Legend of Ransera

A Love Game

After supper and all, Aurin had been restless. His life had been a long series of seeing things and this Searing had only brought more things to trouble his mind. When his feet brought him back to the plaza, he looked at the three sisters; he had already spent the day working in the Golden Peacock, and while a massage at the Jade Crane might have been relaxing, there was more to distract him at the Velvet Cabaret and so he ducked into it. One of the bouncers didn't know him, but the other did, and put the back of his hand to the other's chest to forestall him asking for any sort of anything at all. The one greeted Aurin gruffly and the other just shrugged. They let him in.

Over the years, many people had come and gone through here. He had been there longer than most, making himself indispensible to Lunaria. At least, he had her believing he was until he made a career move and left her in perfectly good hands. There were little things here and there that bothered him, things that he would have taken care of, but no more—not his circus, not his monkeys. It took little to no effort to case the joint as he moved through a knot of dancers, bending his knees and making his walk a nonchalant sort of dance as he moved toward the bar. Tony always knew a thing or two that made an information broker's visit worthwhile, especially given the odd favors he had done for the man that made him keen to share.

"Fuck," he muttered, as Rickter's aura flared through his Rune, and that of his friend. There weren't always such powerful folk here, but it wasn't unheard of. They had been co-workers once. He had thought the man had moved on, but there was a woman involved, so he supposed it oughtn't to surprise him. There was a fire to his aura, though, that made Aurin think of Talon. Curious, but he supposed that made some sort of sense. The prince had given him a Rune to protect the cursed key; perhaps he had given Rickter a spark of the divine to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Then he wondered if that spark could be used to track down the bonfire Himself.

"What'll you have, boss?" Tony asked, wiping down the pair's glasses and dumping out the ash tray into the rubbish bin behind the bar.

"Still calling me boss, Tony?" he asked, a smirk for him, though it seemed directed toward the dance floor.

"Once a boss, always a boss, hey?"

"Hey," he agreed, and passed a nondescript pouch across the bar.

The bartender made it disappear as if by sleight of hand, poured him a drink, and began to converse with him in low tones. He had a ration of information and Aurin bought it, thinking later, after Rickter got his rocks off, Aurin might be able to plumb his brain for reliable intelligence on the search for the missing Shinsei.

A Love Game

Aurin didn't bother pretending he hadn't known Rickter was there. People had thought he had eyes on the back of his head back when he managed the place, and old habits died hard. He was surprised to see him here, though, having expected him to follow his nose and whatever else he had at his disposal after Talon and Aoren. Then again, information out of the palace had slowed down quite a bit during the reign of the Iron Queen-Regent, so for all he knew, Rickter was in the know. The man had never been a reliable source, however. He kept his cards too close to his chest, but then Aurin's trade in information hadn't bloomed by that point so he hadn't put undue effort into it.

"What, I'm not allowed a drink in here?" he scoffed, then smirked. He was only nextdoor when plying his reputable trade, keeping the theater's funds and investments in the black. And he came by with some regularity, whether to relax or to gather information from tried and true sources.

Aurin nodded to Rickter's companion.

"Hardly expected to see you in Kalzasi anymore. Sorry for your loss." He wasn't good at being compassionate, but Arry was gone to Solunarium and even if they weren't banging anymore, the golden pain in the ass was one of his people. Having him gone was not sitting well with Aurin. Far worse if the young actor had been kidnapped. For a moment, he imagined traveling all the way to Solunarium to enact his revenge if anyone fucked with him.

But that was a faraway, merely possible future.

Rickter was here now.

"I suppose times are different for you now, as well. Dancing vertically and all."

Aurin was the last person to deride sex work or sex workers, but he did like to tease.

A Love Game

Aurin didn't need a Rune to smell the woman's pheremones. Perhaps she didn't think Rickter was man enough for her, though Aurin remembered several of Rickter's old clients limping happily out of a back room. Some people were just gluttons for punishment. But there were deeper issues afoot, and he didn't know what it meant that Rickter was here now.

"You aren't the only one," he admitted begrudgingly. Aurin wasn't the sort who believed in anyone, divine or not, but he would have placed his bets on Talon Shinsei if someone was taking odds. Demigods were known for defying them, after all. "If you see him, tell him I still have his key." It wasn't his key, not really, but the draegir had empowered him to protect it all the same. Aurin didn't know how well they could counter the Mad King without him, but that was, apparently, going to be his job—in part.

Yes, the woman was definitely angling for something, and Rickter seemed as though he would defer to her. Aurin just wanted to know what was going on and Rickter had always been a vault of privileged information.

"Something tells me she wants to do more than catch up with you," he said with a smirk, but he caught Tony's attention and signaled for a smoke of his own. When it was provided, he pushed off the bar. "I could smoke and catch up. Doesn't seem to be a night I'm going to get much sleep anyway. Lead on."

The both of them got several greetings from those who worked there. This line of work could be dangerous and they had all been looking out for one another; that did lead to some quiet bonding—even if Aurin would have scoffed if someone tried to say as much in his presence.