Old Friends in New Places

A roleplay transcript by Javier and Gisele Valentein

Gisele Valentein gave Rev a little grin as she entered the Rat’s Den and made her way over to the job board. She found a few items that looked of interest and made a mental note to take them back to the Order after she finished with dinner.

Javier was lounging in the corner of the Den. Both his feet and mask up. A mix of guarded comfort. His eyebrow perks up as Gisele enters, he had been waiting for her. "Now there is a sight for sore eyes," he calls out to her, his voice clear as day even from behind the leather mask.

Gisele Valentein spun around to face him and placed her hands on hips, gazing over at him cheerfully. “Moonshine, it’s about time you showed up. Gonna buy me a drink? I’m parched,” she said in partial-jest about the booze and made her way to his table so she could be seated across from him. “It’s been awhile - I’ve been looking for you. Where are you staying?”

Javier chuckled. "So you already caught wind of my arrival, didn't you?" he said, his eyes hinting at the slight smile behind his mask. "I'll be staying at your place, methinks," he replied, raising his hand to the dwarven barkeep to order a couple of drinks. "I might even be around much longer than you're used to."

Gisele Valentein gave a little nod at his question, her blue eyes locking with his. “I rented a tiny room nearby before I joined. Total shithouse,” she said, careful to keep her voice low enough for Javier’s ears only. “And yeah I’ve been asking about you. I’ve missed you, you big lug,” she said happily, leaning forward to slap his legs a few times. “Yeah? I’d love that. I’m learning the city but would love the company while I continue to explore it.” She winked at Rev as he brought over their drinks. “This little guy right here I absolutely adore!” She teased the dwarf and pulled the tankard to her lips. It was obvious she already had quite a few tankards of ale already.

Javier picked up his tankard and pulled his mask down, tipping most of the ale down his gullet. He put the tankard back down, giving the foam time to dissolve into a last swig of ale. "Yeah, I'm sure you have," he chuckled, "But you'll be sick and tired of me pretty quickly now, I've decided to give up the smuggling game."

Gisele Valentein wasn’t drunk, but she was feeling just fine. She had a big sip of her frothy ale and beamed at Javier. This was the happiest she had been in a long time. She shook her head at his words. “Never. You know I’ll never be sick of you.” And she meant it. She had met Moonshine in Banebirch, her hometown. She recalled the first time she saw him that day on the docks - he had taken her breath away. That first day she knew he was a fellow rogue, he just wasn’t a member of her particular brotherhood. That, however, did not stop them from getting to know one another very well. Silver took another sip from her tankard and sat it down on the table. “Really? What are you going to be doing then?” She dropped her boots to the floor and leaned forward to hang on his every word. She could not imagine him doing anything but smuggling.

Javier was taken aback a bit as Gisele leaned in closer. She must have had a few drinks already to be this... animated in public. Or perhaps she really had missed him. He had missed her too, of course, but he would scarcely say it out loud. But he knew she knew, the words whispered in dark rooms or alleys on more than one occasion. "Smuggling has... lost its thrill," he sighed, "The long trips, shady dealings, shoving things into places where they don't belong just to get through the cargo inspection at the docks. I felt stuck in a rut."

Gisele Valentein shook her head as he explained his change of heart in the profession he had been in for as long as she had known him. But she understood. Sometimes con-games took their toll too. Especially when it got so dangerous she thought she would not make it out alive. And that happened a few times in recent months which was a big motivator for her to get the hell out of Banebirch while she still had the chance. “I hear you,” she said soberly and leaned back in her chair. “Remember that one mark I was working the last time you and I met up? That didn’t go so well. It’s why I decided a change was in order too.” Silver lifted a hand to Rev to summon him when he looked over to their table. “Hungry?” She asked Moonshine as Rev made his way over. “I need a bite to eat. Haven’t eaten all day.”

Javier shook his head. "I've already eaten, but I could go for another ale or two. Gotta catch up with you." He scratched his chin and recrossed his legs. "A mark that went bad, huh? Glad you got out ok. What sort of change?" He picked up his tankard and downed the last bit of ale before the barkeep could replace it. "Change is good, if you keep moving, you survive. That is part of why I've decided to quit the smuggling racket, it got too cozy, too safe."

Rev went on his way to the hearth to work up the food and had Sass, an extremely thin elf with wiry white hair, pour another ale. Silver nodded when they were alone. “Yeah, just barely. This last one got hairy,” she offered but went tight-lipped and said nothing more on that particular subject. “Totally agree - change is good”. Even and white teeth tugged at her lower lip as she swept her gaze around the Den. “Well, for starters, I haven’t shared that I ran con-jobs with the guild. I think I want a break from that for a while. So right now it’s mostly information gathering.” She paused when Rev returned and set the plate on the table in front of her. He soon left them to tend to another table. Gisele picked up her fork and took a bite of the fish. It was good. Fried just the way she liked it.

Javier quirked an eyebrow. "So I did hear that correctly. Cons, hmm? I've stabbed a few fellows that tried to con me out of a deal." He chuckled, picking up his new tankard and taking a swig. "I'm guessing your cons were a little bit more... involved..." His gaze now properly focused on her, steely gray eyes intense. It was hard to tell if he was jealous or excited by the prospect of his dearest Gisele, Silver, ensnaring others in her webs of fantasy and desire.

Gisele Valentein chewed thoughtfully, her gaze sliding over to Javier, her nod barely visible. She swallowed a bite of the white filet, set her fork down on her plate, and grabbed her tankard. “Yeah, I ran those all the time. A lot of excitement, a lot of reward, and a handsome payout,” she said with a wink. She took a long swig of the watered down ale and returned the tankard to the table. “I’ll tell you more sometime. When we are good and drunk.” She gave him an impish grin and picked up her fork. “You’ll have to work for it though; I know you know how to get me to open up,” she softly said just before she shoved another bite of fish into her mouth.

Javier watched her eat. He wasn't much a fan of fish, so living in a port city was not going to be all roses and sunshine, but he was looking forward to be spending more time with her. Those always too brief encounters when he was still smuggling never did leave enough time for things to really develop... "You might have to remind me," he replied with an equally impish wink of his own, "But it will have to be for another time." He plopped his empty tankard down and tossed a few coins onto the table, pulling up his mask and rising from his chair. "I need to get properly settled in. Grease a few palms, make a last delivery, buy some clean blankets. The usual."  He stood close to her and took her chin, tilting her head up and wiping the fish off her gorgeous lips with his thumb. He leaned in and planted a forceful kiss on her lips, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as he pulled back. He grinned, winked again, and stalked out of the Den.