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Post by iphigenia on Sept 17, 2010 2:29:15 GMT -5
Iphie stood outside in the cold rain outside some small dingy bar in nightsDoorstep. She was clad in a heavy coat that hid most of her body and certainly made her look far more imposing. Well as imposing as a shapeless five foot thing can look. Still she did what she could and kept her hood up and a scarf around most of her face. With a bit of bubbling and some work she could do a nice threatening gruff voice which helped she supposed. The reason she was there was the same that it had been the previous two nights, she was there to keep trash from getting in and fights from breaking out. It was far from a glamorous job but she was getting the money that she needed so desperately while still keeping herself hidden. While she may not enjoy such things, it was the easiest way Iphie knew of making money.
She shivered a bit, though the coat kept her mostly dry there was still a bite to the cool air. She hadn't had to do much to get the job, just prove she was worth paying which was certainly easy enough with a small feat of strength, not even full power. She hoped it wouldn't take much longer to make the money, she could earn more since she worked all night with no rest. Sleep was far from Iphie's mind, though she sometimes wished it came as easily as it had so long ago.
She stared into the darkness of the streets, she hated this time of silence and she wanted something to do, or at least something to break up the monotony. All that she had now were the thoughts of what had been happening lately and she certainly didn't want to dwell on that. The talk with Toph had helped but she still felt entirely too insecure to be focusing on any matters romantic, sexual, or submissive.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Sept 18, 2010 13:34:39 GMT -5
Another night, another tavern, another drink and another client...well, almost. The client had yet to arrive. He (or she) had gone through all the trouble of leaving Hudson a note to give to his tenant informing Dusty of the time and location of the alleged meeting. No further details were provided. Nothing that alluded to the nature of the case or the identity of the client. Just "Some hooded fella" as Hudson so eloquently put it. Of course without any details, Dusty knew it was foolish to even try and guess at the identity of the client.
"What a waste of time." the detective muttered into her pint of ale. It had already been listening to her complaints and foul language for what was quickly turning into the better part of the evening.
She was half tempted to up and leave. After all, if the client did have the common decency to show up at the appointed time that there was no sense in wasting an evening on sticking around.
"Eh...one more round." she figured. But first...
Dusty stood to her feet and pulled a small wooden pipe from her duster's pocket. Heading for the door, she packed in the ground up leaves and readied a match. Some fresh was always a decent break.
The cooling air greeted the red-head, as she longed for the return of summer. Heat was one thing, even with humidity Dusty could handle as much of it as anyone. But the cold? She doubted she would ever get used to those damnably low temperatures.
She was greeted by a short hooded figure, standing guard. Dusty quirked a red eyebrow as lit the pipe and leaned against the wall.
"Some hooded fella."
Hudson's words once again floated into her mind. Dusty eyed the figure for a few more moments, before making up her mind. It was worth a shot...
"Was it you?" she asked, "If'n your second guessin' hirin' a detective, let's call the whole thing off. I got other clients I could be seein' an' I'd rather not waste time."
That was a slight stretching of the truth, as her list of clientele was not all that impressive.
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Post by iphigenia on Sept 19, 2010 23:29:07 GMT -5
Iphie turned toward the inquiring voice and suddenly recognized the shock of hair. She tried to put a name to the hair but couldn't quite get it. All she could remember was the first name which she supposed would have to do. Iphie pulled down the scarf covering her face. "Hello there Dusty, it's me. I don't know what you're talking about but fancy meeting you here." She smiled, it was nice to see a sort of friendly face, or at least the face of someone recognizable. Of course their last meeting had been far from eventful but it was a pleasant enough experience.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Sept 20, 2010 12:52:16 GMT -5
Dusty's demeanor made an immediate shift from her "Business-mode" to a much lighter and more jovial look. The freckled detective broke out into a grin and patted the familiar bouncer on the shoulder. No wonder she didn't recognize the frail looking woman.
"That's a pretty good disguise!" she said, "Good ta see ya, Iphigenia!"
Taking a step back, she took a few puffs out of her pipe and gave a closer inspection of Iphie. The way she was wearing her current attire it would be very difficult to figure out the actual size beneath it all.
"Small world, ain't it?" she chuckled, "Say, what ya got for foot-ware?"
Dusty was still fascinated with the disguise. Being stationary, as Iphie was, it wouldn't matter as much, but Dusty did have a tendency to obsess over details.
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Post by iphigenia on Sept 24, 2010 14:10:26 GMT -5
Iphie lifted up the hems of her robes to show the rather plain and ragged sandals. "Just what I normally wear. I figured that it was easier to look threatening with more girth than height. I mean, if I wanted to look threatening heightwise I'd need to add a good two or three feet. This way I look like a large dwarf or maybe a small troll or something." She looked down at herself. "I don't know what I look like. But I don't look like me so I make a good guard." She lowered the hem and leaned against the wall. It was nice to talk casually again. Nothing was on the line with Dusty, at least, not that she new of.
"If you want the rest of it, it isn't all that clever. I've just bundled myself in as many things as I could get my hands on. It certainly isn't professional but it gets the job done and that means I get paid." Iphie shrugged, a movement both emphasized and distorted by the amount of clothing she wore. "How are you Dusty, did you ever figure out what was going on in that secret tunnel sort of thing we found? Was it some sort of conspiracy or maybe a place where they could hide all their stuff. Wouldn't even need a map with an x." Iphie was genuinely curious and had a lot more questions, however she could sense more people coming and slipped the scarf back over her mouth. Her face was what gave her away and now was as good a time as any to let Dusty speak.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Sept 25, 2010 13:04:11 GMT -5
"Naw, I wasn't thinking much about height. Just figurin' if ya got heavier shoes they'd sound a whole lot heavier! Kinda a small detail, but them kinda things cam always help!" Dusty made her best effort to keep her voice down. After all, she didn't want to blow Iphie's cover. But her exuberance could be hard to contain at times. Luckily no one had been around at that moment.
"Oh, that?" she gave a slight chuckle, "Still on goin'. Been making some progress, but still too many blanks to get a good idea o' what the big picture is. But they won't stay blank for too long! Hey, I may need another hand from ya on that. Not right now, but I'd like to keep ya on call. 'Fraid I tipped my hand a bit early. Head honchos probably got an idea o' what I look like. So you might be able to slip around unnoticed."
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Post by iphigenia on Sept 26, 2010 5:20:40 GMT -5
Iphie waited until the coast was clear before pulling her scarf back down. "I wouldn't mind joining you again, got to keep busy. Though I don't think I could do anything free, I'm a tad bit in trouble in the financial area which is why I'm here doing this." She gestured at the area she was standing in. Iphie hoped Dusty wouldn't offer anything out of charity. That is the last thing she wanted. If she wanted to change the way her life had been going then she would need to be a lot more independent.
Looking back she had always been incredibly subservient, even if she hadn't thought so then. Admittedly she had grown up on the small farm and if you didn't follow instructions there it could lead to misfortune, but even after she had been inducted into the brotherhood she had been at their beck and call. Except for when she was sent out for a mission she had been stuck inside meditating or teaching herself to use her new abilities. But now it was different. she was on her own, whether that meant death or life she didn't know but she planned to keep herself away from owing favors.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Sept 26, 2010 13:54:53 GMT -5
"No problem!" Dusty grinned, "Had a couple more payin' gigs. Just some small stuff, but the money was good. I'll have some money for ya next time I come a callin'."
It stood to reason that most of her "colleagues" would want a cut of the action. For the amount of danger they were exposing themselves to, it only stood to reason. Of course, this particular case was being done for no one in particular.
Not that that kept her from maintaining an expense account for the case. Perhaps City Watch would kindly pay her for the trouble she had been going through to rid Night's Doorstep (and Venus in general) of whoever this "Spider" was.
"Speakin' o' which...just where would I be able to find ya?" Dusty had come to the realization that she still knew very little about Iphigenia.
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Post by iphigenia on Sept 30, 2010 21:31:31 GMT -5
"Oh, well it isn't that hard. Poor girl like me without a copper to her name, all alone in this city full of strange travelers. I'm in the castle of course. West wing specifically so from there I should be easy to find." Iphie smiled. "Free room and board and a chance at being a princess...or queen I'm not entirely sure how that all works out if you marry before the previous rulers die." Iphie shrugged again, the act still not appearing as much more than a light shake under the disguise.
