[ OPEN ] Your Life's in Danger, Every Enemy's a Stranger

[thecookery]

WHO: Avery and YOU perhaps???
WHAT: Just a few open prompts!
WHEN: Throughout the month
WHERE: The Gallows, Kirkwall
NOTES: no warnings as of yet? except for a potty mouth baker and maybe potential mild violence in one prompt

I. The Gallows Kitchens

Running a kitchen this size is the kind of madness Avery wasn't sure she was actually cut out for when she first took on the responsibility, but over these last few months she's somehow managed to pull it off with only a few minor mishaps. That's not to say it's easy (and it's definitely not to say it isn't stressful, as anyone who speaks to Avery frequently can tell you), but she's not collapsing under the pressure just yet.

Still, it's nice every once in a while to have a moment of silence here as well. Without all the hustle and bustle and moving parts to keep in line like there were just a few hours ago, the kitchen is almost peaceful as Avery stands alone at one of the tables flattening out some sort of half-finished pastry with a rolling pin, and there is no scowl to be seen on her face at all. Truly it must be a miracle! I mean, she looks almost serene, really, and instead of shouting at anyone, is she... is she humming?

I take it back. This isn't a miracle. She's possessed! Somebody do something!


II. Dock Market Stall

Ahhh, now this is more like it. Anyone who happens to be visiting the docks near the stalls where the fresh catch is being sold will be able to see a non-possessed Avery arguing quite loudly with one of the shopkeeps. As best as one can gather, the old man seems rather insistent on one particular price for prawns and believes the scowly, foreign blonde girl less than half his age and mass should just take it or leave it.

"Don't you try and bullshit me," she... respectfully disagrees. "I know bloody well what season it is, and I also know there's no one else coming out here to buy the whole catch in one. So you can stand here all day in the sun hawking these at twice their worth and letting half go to waste at the end, or you can give me the lot for a decent price and be done for the day. Go have yourself a drink, hm?"

...well, damn.


III. Lowtown Tavern

Speaking of drinks, everybody deserves to have one on occasion, right? Not just mildly patronizing fishmongers? So that is exactly what Avery intends to do.

Sure, she could have chosen somewhere nicer. This place is a bit of a dive, even by Lowtown standards, but a bar like this is not a big leap from the place Avery was born and raised for the first nine years of her life, and she seems a little more chatty than usual here, if not any less snarky. Thankfully, many of the people here seem to appreciate that sort of humor, because otherwise the few sly questions she slips in about a friend she's been trying to contact recently might not have gone over so well.

I'm sure other, perhaps more familiar company wouldn't go unappreciated though, if there's anyone who doesn't mind slumming it a bit.


IV. Back Alley

Look, she's no idiot. Despite what you may have heard.

Avery knows not to trust just anyone who tells her they know exactly where to find her friend if she has a little coin to trade for the information and doesn't mind finding a little privacy for this discussion. It's just that she's getting a little desperate at this point, and she's fairly confident she can handle it if this person gives her any trouble. At least riiiight up until the moment they actually do tell her to hand over her money or she'll meet her friend at the Maker's side, and they nod to their friends blocking both entrances to the alley.

Okay, this might be a little troublesome.

Comments

[bad_thief]

Haelan twists, trying to turn his arm and break the vice-like grip on his wrist. It's no good, her hold is tight and strong and she looks really mad.

Not crazy mad. Angry mad. She looks like she could happily kick him all the way to Hightown and back again, or worse.

And her question doesn't strike him as one of those rhetorical ones. She probably wouldn't be very happy if he tried being funny either, she doesn't look like she'd enjoy a joke just at the moment.

"Er..." He begins, trying to find an out, trying to decide if he could kick her in the knee and make a run for it. He might be able to hide out in Darktown for a while, maybe overnight, and by then she'd be gone. But that might not be a good survival option.

"No?" He offers, trying to look as innocent as possible, as if this is the first offence. "Sorry serah. Won't happy again serah."

[thecookery]

At first all he gets in response is a very unladylike grunt. Sure, a likely story.

For a long moment she just stares him down, trying to decide what to do with this kid. There must be a guard around here somewhere, right? Or hey, who couldn't use a little forced labor to peel potatoes or something for hours on end? But as satisfying as that mental image may be, she doesn't have the time, the energy, or the inclination to make it happen right this second, so instead she lets go of his arm, not quite shoving the boy but not being particularly gentle about it either.

"Best not," she advises. "Some are like to keep any hands they catch. With or without the rest of you."

[bad_thief]

He takes a step back as she lets go- if only to rebalance himself and prevent himself falling on his backside. That's not what he wants to do. It's bad enough being caught by a girl, but he's not about to fall on his arse just because she wasn't very gentle with letting go of his wrist.

And because he's a teenage boy, and she's really pretty despite the grunt, he's not just going to turn tail and run. Although logically, he should do.

"You can keep my hand if you like," He says, eyebrows moving suggestively in a way he's learnt from Adasse. Now he's not actually being held onto, it's far easier to be braver. That being said, he's more than happy to run as soon as it looks like she's going to grab him again.

[thecookery]

Maker preserve her, she is too old, too taken, and too gay for anything that is happening right now.

There's probably a few clever, hand-related comebacks that could be employed by someone with a bit more wit and showmanship, given the very strange public spectacle they're surely making of themselves by this point. But nobody has ever accused Avery's social skills of being a rapier more than a frying pan to the face, so instead she just blurts out, "Are you fucking kidding me? You're trying this on now?"

[bad_thief]

The boy shrugs, as if to say it's worth a try. Besides, she was never going to take him up on the offer, he knows that, and considering she had him by the scruff of the neck, his ego can't get any more bruised.

"I'll take that as a no, shall I, serah?" He says, in a way very reminiscent of his elven friend. Adasse is the real showman, but Haelan knows a few tricks. The fishmonger is laughing, tears rolling down his face, and maybe the fiery lady will get a better discount on her shrimp.

Not that it'll do Haelan any good, but he is getting away with all his limbs.

"Until next time," He says, giving her a quick and ultimately ridiculous bow, and then running off as fast as he can, just in case she does decide to give him a kick.