with a fog hanging in the air that made it feel even colder than it really was, enough that Lacey had to tuck an old blanket around the top of her coat and clothing, head hunched into her shoulders and face a scowl. She had weathered the cold before, aye, but it was inside her beautiful intact Laced Lady with a carefully contained fire and a good load of rum. Now, the broken shell of a ship had little protection from the cold. It penetrated the sails that closed her off from the rain and snow and let the cold sear into her space. Of course, only the day before she’d had a lovely warm body to keep the cold away, but it was a temporary solution. The thought of Corwynn turned the corner of her lip in a wicked smirk, before the cold forced it away again.

She’d thought to find a place warm to have a drink and loose the last few ha’pennies for a bit of bread and hingle, but the Black Dove refused to let her in. At least, for a while. The human had begun to form herself a bit of a reputation in the seasons she had been here, and the good folk of the taverns were loathe to loose any more furniture to her mouth. Given time, they would get over it, but for now, she was not welcome. Well, the Queen still wanted her, but not without a bit more ging.

And so, it was, the listless inked creature wandered without purpose looking for somewhere that might give her a brief stint to warm her toes by the fire. Shivering a little, she paused outside of the back of a quaint building, leaning against the brickwork and glancing up the street. Was it really worth the walk, knowing she wasn’t really going to find anything? Maybe if she piled everything she owned on the bed and stoked the fire, she could make a cocoon of warmth.

Shame she was out of rum.

Hugging herself, Lacey pressed herself against the brick work a little more bodily, suddenly realizing that it was warm. Not hot mind, but warmer than she’d expected it to be. Really, it should have been chilled. Lifting with a frown, the blonde tilted her head to look for a sign post, seeing nothing. Her curiosity peaked, and she moved away from the back to the store front, noticing that the warmth faded as she moved away. At the front, she still couldn’t see a sign, and without hesitation she pushed the door to go inside.

Curiosity might have killed the osta as they say, but Lacey hadn’t really understood that comment anyway.

Once inside the pirate stopped and looked around at the wooden interior. It was filled with clay built pots and tableware and all sorts of things that Lacey had seen and even used, but hadn’t actually considered where they had come from. Her eyes roamed the room slowly, not particularly interested in the wares, but attracted to the warmth that radiated within. If she pretended to care about the stuff inside the shop, there was a good chance she could hang around for a while.

“Oooh, that be pretty.” She muttered, reaching for a delicately sculpted bowl, dirty fingers wrapping around the glazed exterior and lifting it from the shelf. Turning it over in her hand, the human admired the handiwork even if she didn’t understand it.

“Could do with a…er…” A bowl? A container? What was it exactly, Lacey had no clocking idea. Turning it back, her fingers betrayed her and with a loud smash the bowl hit the hardwood floor and shattered into multiple pieces.

“Well shit.” The pirate winced, glancing at the unattended counter. It was actually pretty, and she would have bought it, had she been the buying type. Mostly she was planning on stealing it.

Turning her eyes on the shattered pottery, the pierced lady scowled darkly. The broken clay parts dragged vivid memories of the Lady's demise to the surface, the violent burst of magic from the vile Gioran she'd adopted, like some stray dog in the bay of Gior. Her best canon, her saving grace, the pride and joy of old Dragus himself had been turned to nothing but clay right at the heat of the battle. And like that, the Lady was broken and the day was lost. Suddenly the broken bowl was no longer pretty.

Time for a hasty exit, cold or no cold.


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Ketziana Dimere
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:47 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Passive
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Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:01 pm

Old Rose: The Shop
Mid-Afternoon
Ketziana was in the back, throwing more coal in the fire pit of the kiln, when she heard the door bell ring. "Be right there," she said loudly, though she didn't realize she hadn't been loud enough for the person in the shop to hear. When she heard the crash of shattering pottery, she swore and closed the fire pit. She needed to throw more in, but she needed to go see who was breaking her pottery first. The kiln wouldn't cool down that fast. "I hope you know I expect you to pay for that," the pale passive said as she hurried out to see the miscreant who had pushed her one piece of pottery closer to having to whore for Hawke.

She stopped in the archway between the studio and the main part of the store when she saw who had entered her store. "... Oh," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew there was no way that she could pretend she wasn't who she was, the Gioran passive who accidentally ruined Lacey's ship. She may look different -- 6 weeks of hard work, little sleep, and deep depression left her looking haggard and thin, as if she would blow away in a hard breeze. But she wasn't going to try to insult Lacey's intelligence.

Ketzi only stood frozen for a moment before turning to get the broom and dust pan for the mess Lacey had made. She moved over to clean up the mess and sighed. "I don't know how you found me. I told you that your ship was an accident, for Imaan's sake. If I had the damn money, it'd be in your hands right now," she said, her voice quavering slightly as her eyes filled with tears.

Really, she missed the pirate. She knew she had been a little shit on the ship, but part of her hoped she could have been friends with the pirate. But now that she found herself an unwilling business owner, she was able to admit she had been wrong. Having the spectre of being thrown in a whorehouse helped people grow up pretty fast. Lacey had threatened her life the last time she saw her. Ketzi was no longer naive enough to think those were words just thrown around in the heat of anger.

Ketzi was afraid that Lacey had come to make that threat reality. Afraid, but partly relieved, too.

She finished cleaning up the mess, dumping the shards of clay in the trash. She turned to Lacey, the tears she had desperately tried to hide running down her face. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't do shit to make anything better, but I really am sorry. If you want, I can give you what little I have after making my payments on the fucking debt that I got saddled with and the taxes. It'll probably just be a few hats here or there, maybe a tally if you're lucky. You wouldn't believe how much Hawke taxes and fucking Gauthier left me a lifetime's worth of debt when he keeled over. But you can have what I can scrape together. I don't care about the money. I just want to stay out of the whore house."

After a moment, Ketzi gave a slight shrug. "Or, if you're here to make good on your threat, you can go ahead and do that. At this point, I'm not sure I'd care."
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Lacey Lovell
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 6:49 pm
Topics: 4
Race: Human
Location: Old Rose Harbor
: Yar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: Raksha
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Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:54 pm

19th Vortas, 2718
OLD ROSE | MID AFTERNOON
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Lacey began to move, turning towards the doorway, reaching for the handle to let herself out when she heard the voice call from the backroom as the storekeep came running.

She knew that voice.

Freezing where she was, the pirate turned her head slowly, not quite believing what she was seeing. Her hazel eyes narrowed, hands clenching and jaw clenching as she watched the gods-forsaken passive realise who she was. There was no way the blonde rouge would forget who she was, even if she looked more worse for wear than when they had parted.

Ketziana.

A rage flared in the woman, and she watched with fury as the Gioran moved to clean up her broken pottery, waffling on about accidents and money and debt. Mostly Lacey heard a rushing in her ears, she felt the pounding of her heart in her chest. Her hand shook as it moved to her pistol, and as Ketzi stood, Lacey drew the weapon and grabbed for the girls clothing as she moved forwards. Grasping her by the front, the tattooed pirate shoved her back against the counter top, holding the barrel up under the girls chin hard.

You. She growled, venom thick in her voice and teeth grit. Shaking the Gioran a little, Lacey cocked her pistol and dug it in harder.

“Ye little fuckin’ shite. I didn’t…I had no idea ye were even still here. I could…I would…” The pirate struggled to find the words she wanted to say, barking a short laugh and leaning closer.

“Don’t want ye fuckin’ money Ketzi. Ye…my….ARGH!” Shouting angrily she shoved the girl aside, uncocking the pistol and slipping it violently back into place, before punching the wooden counter. And again. And again. Breathing heavily, she rested both hands on the wood, ignoring the bloodied split she’d caused across her knuckles, finding a way to calm herself down.

“Why th’ fuck by Hulali’s tits are y’ still in th’ fuckin’ harbor Petal?” The pierced sailor growled unevenly, eyes closed and jaw twitching angrily. Taking a deep breath, and releasing it slowly, she shook her head.

“An’ how th’ fuck have ye managed to get roped up with Hawke? F’ th’ love o’ th’ Gods, ye had a chance t’ run. T’ get away from everythin’, but o’ course here ye are.” A colorful string of expletives left her lips as she vented her anger. Of course, she was furious at the Gioran passive. She had been a miserable sod since Lacey found her, saved her in the bay of Gior. Ungrateful uptight albino with a very closed minded view of other races, with an aversion to hard work, the tattooed Captain had no idea why she hadn’t thrown her overboard ages ago.