"So who were you looking for, I certainly don't think it was me?"
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Oct 1, 2010 19:39:00 GMT -5
"Oh, right, you were one o' them contestants up there. Been meetin' so many of ya, I'd almost figure I was in on that thing too...if my room wasn't above a bar, that is." she grinned and laughed, "Ah, but my business here ain't for anythin' important it seems. The prospective client hasn't bothered showin' up yet. Leaves some note with the bar's owner tellin' me ta come here an' wait for 'im."
She threw her shoulders up in a shrug, "But, ain't all that busy, truth be told." she continued, "Still, gonna need to get one o' these cases that actually has some money comin' from it. Doin' all this runnin' 'round for nothin's all well an' good for contributin' my part ta justice an' whatnot, but it ain't payin' bills. Ah, I'll dig up some rich gal who thinks 'er husband's runnin' 'round with the maids or somethin'. That oughtta get me through for a bit! Them cases are pretty easy, too. Can wrap one o' them up by the next mornin'!"
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Post by iphigenia on Oct 10, 2010 14:08:19 GMT -5
"Well I guess that makes sense if they are sleeping around, but what if they aren't? Or just aren't doing it on that night? Doesn't seem like all that great a thing if you end up sitting around watching nothing for days at a time. Though admittedly I'm doing the same thing in about fifty pounds of clothing." She chuckled and held up her hands in mock surrender. "I guess you come here often if the bartender knew to give you a note, the guy I've talked to doesn't seem to care much for me, though whether it's the size or the fact that I never buy a drink I don't know."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Oct 11, 2010 14:23:35 GMT -5
Dusty stuck the pipe back in her mouth and took a few puffs, "Don't gotta catch 'em in the act to find out if they're cheatin' or not." she smirked, "Just gotta keep your eyes open. Find some letters, or see if there's an appointment book that don't match up. Lots o' wise ya can rule things out. Sure, sometimes it's a bit more complex than it might seems. But, sometimes things just are what they appear ta be!"
She grinned and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, "As for these guys, I don't really swing by here all that often." she pointed to the door to the bar, "The fella who runs the bar where I live, got the note. Followed the instructions to come here an' here I am!"
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Post by iphigenia on Nov 5, 2010 3:25:05 GMT -5
"Here you are and here he's not apparently. Maybe whatever he was planning just fizzled out, it happens sometimes." Iphie glanced around but nobody was actually coming out of the bar. "Umm, I was wondering though, you've got a sword and stuff but are you good with it? Not that I'm challenging you or anything." She held up her hands in defense. "I just don't really know how to fight, well apart from hitting or throwing stuff. I learned a few things but very little of it involved sharp objects...or defending against anything come to think of it."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Nov 8, 2010 13:05:32 GMT -5
An idle shrug rose beneath the long duster. The detective took another puff of her pipe and replied, "Still, if the fella wants ta be cryptic, least he can do is cryptically tell me not to bother. Ah, well, forget the whole mess."
Dusty smoked her pipe as Iphie's request made it's roundabout way of getting asked. At the end, she just grinned, "Sure!" she said, "I'd be happy to teach ya a few things. Think I still got an old training manual, too. I'll dig it up, show ya how a soldier o the Golden Canyon gets things done!"
Dusty laughed a little, "Just lemme knowwhen ya wanna start."
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Post by iphigenia on Nov 13, 2010 1:28:19 GMT -5
"Well I don't get off until daybreak and even then I don't have long until the bar opens up again." Iphie thought for a moment. "I'm stuck doing this until I make enough to pay for the shield I ordered but if you aren't too busy some morning I'd be willing to start whenever." She grinned at Dusty before remembering about sleep. "Unless you're tired though. I mean, what you do, all the late nights and stuff. I don't want to inconvenience you. And I can't pay you or anything either so it isn't like you have to help me. I mean, I'd like to repay you and I would if you could. I don't want to owe anybody anything anymore but the last of what I had all went into that shield and even then I don't know if it was smart but the idea of having one just seemed really nice."
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