The Word on the Street -

[Cyb]

The airships overhead boomed away at sonic speed. This was most definitely not-a-bad-thing-at-all, no sirree. Not for Backbeat, anyway. Well, okay, it was KIND of okay. Because right now she was bent halfway to the ground, furry arms stuck to her sides, running to beat hell in the shadow of one of them in a race of her own invention that she was GONNA win.

"BREEEEEEEEK!" Except for the building coming up in front of her. The exaggerated brakes-noise filled the alleyway as she suddenly veered to the left, continuing to run even though her enemy was out of sight now, grinning joyfully just 'cause it's fun-to-run. "And speaking of fun -" her high voice spilled out liquidly like the first cold drops of water from a faucet.

The Nivali doe turned again, this time toward an open area. " - selling time!" This was partly an announcement to herself and to everyone else bustling through the tight but sunlit marketplace she'd skidded into, clackety-clacky toeclaws grinding against concrete and cobblestone as she vied for bouncing up to a pillar instead of the previous sprint.

"Heyyyy. YOU! It's been two WEEKS since you were here last. DO YOU want, more stuff?!" One dark-clawed finger was pointed at a fidgety looking human girl looking nervously around the area. Of COURSE she was here to buy drugs. Duh. So was everyone ELSE that looked for the weasel. Why be so shy about it?

[Kaylii]

The stench here was enough to make anyone's nose want to curl. It wasn't bad enough the place was filled with fish, but the oils and gases from the machines and gadgets mixed with the rotting seafood made the air ghastly. That is, if the inhabitants even payed attention to it. It seems though that the locals were quite happy suffocating under their own poison. Really though, how hard was it to keep some air breathable? Even in this dying world, the castle still managed to make their oxygen somewhat tolerable.

Claire sniffed indignantly towards the eyes of the dead salmon that peered up at her, her one eyebrow jutting down as she frowned. It wasn't all too obvious of her displeasure though. After the past assassination attempts in these less than pleasurable parts, hiding her face became a ritual. A simple brown cloth covered over her nose and lips. Her left eye was always covered by her binocular built in patch, and her hair was topped with a richly embedded hat of feathers, clockwork mechanics, and small pendants with different images. Her body was laced in soft brown and gold leather covered in crisscrossed ropes and soft lace. Even her right metal leg was covered in her ensemble. Even her small weapons managed to be hidden in her snug outfit. The only skin that did show was the bit around her right eye, which always seemed to glow with its small hint of bright yellow surrounded by the chocolate brown.

She turned her back on the insulting fish and glanced at her watch before swearing under her breath. That stupid weasel was going to beat her if she didn't hurry. With soft dull thuds from her fake leg, Claire moved through the crowds, ignoring the curses and sneers from those she bumped into. They weren't worth the trouble.

Disgust was in her eye as she spotted the girl. Damn. She was going to have to do full pay now. Or maybe.. her attention was on someone else.. some small weak minded girl who looked like she was about to piddle right on the spot. Perhaps she could sneak in and pretend she had been there all along. Normally, Claire wouldn't deal with this sort of nonsense. The games were too aggravating, but she always managed to get the goods and in the amounts the little princess requested. The price was a small defeat to pay but this disgusting looking creature helped ensure the place the girl fought for.

Looking for an opening, the royal tried to sneak in behind the seller, before speaking her rich accented tone she used on the streets.
"While zis gurrl iz contemplating whetherr she wants to buy orr flee, deal wiz me vill you? I ahm busy an' wish terr have zis overr with alrready."

Claire crossed her arms and looked at the other menacingly. What hard bargain would she be fighting for this time?

[Cyb]

A few people paused to gawk at the spectacle the doe was making, but nobody approached. This just wasn't that kinda town after all, and that's the way she liked it. She also liked fish, and there was most definitely some fresh catch around here. Fresh catch meant that there was also just-about-to-turn meat too, which was a LOT cheaper and just as good if you were hungry like right then. Which Backbeat preeeeetty much always was.

The spindly human staggered her way forward. "YOU, my friend, look like you just got beat up by the biggest dog EVER. What'd you do, huh?" Deep brown eyes, full of bright hyperactivity, looked up and down the girl like five times while she fished in her pockets for the cash. Meanwhile she could hear a stumpy thing clacking on the ground nearby. "I'm not gonna stop sellin' ya herbs, but you should proooobably buy yourself some food with the next cash you get." She wagged her finger admonishingly. Hey, if this chick wanted to send herself to an early grave, that was her problem.

And now the tree sound was getting closer, so! "SPLINTER!" she fluted noisily, whirling around on her heel just as she was dropping a baggie of something that smelled like hot spices in the other client's hand. "That was a goooood try at sneaking up on me, but do you SEE these things back here?" Now she motioned back to the goofy, large appendages bound behind her head, extending down to her shoulders.

"O'course, Timb," even as she spoke she was unloading the giant satchel from her back, dropping it on one wide knee and letting the sides droop everywhere as she unzipped it and fished around inside, "Your shipment JUST came in this morning. This was a tricky order, y'know?" One dark, furry arm slid out of the bag, its clawed hand holding a strap to a smaller purselike carrier that was sagging with its contents.

Her browridge scrunched down for a split second while she tallied the total. "Y'almost caught me this time, so THREE quarters price, how's that sound?" BB was still making a pretty good deal on that anyway so it wasn't a huuuuge deal to let the princess get away with a little here. "Coma roots, hallucinogenic tealeaves and enough caci powder to burst the hearts of like twenty of your human guys. Now THAT'S what I call a mixture!" She laughed at her own thought, waiting for the cleverly disguised royal to make the exchange.

"So hey, what's the latest news up back home? The rumors down here are craaaazy lately. Hearin' the knights are taking sides between you all now?"

[Kaylii]

Claire mentally cringed at the piercing nickname that the rodent girl screeched out, glaring towards the large rabbit ears the seller pointed to. She always thought her leg was quiet. She had practiced with it for years now after all, but she always managed to underestimate the quality this doe had with her hearing. Her already darkened face tilted itself slightly as she resisted to fight against the annoying tree nicknames that were being thrown at her, peering instead towards the bag the weasel took out. Her patch started to crane forward, the binocular inching to the objects to inspect what different herbs the girl got this time. She always tried to get more than she needed when it was something good.

"Since ven vas my orrder everr easy?" Claire responded, now looking bored. She hadn't seen anything too interesting. Perhaps she was going too predictable with her murdering plots. Were potions becoming a thing of the past?

Thoughts broke at the sound of the price, and the princess smirked under the cloth. "That vill do jus' fine." She answered coolly, her gloved fingers heading towards a buckled pocket for her coin bag. It stopped mid buckle however at the list. Eye narrowing, she stepped towards the other woman, looking towards the bag with some skepticism. That didn't sound right...

"Vat about ze virechest toadstool-" She didn't have time to finish the question before the dumb creature opened her mouth again, making Claire's eye widen and act in too much of a hasty reaction. When it came to schemes and ideas, she was a logical thinker and intelligent plot maker, but surprises always threw caution to the window. She hated being surprised. This was one of those times.

A hand jutted out towards one of Backbeat's long ears in attempt to drag the taller girl towards lip to ear level. The free hand grabbed hold of the cloth to rip it away from her lips, revealing a nasty looking temperant appearing in her nostrils and bared teeth as she hissed.
"Perhaps I should cut off those ridiculous ears of yours rodent so news can't reach them! How many times do I have to fucking tell you to not talk about the castle drama?!" Forgetting the insane accent she pulled off when around the commoners, she took to the dark deep tone she used when in business and ready for some bloodshed. Even now she was already reaching for one of her concealed blades, paranoia making her forget that she was surrounded by people, especially now with the scene of a human girl grabbing a Nivali by the ear wasn't all too common place.

[Cyb]

Heheheh. This girl was always so fun. Backbeat genuinely LIKED the princess. Sure, she was kind of a complete bitch sometimes, but she was just so damn adorable, and who could really turn down a human with all of those fun attachments on their body? Plus, she was all blue-blood special and stuff. THAT was just cool.

The toadstools? Oh right, she - "OOOWWW OWOW OW OW OWW -" as her head was dragged down forcibly by the ear, already tender from being tied up in such a weird position, the weirdly-shaped creature made even more of a scene now by wildly flailing her arms and one leg everywhere in attempt both to balance and to somehow offset the sting. "C'mon OW! You kn-know that nobody here is paying attention," finally her voice had lowered to a discretionary tone, in parts joking and in parts discomfort.

"'Sides, I HAVE the other thing, it just needs to be in a separate pouch." Using her own hand to grasp farther up on her ear in order to slide the velvety skin out of the other's grasp, the doe, if otherwise unhindered and still not entirely aware that she might get STABBED in this whole process, would next grab at a pouch just to the back of her waist. This one was made of much stiffer material and bound with metal wire.

Whiskers twitched into a frown, like a little kid who just got bullied by an older friend. "You know if I'm hearing it, EVERYONE around here is. Who am I gonna tell, anyway, the fish hawkers?" Now her face broke into a compelling grin as she offered up the last of the goods, big eyes full of mischief. Still, she rubbed at her assaulted ear. Learning from her previous offense the doe opted for a hushed tone: "Look - it's not good that this stuff is leaking down here, s'what I'm saying, means that if a plot's coming up it's gonna happen waaayyyy sooner than later 'cause they're gonna worry it's going to get back to you guys. Do you have ANY news you can spill?"

[Kaylii]

Her eye was actually twitching at the scene the Nivali was making. Like her loud obnoxious voice wasn't enough to irritate the young woman, it was the spazzy display that made even more heads turn. Dealer or not, friend or foe, Claire already had the pocket unhitched on her side, hand on the hilt of her dagger and was a few short seconds away from silencing the caffeine driven right there and then. A hiss slithered between her clenched teeth as BB basically shouted that no one was listening when in fact her stupid scene was only making others aware they were discussing eavesdropping worthy.

Claire's shoulders relaxed when the critter lowered her voice. Finally. Her eye darted towards the hand that went towards her own to try and ease the pain that the princess was surely causing with how tight she was holding onto the large appendage that was the ear. She let go after a slight pause as the other tried to coax her off, leaning up straight and adjusting her clothes back to their proper place. The cloth over her mouth was once again as she saw her full order being pulled out. Perhaps now she could just take her supplies and get out. She didn't want to be in this spot any longer.

Once again her eye narrowed at BB's first question, the warning of a repeat on clutching her sensitive ears only too clear in her large yellow gaze. "It's one thing to gossip little ferret, but another entirely to be saying this to the face of those who know the truth." Claire reached for her money pouch as the Nivali handed her the rest of her order, grabbing a few coins... perhaps a little less than what was expected. Claire however wasn't feeling all too generous at the moment.

The girl was stupid, plain and simple. At the second prying the princess held back from stiffening her body, opting for clenching her teeth to control her anger and speaking again in her disguised accent.
"News down 'ere iz dangerous az you alrready prroved zat. Bezides, wouldn' ze royals be able terr handle anything that zer own guarrds crreate? Have morre faith in yerr own leaders I vould think." The stern look from the eye was making itself more clear after that. If she really wanted information, Claire was not going to give it here with so many people. She did gossip for the sake of gaining more information, but she was too paranoid someone would overhere and report back to one of her parents. Or worse, her siblings. She could never risk her own blood learning more than she. No.. this weasel surely even understood that.

[Cyb]

The passerby in the area had turned lazy, thought-dulled heads toward the little bit of chaos that was occurring. The merchants still shouted their wares, but even their eyes slid in the direction oft he sound for a minute. Sure, it TOOK her a little while, but Bb eventually would always catch on to the fact that she was making a scene. "Oh, oh, while I"m thinking of it." Even if it was a few hours after the fact. But this time she really DID get it and that was why she'd lowered her voice.

Now that they were back to normal positions, the doe's demeanor had slipped seamlessly from the superfast pace she was normally accustomed into a little more regular rhythm, albeit just as positive. Now the energy was focused less on her body and more on her brains. They WERE in there. "The tea-leaves will stick to the toadstool and it'll create a kind of...sludge, thing, and not only will they both be useless, they might put a nasty rash on whoever has to clean it up." Dark brown eyes were stern - or as stern as they could BE - in caution and warning for her client.

"The other thing. The first question. How abbouuuttt," snout whipped around to the left, then the right, then up, then to the left again. "You and I go to that little quick-lunch shop that's two lefts and a staircase from here? If you've never been there, it IS commoner food. But. I bet even your best cook can't whip up a gamebird-and-fruit sandwich like these guys can." Clawed hands were propped on her hips in a cocky, prove-me-wrong challenge even as she danced a few steps backwards in the intended direction.

"We can talk, you can yell at me some more, and we can get some tasty pastries for dessert. C'mon, it beats smelling like FISH all day."

[Kaylii]

Grateful that the rodent finally caught on to what Claire had been trying to maintain in the first place, the little princess released her grip on her weapon and rolled her shoulders in a nonchalant manner. For now the threat ceased to exist between her and the Nivali. Not that the peace ever lasted long between them. Sometimes she wondered if the trouble this long eared creature was worth the goods. Surely there was someone else she could find that was just as skilled and actually quiet. But, Claire already confided too much information in her. No, the trust was too great. Wouldn't BB be pleased to know that her life remained safe because of this one simple fact.

Frowning, Claire grabbed at the drugs and shoved them in her bag. "I know how terr ooze my own drrugs. Stop trryin' terr lecturre on zis zimple stuff." She had been playing with the nasty chemicals for years, always trying to find a new mixture that could potentially lead to her siblings' downfall. One day something will work... It probably isn't with this batch, but it will at least prove some entertainment for herself watching her sister and brothers go paranoid in the hallways.

Seeing the girl was trying to stir up more trouble without trying to gain attention, Claire tilted her head slightly, hesitant. She wasn't in too much a mood to talk to BB about castle affairs, but she didn't want another disturbance heard through the streets. And of course, perhaps the Nivali may be of some use yet again and offer a perspective Claire never thought of. Hmmm.

Commoner food. Claire couldn't help but make a face at the sound. She lived to be a spoiled aristocrat. The two words together would of course make her wince, regardless of how good BB may describe it. But, seeing the Nivali already begin to skip off and make the point of getting away from this wretched smell, the princess sighed and began to follow.
"Let's go. As long as you don' trry anythin' morre stupid again."