Unhappy Customer [Open]

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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Min hated this place. It was full of too much mirth and useless energy, bursting with people who had nothing to contribute and even less to say. It was opened by an Outlander, too, something that brought a curl to her lip. The bartenders were invaders as well, both of them loud and obnoxious in a way that immediately made her fingers twitch with the desire to slap.

She had gotten herself a drink (too bitter) and stomped over to the corner. The only reason she was here was to try and listen to the people around her. To the Naturals, to see if any of them felt the same way she did about the Outlanders. To the Outlanders, to see if they had anything of even the slightest value to talk about. So far, it was a no.

Sighing, resting her cheek on her hand and looking out over the bar, she wondered when exactly she was going to meet somebody, anybody, who was half as sensible as her. She had watched with a flat face the preparations beginning in the town for the Sparkbird, a stupid children's fable, had seen people trying to sing songs to the Luxere rather than simply forcing them closer with a rope and a sword. No one was practical. It was all sentiment over reality, a desperation to feel good over the obvious need for discussion and progress.

Frowning as she was in the corner, one hand clasped on her drink, she was trying to purposefully look as unapproachable as possible. Usually this worked, most people avoiding her. It did work, until Min shifted in her chair and knocked her knife (a small thing just for opening letters and teasing open jars, kept in her pocket by accident) from her jacket. She watched it bounce under the table and through the other side to the middle of the room.

Her facade of stoic quiet broken for just a second, she ducked under the table and reached out to grab it, her short arms struggling to quite get at it without completely losing all dignity and crawling, which she refused to do.

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MIN

The hand that retrieved the knife for the young woman was calloused and silver with scars on the knuckles, but it still lifted and held it out for her with a politeness that could only be bred rather than taught. "I'm guessing this is yours?" Should she take the small blade, Ronin would straighten up and offer her a smile, finishing unbuttoning his coat where he had just walked into the Rathskeller. It was bitter outside, snow dusting his shoulders and his dark hair, and breathing in the warmth and life of the tavern was nothing short of wonderful. Hunting was slow in the cold, but it didn't stop him from trying. Usual game wasn't his forte, though - monsters were more to Ronin's taste. He had patrolled the Spire as was his habit by now, walking its perimeter at a distance that could only be deemed over-cautious. Now more than ever, he doubted the demon would leave its territory, but... he had to check. Always. Once he was sure it wasn't lurking anywhere close to the Sanctuary, he'd headed to the Woodlands. There were rumours of something out there in the snow and the cold, wailing something awful, and Ronin was keen to find out what that was. Obviously, he hadn't been successful. So, frozen to the bones, he'd come here to thaw out. "Do you need a hand up?" he asked, offering his own once more. TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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Min saw her knife being picked up from under the table, but couldn't see who had taken it until she resurfaced - immediately her face soured as she heard his accent. Unfamiliar, not the voice of someone from within the barrier. An Outlander. She snatched the knife back, mumbling something that could be a thanks or an insult.

"No. I can handle myself." She made clear, straightening up before she sat back down. "I certainly don't need your help." The knife went back into her pocket, shoved down securely this time so it wouldn't slip again.

Despite her tone, she didn't actually want him to leave - working past her initial disgust, she realised this could be a good chance to get to know what the Outlanders were doing here, what kind of things they had planned. This man had scars on his hands and something experienced in his face; he seemed someone who would do things.

"...But. Maybe I do. Tell me your name. What do you do around here? Is it important?"