Of course you know. You thought you could fix her, make her see the world was bigger than her little Kingdom.

Opening her eyes, Lacey took another couple of breaths, before finally turning her head to look at the pale creature with a frown.

“What are ye doin’ Ketzi? Th’ Lady’s scuttled, ye ain’t got th’ ging t’ even begin t’ help me. Y’ seem t’ have done alright though, ownin’ th’ King or not. What’s this then? Y’ havin’ that magical explosion an’ usin’ th’ left o’ers t’ make a bit o’ coin?” Her voice was low, weary and edged with bitterness.

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Ketziana Dimere
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:47 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Passive
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes, including thread history
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:32 pm

Old Rose Harbor: Ketziana's Shop
Vortas 19, 2718: Mid-Afternoon
Ketziana was, in no way, surprised when Lacey picked her up and slammed her against the counter, nor was she surprised when she felt Lacey's pistol under her jaw. She refused to look away. Now that she was in this situation, she realized she had always expected to die this way and she would meet Imaan bravely.

"You could. Maybe you should. Imaan's light, I did enough to you," was all she said.

She was shocked when Lacey threw her aside. She truly was. She watched as Lacey punched herself bloody against her counter.

When she spoke, her voice was quiet and shame-filled. She had been so stupid and naïve, and she knew every word she would say would just reinforce Lacey's rightfully hate-filled opinion of her. "I wanted to try to pay you back for some of the damage. I was a fucking petulant child, even though you saved my life. You deserved more gratitude from me. And then… Well, you know what happened," she said as she stood up, straightening her skirt. "Yes, that was an accident. But, by Imaan's heart, you treated me a lot better than I deserved. I would've thrown me overboard half a day into our trip." Her laugh was mocking, full of self-hatred. "I don't know why you didn't."

"How I got the shop… I'm sure you'll find this hilarious. It's exactly what I deserve," she said, before laughing bitterly and starting to slowly pace the room. "My parents were potters and trained me as one. I got an apprenticeship. I was so happy," she scoffed. "I was an utter idiot. The goddamned erse didn't tell me I had to be registered with Hawke and then he died on me. Fucking heart attack or something like that. He was opening the kiln door, screamed, and plop. Flopping around like the fish we used to catch."

"Hawke found me in the shop, packing what little I had, ready to try to find another job. He told me that the ersehole who hired me owed him, big-time, and I could either pay him back in the shop or on my back. As Gauthier's apprentice, I was responsible for his debts, whether I had been properly registered or not." She spat the former owner's name like it was poison, as angrily and bitterly as Lacey spoke her name.

"What did you expect me to do? Do you really think I would have survived if I tried to leave this lovely little town?" It was hard to tell whether Ketzi's voice was full of disgust for the town she was stuck in or for herself. "I mean, even before Hawke gifted me with Gauthier's debts, you know how wonderful my survival skills are. Now? Fucking Hawke would eat me alive before I even hit the town walls. Then he'd turn me into an exotic whore which, you know, is what I've always wanted to be." The sarcasm in her voice was thick enough to cut with a dull knife. She gave a half-shrug and sighed. "This is the better of two incredibly shitty options. At least I have the skills for this."

She reached out and touched one of the plates she had made. "There are worse ways to be a slave," she said simply.
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Lacey Lovell
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 6:49 pm
Topics: 4
Race: Human
Location: Old Rose Harbor
: Yar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: Raksha
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Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:03 pm

19th Vortas, 2718
OLD ROSE | MID AFTERNOON
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Looking down at her hand as Ketzi spoke, Lacey frowned and lifted her knuckles to her lips, licking away the blood and blowing on the wound. She scoffed, shaking her head and glancing back at the Gioran.

“I got a soft spot f’ broken things.” The pirate said simply, looking around the shop as the pale creature explained the events that had occurred after the piratess had become beached. Her hazel eyes lit up at the explanation of the shop’s shifting from one owner to the other, unable to resist a chuckle at the fishy analogy, sighing and rubbing her face with her uninjured hand.

“Argh, ye fuckin’ idiot Petal. Ye couldn’t just…wander down t’ th’ river an’ catch a boat t’ Vienda? It’s not even that far! Ye could have bribed ye way on. Moony, mung bloody moonfaced Gioran.” She spat, shoving off from the counter to pace the room slowly, her brow creased in thought as the girl continued.

“Aye! That’s exactly what I expected ye t’do ye silly lass! Ye would have been fine…” Pausing, the blonde eyed the waif of a thing, before tsking.

“Mostly fine. Look I—” The inked woman sighed and tapped her fingers on her sword hilt, finding the words that weren’t bolstered by anger.

“I were angry, still am angry! But I didn’t kill ye because it weren’t ye fault. Ye should have fuckin’ told ole Cap’n Lacey that ye were a walkin’ ship wrecker at least, that ye can take full blame fer, but th’ reason f’ye magical woo-woo ain’t ye fault. I get that, I ain’t an idiot. I didn’t kill ye there an’ then because I still had hope f’ ye Petal. Ye could have just kept goin’ but…Gods. Ye like a stray pup, ye know that.” Resting her hands on her hips, Lacey looked the Gioran over and chewed her lip, unable to keep herself serious for long.

“Ye would have made one hell of a whore though. Hawke is crazy t’ have let that one slip.” Smirking, the pirate ran her fingers across a few of the pieces on the wall, careful as not to knock anything else down. She was livid with the Gioran, but it was hard to stay mad when you were in some way, at fault for it. The blonde could have just let nature take its course, she could have just let the alabaster being die there in the bay, but Hulali be damned even if she didn’t believe in relationships or tying ones self to others, she had a heart in her chest. She wasn’t a beast.

“Alright lass. What’s th' King said ye owe? Can ye actually get outta this one? Remember, Hawke he’s a clever fellow. Talks in circles an’ doesn’t always say what he really means. He’s ten steps ahead even when ye think y’ are winnin’.” Her brain began to tick over, to work through the bits and pieces. There were ways to just take the girl and flee, but that would mean abandoning the Laced Lady, and there was no way in hell that would ever happen. Still, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t try to understand. Maybe she would help. Maybe she’d tell the girl to enjoy the bed she’d made.

“Have ye even stopped t’ think about it?” She asked with a snap, before shaking her head.

Bloody Giorans.

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Ketziana Dimere
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:47 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Passive
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
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Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:07 pm

Old Rose Harbor: Ketziana's Shop
19 Vortas 2718: Mid-Afternoon
Ketziana gave Lacey a half-smile. "Yeah, you told me. But sometimes broken things can't be fixed."

She couldn't resist laughing at Lacey's dismay that she didn't go to Vienda. "No shit, Balderick. You know I'm an idiot. That's how I landed in your hands. You also know my luck. If I had grabbed a ship, I'd probably have ended up in Roannah. I did what I thought was the smart thing. I didn't realize that Old Rose is a shithole and, by the time I did, I couldn't get the fuck out. Most of the people on the docks would drop me overboard as soon as they heard I was running from Hawke and you know how great I get by when traveling by foot. Wasn't it you that said I couldn't find my erse with 2 hands, a mirror, and a map?"

Ketzi clicked her tongue and went to her sink, getting a rag and rinsing it out. She grabbed her first aid kit and made her way back to Lacey. "Here. Give me that hand. Knowing you, you're probably still with the Lady and you can't afford to get an infection."

She kept talking as she waited for Lacey to offer her hand. "I swear to Imaan, we were taught that diableries are messages sent by the Gods. You know what I thought of myself, how cursed I thought I was. I honestly thought mine couldn’t go off because of my godsdamned parents. I was a religious little shit and all I wanted was to be a priest and the fact that I had blue eyes always felt like a curse. You have no idea how much of a sin it is for priests of Imaan to have children. Yeah, that sin doesn't pass down to me supposedly, but once I found out that my parents were priests, I felt in my bones that I was tainted, that my parents' sin was why Imaan didn't want me."

"Now I know I'm just an idiot," she said with a self-loathing laugh.

Ketzi shuddered at the comment about whoring, wrapping her arms around herself and suddenly pacing the room. "Yeah, I know," she said simply as she tried to keep her breathing under control, to remind herself that the noose wasn't around her neck yet, that she still was relatively safe. If Lacey caught a glimpse of Ketzi's eyes, she would've seen the panic that Ketzi displayed whenever Lacey threatened to throw her into the ocean deep. "He made it very clear how much I'd make as a whore. He told me it was a stupid idea to take the shop over whoring, if I wanted my freedom."

She paced silently for a few minutes before Lacey's question registered. "I don't even remember what he said Gauthier owed. Hawke said it'd take like 7 years if I didn't add more debt to it, I think? I don't fucking know how the ersehole managed to run up that much debt. But the fucking wick bastard controls all the supply lines. I can't even get fucking clay without buying it from him and, yeah, I'm technically buying it from him, but when he adds a markup, I'm often not coming out ahead. Sure, I may be only falling behind by a scrap or two every time I buy something, but those add up."

She stopped in front of Lacey and turned to her. "I don't think I'm getting out of this one, Painted Queen. And, honestly, I'm okay with that if the only other way to get out of it is to whore myself out. You'll just have to come back to tell me stories about the world you get to see when we finally fix that ship of yours," she said with a slight smile. "And, yes, I can afford to cut into my profit margin enough to throw you a penny or two here or there. The only things I buy are food for myself and my cat, and you know I don't eat much. It's not like I'm using it for anything but paying debt off. And when you owe as much as I do, a penny here or there isn't going to matter."

She quickly changed the subject, knowing that Lacey would be just as determined to not take Ketzi's money as Ketzi was to give it to the pirate. She didn't want to have that argument right then. "Speaking of pennies, you eaten today? I know this amazing bakery that makes cookies, along with bread, and it's right next to a wine shop and a cheese shop. I got distracted," she said, pointing over her shoulder to the piece on her work table, "so I haven't taken a lunch yet. I can afford to run and grab food to bring back here and you'll have a full belly for once."
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Lacey Lovell
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 6:49 pm
Topics: 4
Race: Human
Location: Old Rose Harbor
: Yar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: Raksha
Contact:

Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:55 pm

19th Vortas, 2718
OLD ROSE | MID AFTERNOON
Image
Reluctantly handing over her hand, Lacey pouted as Ketzi began to clean the self inflicted wounds, muttering something about the Lady being just as clean as any well priced tumble.

“Well if tha’ be a message from th’ Gods love, y’God is a right tosser. Ain’t no God like tha’ deserves ye dedication Petal.” The blonde pirate growled, wincing a little as the clean rag stung the cuts, annoyed that she still had a soft spot for the albino even when she hated her. Pulling the hand back as Ketzi paced the room, Lacey watched her with a frown, arms crossed and lips pursed as she saw the fear in the tall girls face.

Ah, damn it.

“He weren’t wrong, t’ be fair. An’ look, whorin’ ain’t that bad, provided y’can make it t’ th’ top o’ th’ tumble pile. If y’customers know y’got a reputation f’bein’ good an’ maybe a little bit dangerous, they’re more likely t’respect y’some. O’course, ain’t always th’ way, but I seen a few lass’ make some benny ging by bein’ harderses in th’ tumblehuts.” She said with a nod, as though trying to convince the girl it had to be better than this. Faster than this too. But the inked creature knew that whilst she herself might be able to take the tumble life, Ketzi would be broken in a day.

“Seven years?!” Lacey squawked, throwing her hands up in the air and letting loose a string of curses that were all sorts of colorful, some in entirely different languages that she had mish-mashed into her repertoire over the years. Making an exasperated sound, she stopped raging to face Ketzi as the Gioran called her a pet name that frankly, struck through even the heaviest of annoyance within the blonde.

“Ah Petal, don’t…when have ye ever known me not t’ get outta somethin’? Jus’, give me time t’ digest this one aye? We’ll think o’somethin’, ye silly girl.” Taking a breath to argue again over the owing of pennies, Lacey’s stomach answered the albino woman for her instead, growling in protest and desperation for something else apart from rum. The tattooed creature rubbed the back of her neck with her uninjured hand and laughed a little.

“Eatin’ is f’ folks with ging love. An’ I plan on gettin’ some ging, don’t y’worry. I just…ain’t got any. Yet. So I mean…if y’ feelin’ peckish I s’pose I could eat.”

It was the closest Ketzi would get to an admission of starvation from the pirate. Or a please. Or a thank you.

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