---

MIN

He'd only meant to be polite, but there was something intense about the young woman who snarked at him (at least it might have been a snark, he wasn't actually sure), and Ronin cleared his throat and shrugged simply to give himself something to do. It wasn't his place to decide who did and didn't need help, and if she was happy to right herself without his aid, he'd happily let her do so. He was about to wish her a good evening and move away to the bar when she did a complete turn around on him, the guildmaster halting and arching an eyebrow down at her. Clearing his throat, he offered her a quick nod. "My name is Ronin Taliesin," he introduced himself. "I'm a former soldier, but these days I run the Bounty Hunters Guild in the settlement. Though I suppose it's more of a monster hunting guild..." Maybe he ought to think about changing the name of it one of these days. "I don't know about important but I'm doing my best to make this place safer." He smiled. "And you?" TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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Ronin Taliesin. Definitely not a name from inside the bubble. And he was trying to make the place safer? Min had to hold in a bitter laugh. Didn't he know he was the invader? That he was the one damaging the integrity and structure of the place?

"I do a few things. Our history." The way she said 'our' definitely implied that it was a group that did not include Ronin. "Mercenary work. Things like that. But. I want to know more about this Bounty Hunters guild. Who do you think you are? You think you know better than we about what needs hunting here?"

Perhaps it was the alcohol in her system, but the sentiments she was saying had always been things she had believed - she just usually was smart enough to not voice them in front of Outlanders who could well beat her in a fight (though they'd get at least one scar of their own, she'd make sure of that). "It is the portalled-in idiots who would take our land that need to be hunted."

---

MIN

Ronin had been on the receiving end of these sorts of barbs more than once in his life, but rarely had he been seen as a 'foreigner'. An invader, certainly, but that was more to do with his fondness for hanging around in taverns with commoners (Northwind's words, not his). And as a former baron, that had gone down like a sack of proverbial shit. So he took her sharp words with little more than an understanding sort of nod, keeping his stance casual. "I know who I am," he said softly. "And it was far from my intention to act as if I know more than the natives of this place. A lot of my people were dragged through to this place alongside me, a lot of them former soldiers, a lot of them civilians. It's just as important to give military men something to do as it is to protect your own, isn't it?" He shrugged. "And believe me, if there were more land out there that we could access, I've no doubt we wouldn't be quite so beneath your feet. Alas, that barrier traps us all." TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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Min was aware that some of the Outlanders had come from the same place, somewhere they called 'Northaven' or 'Northwind' or 'North-something'. Originally she had thought the whole thing had to be some kind of invasion from this far off place, but then Outlanders from other worlds had cropped up. Unless they were all lying, it had slowly been revealed to definitely be a random event.

That would have made it harder to blame them, if she were anyone else. She had simply decided there had to be something else going on she hadn't worked out quite yet.

"And I suppose you think you will be able to lift it? I've heard such dreams among your people." She had dismissed them as foolish. The barrier had been a part of life there for many years now, and she was sure that no stranger to the land could get rid of it in a matter of months.

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MIN

"I cannot say if we will be able to lift it, but I certainly intend to try." Ronin smiled to her, his expression a touch wry. "I could well be wrong, I know that. And if we fail, you were right all along... but if we succeed..." He shrugged his shoulders. He had seen the barrier and the blur of wilderness beyond, and he had no idea what else might be out there. The only way to find that out, though, was to do something about it. "Listen, whatever you think of me, or of any of the people who were dropped into this place... we're all stuck here. All of us. Can I at least know your name and get you a drink before you go back to barely tolerating me?" He smirked. TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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This man was too passive, too nice for her barbs to have the intended effect. Min watched him speak with a disgruntled expression, almost disappointed she would not have a fight. Truthfully, that had been her experience with most of the Outlanders; they were generally pleasant, which made the whole task harder.

Ronin surprised her with offering her a drink. She narrowed her eyes. Now he was being too nice, and it occurred to her he could be...romantically interested. The thought was nightmarish.

"...My name is Min. If you think a drink will lead to sex then don't bother." It was easier to tell him now and deal with the initial disappointment (and in her usual experience with men, anger and pathetic whining) then wait until they had spoken for a while and he had gotten ideas. "But if you really do just want to talk. I suppose we could...parlay. Natural and Outlander."

---

MIN

Ronin told himself he had grown out of bar brawls, but in truth with enough drink in him and the right motivation, he was never too far away from throwing punches. Luckily, he didn't seem in anything like a black enough mood to get too far into his cups. When she mentioned sex he couldn't help it, snorting with laughter before thinking she might be offended, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I am sure you are lovely, but I have a goddess of a woman at home who is carrying my child, so you'll understand if I pass," he murmured. "Talk and parlay I are more than enough for me." So saying, he left to the bar before he could put his foot in his mouth any further, only returning when he had two mugs of ale. Setting one down before her, he nodded to an empty seat across the table. "May I?" TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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"It was not an offer." Min quickly insisted, but Ronin had already gone to get drinks. A child? Min wondered how many Outlander children would be born here...were they Naturals, then? It was hard to say. Whatever the conclusion was, she didn't like it.

She took the mug from him and held it in two hands, not yet drinking. Only nodding when he asked if she could sit, she stayed quiet for a moment and looked down into the ale, thinking about nothing in particular but still managing to be annoyed about it. Eventually she mumbled a 'thanks', trying not to think about the slimy bartender who served it (she really did not like the man. A bar was a place to serve drinks, not practice some kind of acrobatic act or flirt).

"Where did you come from? Was it similar to here?" Min asked - in another tone the question could simply be pleasant conversation, but in her voice it was interrogation. Trying to appear at least vaguely casual she lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip, but her eyes did not leave Ronin's face.

---

MIN

At the nod of acquiescence, Ronin slid onto the barstool opposite and sipped at his own ale, comfortable despite himself and the clear social awkwardness that still prickled the air between them. The former captain was a social creature at heart and he always had been - while certainly not oblivious, he had learned enough in his time (and he had made enough blood mistakes) to know when to bite and when to fold. His new companion was clearly irked by their intrusion into this world - something he absolutely understood, and would have rectified were he able to - so the least he could do was not seem utterly useless or overly dominant. A fine tightrope to walk, indeed. She asked about the place he'd come from and a faint smile crossed his face as he stared into his mug. "It was called Northaven," he supplied for a name. "Similar in some ways but very different in others. There was a large wall around the settlement, and creatures would attack. There was magic, like here, but it was a lot different in nature. And it was very oppressive, in a lot of ways. I didn't realise how trapped I was until I opened my eyes here." TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST

DAMNED IF I YIELD AT THE END OF THE CHASE

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Northaven. She'd heard whisperings of the place before. It didn't seem anyone had any fondness for it, so she supposed it made sense they might try to come over here (she still severely doubted these stories of accidental portals).

Sipping at her drink, bitter but with an undercurrent of sweetness that she liked, Min wondered if there had been alcohol in Ronin's land. It was a silly thought, born of just curiosity and nothing else, so she did not voice it. She did not see the point in giving sound to questions that would not further her goal of finding about his motives.

"Oppressive? How?" Min narrowed her eyes, unsure of Ronin's meaning. If he was a true, good man then he likely meant real oppression; but a part of her assumed he must be a criminal who was referring to the true and proper law in his home town. In her experience, people who were prone to crimes and lies never saw issues as their own fault.

"Do you find it less oppressive here?"

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MIN

Ronin smiled behind his mug, unable to stop the expression from flickering across his face when everything he said was met with such... suspicion. Or disapproval, or both. One would have thought he had come from a different planet. (Though maybe that was true; best not to think about it). "Actually, I do," he said of Caido. "Much less oppressive." Taking another sip of his drink, he shrugged his shoulders. "Where I came from society was very... classist. There were nobles and commoners, and mages who were considered above both - unless they possessed a certain type of magic. Racism, classism... moving through social circles was a dance I didn't much care for. Sexuality, too... it was taboo even to think you might be attracted to someone of the same sex." The guildmaster wrinkled his nose. "Even remembering it, after being here, brings a bad taste to my mouth." TALIESIN SO LOOK, AND CONNECT WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST