A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Status:

Spoiler

Xara: HP = 53, PP = 41, EP = 38, Status = Pregnant

Xara's improvised excuse only earned her an incredulous look from the guard, but it did stun him long enough to help in lengthening the pair's headstart over their pursuers. From where she clung to Ilias, she had a good view of the guards chasing them, with their expressions stuck somewhere in between anger and disbelief. She wouldn't be able to see their faces in detail for long, however, as the taller thief gained a significant amount of ground in a fairly short time with his lengthy strides. Ilias might not have been considered the sharpest in the subtlety department, but he was apparently a very fast sprinter to make up for that shortcoming. Was this the way he stole water? The thought of Ilias simply picking up a jug and then running for it, silly as it might be, seemed to make more and more sense as he made a mad dash through the city streets with the bunny still attached to him. Provided, Xara wasn't particularly heavy herself, but she was still comparable to a fairly large jug of water in terms of weight, which seemed to be the group's usual haul during their most risky jobs. By how easily he handled her, it wasn't hard for Xara to feel rather safe in his arms.

It was his athletic prowess that allowed the duo to get away without having to experience the shame of public arrest, and by the time their escape had been made, the two were granted a fairly private moment on top of it all. Ilias ceased his panting and his rambles alike when Xara placed her finger to his lips, his face no less surprised than the first time she teased him on a rooftop not terribly unlike the one they found themselves on. As the bunnygirl straddled him, making her predatory look, she finally crossed the line between feigned innocence and brazen seduction in the carpenter's mind. But her newfound directness in terms of wanting him--the incident with Nadim notwithstanding--wasn't nearly enough to change Ilias' affection for her. Xara found her partner all too glad to fulfill her needs as she forcibly placed his hands upon her chest, and while his touch was still rather inexperienced, it was passionate nonetheless. If the Void Rabbit appreciated any sort of stimulation to her bosom, she'd receive plenty of it from Ilias, who rubbed her sweaty orbs up and down vigorously. For as much as he had dreamed about fondling a girl's breasts in his youth, he hadn't imagined for one to be encouraging him to do just that to them with such fervor. All too thankful for the various opportunities she granted him, Ilias did his best to please her, showing some attention to her nipples as well.

His movements grew much less refined the harder Xara rode him, however, with the rapid plunging of his sensitive rod deep into her tight canal proving to be increasingly distracting. She had shushed him earlier, but as the bunnygirl built up a rhythm to her own liking, Ilias would gasp and grunt inadvertently as his body struggled to sublimate the overwhelming pleasure in one form or another. The taller thief couldn't stand to stay flat on the ground for long, either, not with the way the spunky Void Rabbit bounced up and down on him so feverishly. Before long, Ilias allowed his instincts to take over, and slid his feet up, bending at the knees to help drive his hips upward into Xara in return. Establishing a pace that complemented her own, he matched her stroke for stroke, hilting himself deep into her pussy with each thrust. For the petite bunnygirl, the experience had turned out to be much like riding a horse--provided, a fiercely galloping one, but she had a very live partner in Ilias. It was as if her very scent drove him wild with lust, chemically setting off all the right triggers in his brain to make him take her as wildly as possible... or perhaps it simply did. As the session grew more heated, with Xara speeding ever closer to climax, she could feel Ilias' own peak rise in time.

Despite her relative lack of experience with sex, it was easy enough for her to tell on a very base level how close her partner was to cumming. The tension in his muscles built up more and more, his facial features tightened, and his breaths grew shallow as his inner workings prepared for the final moment. And yet Xara needed none of those signs to know that her lover had reached orgasm when he did, as the overwhelming sensation of his hot load quenching her thirsty cervix took over the entirety of her conscious thought. Any concerns or passing thoughts in her mind were just as quickly washed away and replaced by absolute bliss on the most primal level as she willingly allowed herself to be fertilized yet again by a most virile and suitable male. She hadn't the chance to worry about how ridiculous her expression might have looked, but she wasn't alone in that, with Ilias tilting his head back, only managing to pronounce her name amongst a series of grunts and gasps. "Hnnn... Xara... uuuhhh... h-huhhnnn.... NNNNHH! Ohhhhh! Uuuhh..." The tanned beauty felt her entire frame elevate a few more inches as her partner's glutes tightened. Ilias' body strained to empty all it could into the place where it counted most as he continued to piston in and out of her sopping cunny, only relaxing after Xara's fertile fields were thoroughly seeded. By the time Ilias finished, the smaller thief felt so full, so warm... and much more satisfied. A tiny fire deep within continued to burn, reminding her that the urge to mate was still ever present for one reason or another, but Xara's body, as well as that of her partner's, could only manage that much for the time being.

"Hahh... hahh... y-yeah, aauhh... hufff..." Ilias stammered in response, finding himself unable to pronounce more complicated words until a few minutes after his initial attempt. He held the girl close to him when she collapsed, savoring the afterglow up until she mentioned something about his pants. Pants... pants... the word echoed through Ilias' head, but didn't register for a few moments. Then, when it did, it sent a chill down his spine. The carpenter sat up with surprising speed. "By Gallahn, I don't have my pants! I-I... must have stepped out of them back there in the alley. Did I? Oh no..."

He could hear Safiya's voice in his head now. "What have you been showing poor Xara, you PERVERT?! Did you let her find you like this? Should I even ask what in the world you were doing while all of us were looking for you?!"

Ilias swallowed hard. "I need to find some pants. There's no way I'm going back to the house without a pair. Could you help me?" He began to look around the rooftop for any lines where residents might hang up their clothes to dry. But while the ropes were in plain view, not a single garment could be seen--of course it had to be that the people living in this area wouldn't leave any articles they valued out unattended. A look across at neighboring rooftops would produce similar results. Just his luck. The bunnygirl was far more fortunate in the clothing department, with her own bottoms hanging from around one leg and none of the contents of her pockets lost.

Given the lack of materials to work with, at least in their immediate vicinity, they would need to break into a home in order to secure a pair of pants for Ilias, or improvise using materials on hand. Xara had her cloak on hand, though the result of attempting to jury-rig the article into bottoms for the taller thief might look rather conspicuous...

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"I guess," Xara replied to the craftsman's request with mock uncertainty and an amused smile as she sat up. "But you totally owe me one," she added, more seriously than Ilias might know until she came up with a favor to call on him for, as she returned to her feet and pulled her own pants back up. It wasn't terribly difficult to formulate a plan, at least, even if she'd have much preferred to have found a convenient pair of unprotected pants just waiting to be picked from a clothesline. "Here," she handed over her cloak, which she had miraculously kept on her person throughout their lewd jog. "You can cover yourself with this and then we can take the less populated streets home. I'll stay ahead of you and let you know when it's safest to pass through. If we don't find an easy pick on the way home then I'll just go inside and see if I can't sneak a new pair out to you, and hopefully we won't have to tell the entire story to big sis!"

Once Ilias had covered himself with her cloak, whether it was by wrapping it around his waist or getting a bit more fancy with it, she would pursue her plan, barring the craftsman making a vocal disagreement with it. The bunnygirl thief would, as nonchalantly as possible, climb down from the rooftop before sneaking from empty street and alleyway to empty street and alleyway and wave Ilias through each when she thought nobody would see him, attempting to cut a path back to the hideout with as few people as possible ever catching a glimpse of the two. She would only pause in her efforts if she spotted a pair of pants that she could get to without breaking into someone's house. Otherwise, she continued until they were back home or something had interrupted their trek to return. In the former case, she would enter first to see if Safiya and Nadim had returned yet, and in the latter... well, there would probably be a lot of lying and maybe even running.

Spoiler

Stats: 37 stealth and 31 perception (with lucky), if they come up.

This doesn't do your last post justice, but I'm just trying to get myself moving again.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Status:

Spoiler

Xara: HP = 53, PP = 41, EP = 38, Status = Pregnant

"Oh! Uh, thanks," stuttered Ilias, catching the cloak after Xara tossed it to him. It might not have been the ideal fix for such a situation, but he wasn't about to argue or even question it at that point, seeing that the alternatives were just about nonexistent. Folding the hooded part and facing it towards the back, he proceeded to fold the garment once before wrapping it around his waist, making for an appearance that, overall, wasn't actually too awkward-looking; or at least, not as much as it could have been in comparison to Ilias attempting to wrap it tighter around his crotch.

With that, he gave the bunnygirl a nod and allowed her to take the lead, following her in a somewhat less stealthy fashion. He did move quickly to make up for his relative lack of subtlety, however, and it looked as though they would be able to get back to the safety of their hideout without being stopped again.

And, as if granting Xara a reprieve from all the recent shenanigans, the night seemed quiet after that. Moving in a fairly straight line took them back to a somewhat familiar lane that the smaller thief recognized to be a venue for markets in the daytime, and from there, it was simple enough to find the way back home. After they moved from ground level to the rooftops, a careful peek from the Void Rabbit showed that neither Nadim nor Safiya were anywhere to be seen. Perhaps they simply hadn't returned, or were already inside. Ilias gave the girl a nod, signaling that he'd stay back a fair distance, enough so to hide if needbe.

Any suspicions of the latter were dispelled when she moved in, seeing two silhouettes sitting upright against the dim candlelight. Xara could hear the clinking of metal, and she could only guess it to be Yasmin, still sorting out the massive chest full of 'treasure'. A peek through the window confirmed that guess, with the girl crouched over the chest. She had taken a few select items, like a hand mirror and comb, and stuffed them beneath her mattress. The effeminate guest was sitting on Xara's bed, frowning at the spectacle.

"Um, shouldn't we wait for Miss Xara and Miss Safiya to come back? I mean, it nearly cost them their lives to get it, so maybe... w-well... I, I mean..." Rabi's voice could be heard protesting, but not nearly with enough gusto behind it to stop a mouse.

Yasmin stopped to scowl at the newcomer. What was an outsider like him doing here anyway? Her disdain for him could be read upon her face. "What? Oh, be quiet--it's fine! We all share things here anyway. Just a little bit extra for someone who can actually appreciate these fine things, is all. Keep this between you and me, and I won't make your life miserable."

Rabi seemed to wilt beneath the lavender-haired girl's sharp tone, and went quiet.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

The void rabbit wasn't terribly surprised at Yasmin's interest in the treasure, or even in her choice to take some of the share for herself, though she hadn't expected the purple-haired girl to brazenly steal more for her own share in front of Rabi. Xara was nothing if not calculating, though, and so instead of rushing in and revealing that she was aware of the other girl's thievery, she decided to wait and see what valuable blackmail opportunities might arise from knowing that the purple-haired member of their group would probably keep the stockpile of goods she had ferreted from their haul under her mattress for the rest of the night. Although she'd probably only have a limited amount of time to capitalize on the knowledge...

She would wait until Yasmin and Rabi's exchange had been over for several seconds and then would only enter after making enough noise to alert her sneaky 'comrade' that she was returning. "I'm back!" She would also call out just before she entered. The petite thief decided, in a last-second plan, to march right over to Ilias's belongings and begin searching for a shirt and some pants, and barely even glanced at the other two as she did so. "I found Ilias, but I guess something happened before then and, well... long story short, he needs a change of clothes. Anyway, I'll be back with him!" And then, as simple as that, she made to leave and return whatever change of clothes she could find for Ilias to the tall thief. Of course, she was actually hoping that her actions would elicit a response from Yasmin, but if they didn't then that would work out well enough for her anyway.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Status:

Spoiler

Xara: HP = 53, PP = 41, EP = 38, Status = Normal

There was roughly a two second delay between the bunnygirl's entry into the room and Yasmin actually taking note of her presence. At the end of that short interval, Xara would see the other girl's expression shift instanteously from one of unabashed scorn to feigned friendliness. Her hands immediately went down to her lap, even if the chest was still open in front of her.

"Xara! Welcome back~!!!" she greeted loudly, in a far more lively way than was thought capable, especially towards the Void Rabbit. Such was the change in demeanor that it was just about impossible for anyone not to find it suspicious. While the relatively perceptive bunnygirl would catch this odd behavior easily, even Rabi blinked a few times at the sudden shift. However, he looked quite relieved after seeing his petite savior--and understandably so.

"Miss Xara!" he exclaimed in turn, sitting up properly when she made her entry. He looked as though he was going to approach her, but her swift and business-like manner of going straight to Ilias' stash of clothes to pick out a few articles for the taller thief made the effeminate addition think twice. "O-Oh, um, alright," said the youth, biting his lower lip.

"A change of clothes, huh? You know what, I'm not even gonna ask," remarked Yasmin in a somewhat snide manner, closer to her usual demeanor, perhaps in an attempt to make the situation as 'normal' as possible and in the process take attention off of whatever she might have been doing only seconds earlier. "But good thing you found him. He was going nuts over you being gone for that long. I wonder why," she added with a hint of suggestiveness towards the latter part of her sentence, and a smirk to signify that she might have some of the scoop on the situation between Xara and Ilias. Her comment caused Rabi to blink a few times and put on a confused look, but the blonde gave no additional input for the time being.

After Xara emerged from the hideout, Ilias came out as well, dressed in his fairly dirty shirt and fashionable waist-wrap made from his partner's cloak. "Thanks," said the carpenter before sliding on his trousers beneath the cloak, replacing his shirt, and then looking at the cloak in his hand. "I guess I should probably wash this, since we have a good amount of water now," he pondered aloud. "Oh, and uh... the tea," he added. "It's inside, so you can drink it whenever."

"There you guys are," came a familiar voice from behind them, luckily only after Ilias was fully dressed. It belonged to Safiya. "So, ya found him, huh? Good thing. I guess that means we can finally get some rest for once, 'cause I'm beat. Been way too long of a day... or two. Can't even keep track anymore," said the well-toned woman, yawning afterwards.

"Heh, you're tellin' me," Nadim chimed in, appearing from right behind her.

"What you were doing with Yasmin doesn't count," muttered the blonde. "Alright. Don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted."

Ilias gave a nod. "I'm just glad to see that you two are alright..." he offered firmly, looking at Safiya and then to Xara once more.

"Thanks," replied Safiya with a genuine smile. "You've made it pretty obvious how much you care, so I'll give you a pass! Alright. Either way, I'm hitting the sack." She walked past and gave him a pat on the back before heading inside. Nadim and the others soon followed, unless Xara intended on pulling anyone aside.

Once the bunnygirl joined the others within, she'd find Rabi sitting at the edge of her makeshift bed, looking somewhat lost.

"Oh, uh... right. Our sleeping situation," pondered Safiya aloud as she rubbed the side of her cheek. "Looks like we don't have quite enough beds, but you could always try and squeeze onto any one of these. Probably not Ilias, since he barely fits in his own."

"I could always bunk up with Yasmin," suggested Nadim with a shrug, which earned him a slightly disparaging look from Safiya.

"You could, but I'd like to get some kind of sleep tonight," replied the tallest of the girls, folding her arms. "Well, Rabi, it's up to you."

"I'd like to stay with Miss Xara, if that's alright..." said Rabi meekly, looking between the two girls in the group that he was most familiar with. Ilias couldn't help but raise a brow, but said nothing otherwise. The bunnygirl was free to either agree or recommend a different sleeping situation before the others began to prepare for sleep.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"Maybe he just knew that you two weren't going to invite him to join your own coping process?" The void rabbit replied with a shrug, before proceeding as she had initially intended and returning to Ilias with his clothes. She could think of a few more things that she'd have liked to say to Yasmin before exiting their hideout again, but she'd have probably needed to plug Rabi's ears for those and as such decided that there was nothing to be gained from that. At least not yet.

Once she had successfully returned to Ilias with a new set of clothes and following his commentary, she replied dramatically; "It was no trouble at all for the amazing Xara!" She continued in a much more muted tone, however. "Yeah, I think it's best if you keep the cloak for a while. Consider it a memento of me! At least until you wash it and I take it it back," the petite thief grinned. The matter of the tea seemed less appropriate for humor though, and so she replied to that with a simple "thanks."

Which happened to occur mere moments before Safiya showed up. Xara didn't contribute to the conversation immediately. Her first remark came after the blonde talked about how exhausted she was. "I could sleep for days," she would note with a yawn of her own. It especially felt the case after she'd further exhausted herself on Ilias. That little truth caused her to smile all the more noticeably as the craftsman professed how worried he had been. Once Safiya and Nadim had moved inside, she followed and mimicked the taller woman's gesture toward Ilias, though her pat very purposely ended up on his butt if only because she knew he couldn't really protest about it in front of the blonde woman quite yet.

Afterward, she more or less allowed the others to handle most of the minor details, since they seemed perfectly content to do so anyway. She instead looked for an opportunity to grab and drink the tea that Ilias had purchased for her at the market while the others were preoccupied, preferably while they weren't paying much attention. In hindsight, it was probably a poor idea, since she had no idea what sort of side effects the concoction might have. Still, she supposed it probably couldn't be any worse than the rather major side effect that might occur from not ingesting the tea. When that was done, she rejoined the conversation just in time to reply to Rabi's request. "Sure! Just don't hog the sheets."

In truth, part of the reason she didn't mind the prospect of sharing a mattress with Rabi was because she wouldn't have minded sharing it with most anybody in their group but Yasmin. A more pressing reason, however, was that she wanted an opportunity to privately discuss a few things, about the former noblewoman specifically, with the effeminate boy. Between that and the fact that she was well and truly exhausted, she was quick to worm her way into a comfortable spot on her bed shortly after quickly uttering her 'good nights'. Once she had claimed her half of the mattress, she allowed Rabi to get comfortable on his own half. And then, she simply waited.

It proved difficult to keep herself awake as she waited for the rest of the group to turn in, especially since she shut her eyes early on in the hopes of fooling any casual glances her way from any of the other four. Xara waited like that until she was confident that everyone else was asleep, and then she nudged Rabi's shoulder with her hand. "Rabi, are you still awake?" She asked in an almost silent whisper. Of course, whether he was awake or not, the goal was to wake him and so she continued to nudge him until she elicited a 'yes' from him. If he awoke with a start or made any loud noises though, she would move a single finger to hush him.

Assuming her efforts to wake Rabi didn't manage to wake up everybody else in the process, she would continue in that same whisper. "I saw what Yasmin was doing and how she was treating you and it wasn't right. I just wanted to know, if I end up needing to, if you would tell big sis with me that she was stealing from the group and that she threatened you. Just nod or shake your head." Once she had retrieved his answer, barring anything that would require additional input from her, she would cease the conversation there and allow him to return to sleep, and then afterward attempt to get some much needed rest of her own.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Yasmin made a face at Xara's quip, but ultimately failed to find a witty retort... or any at all. If the bunnygirl was keeping track of the 'score' between them, that would easily count as a point in her favor.

Ilias, in noticeable contrast, reacted to the voidic thief's wisecrack with a sincere smile, which was rare given his usually indifferent expression. Benefits of her sexuality and sense of humor aside, she had given him much to grin about just by being there. For once in nearly the entire day, he had reason to feel relieved. If Xara looked closely, the candlelight inside would finally help her notice signs of weariness upon Ilias' face, built up from no small amount of stress scouring the city for her. However, with a bit of well-earned sleep, they would likely be gone soon enough.

Xara's pat upon Ilias' rump caused him to seize up for just a moment, but it was still enough to cause Safiya to look back at the tallest member of the group. "What's wrong? Can't handle being touched by a girl? Typical," she teased, giggling before moving to her bed and removing her cloak to reveal the simple, tight top she wore underneath, which did an ample job of putting her well-sculpted shoulders and upper back on display. Nadim stole as many glances at the lovely view as the experienced thief could afford to make, using the opportunity afforded by Yasmin's own attention being paid to other things for the time being.

Luckily for the bunnygirl, most of the others were either too tired or preoccupied with getting settled down for the night to watch her down the tea--save for Rabi, who didn't think anything of it, and Ilias, who had purchased it for her in the first place. It was slightly sour, but otherwise manageable enough for something that Xara might have to quaff more than once or twice depending on how active she chose to be in the future.

Once the last candle was blown out and a soft, yet steady chorus of breaths and / or light snores could be heard, Xara finally gained her opportunity to rouse the blonde-haired youth. It wasn't too difficult to do so, given that he had inadvertently used her as some sort of cuddling device, and all she needed to do was move or wriggle around enough for the boy to come to. "Nnnn..." he groaned softly, his eyes slowly fluttering open. It took him a few seconds, and then a repeat of what she said for him to apparently comprehend her fully. Then came a moment of hesitation as he glanced over to the sleeping Yasmin, then back to Xara. Rabi set his jaw and gave her a firm nod. "I won't do it without you though, Miss Xara," he assured her in a quiet voice. With that, he went back to sleep, giving the girl beside him a respectful distance.

~~~~~​

By the time morning came, that distance had been closed completely, with the youth having returned to a position of snuggling up to the one next to him. Perhaps to Xara's pleasant surprise, her state of awakening would not come with the unbearably loud banging of a steel pot, but naturally, after the conclusion of a dream that she may or may not bother to remember. Safiya had slept in, the trials of the previous day having taken their toll even on her well-maintained body. The first one up was Ilias. He couldn't help but to raise a brow at the way Rabi had gotten cozy with Xara.

"Looks like he really likes you," he commented, handing Xara a triangle of leavened wheat bread from a stack in his hand. "Anyway, I managed to get us some breakfast... looks like Safiya-sis isn't even awake yet, for once. But I think it might be better if the three of you stayed home for today. Let Nadim and Yasmin take care of any runs. Or if you do decide to get some fresh air... I'm coming with. No matter what."

The bunnygirl was given a chance to agree or protest, whatever her response might be, before the one sleeping next to her finally woke up. Rabi waited to relinquish his embrace of her until after sitting up. He then rubbed his eyes with a yawn.

Despite the pang of jealousy that the effeminate youth likely caused with his close proximity to Xara, Ilias still handed him a share of that morning's breakfast, and the blonde one nodded his thanks with a soft smile, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. As the three waited for the others to wake up (unless Xara took it upon herself to rouse them personally), Rabi munched on his bread in thoughtful silence.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

There was something extremely soothing about waking on her own, rather than at the cruel hands of metal cookware. Although, in truth, perhaps the knowledge of her plot against Yasmin, a contingency in case the other woman should forget that they were all allies, falling into place was even more soothing than that. Or maybe it was the dream she'd had about the palace and servants who had brought her all that gold, food, and water that was the most soothing of all. It was hard to say.

Breakfast in bed would turn out to be a contender too, especially since prying herself free of her clingy new friend without waking him up was going to be difficult. "I am pretty great, after all," she easily and softly replied at Ilias's initial appraisal of Rabi's opinion on her before taking a bite of the bread he had handed her. She would continue, much more seriously, after she had swallowed that first bite. "After what he went through, it's hard to blame him. Anyway, we've got too much to do today to stay home. We've got all that treasure to sell. I don't know how you feel about it, but if it fetches enough we might actually be able to take a step up in the world," she replied, perhaps more honest with the craftsman about her feelings in her assessment than she had been to date.

She would eat a bit more as Ilias responded, or even if he didn't reply to that, though she wouldn't say anything else until after Rabi had woken up and relinquished her. Once the blond youth was up, the rabbit girl quickly mimicked him in sitting up and swinging her own legs over the side of the bed so she could continue her meal and her conversation, not paying concern to the prospect of Rabi hearing what she had to say on the subject. "I was thinking that maybe we could find a nicer place to stay with more rooms. And maybe that we could even use some of the coin to start up our own stall or tavern or something, I don't know, as a less dangerous source of income. If the merchants out there can do it, what's stopping us other than opportunities?" Xara was wearing her heart on her sleeve as she asked that, because since arriving in Jadiram she really had begun to nurse hopes of eventually crawling her way out of thievery, and she truly wanted to hear what Ilias thought about the prospect.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Ilias managed a somewhat relieved smile to see that the bunnygirl was still in relatively high spirits. Her usual brand of humor was a nice thing to see from someone who had just survived an apparently otherworldly ordeal. "Guess I can't disagree with that," he conceded. "You are pretty great, but I might not feel good about letting everyone know, or they might try to hog all of that greatness to themselves..." he trailed off quietly, turning an eye towards the slumbering Nadim.

His awkward tinge of concern, or mild jealousy--whichever Xara chose to take it as--faded fairly quickly when he Voidic one's demeanor shifted to a more serious one. For even Xara to be without a equip in this case would be a fairly good indicator of the sensitivity of the topic. Ilias could only guess what might have happened to the effeminate youth, but given Rabi's submissive nature and rather girlish looks, it wasn't too difficult to tell. After all, even Safiya was said to have been put through a social hell of sorts for not conforming to Deunic feminine norms. It was probably no different for the strange, blonde-haired lad, who could be seen as her male counterpart in some ways.

"Somehow, I figured that you wouldn't be able to stay still," commented the taller one. "Though I can't help but wonder why you're in that much of a hurry to unload the stuff. Should I even ask about exactly where you and Safiya got an entire chest's full of trinkets from? I mean, not that it's that big a deal, unless it's from anyone important enough to get us all thrown in prison. We've come too far to lose what little we've managed to make."

"I think they'll be safe," Rabi chimed in. "It's not even from this world. We took it from s-some... slavers, who probably stole it from other people anyway," he added with a slight grimace. "Either way, I don't think anyone that rich and powerful living in Jadiram will be looking for them anytime soon. While these are nice, it's not as if they're made of solid gold."

The carpenter blinked a few times, looking somewhat surprised by Xara's mention of taking a step up. "Ehheh... to be honest, I'd like nothing more than to do something like that. I mean, to have a legit business, that is. It's not as if there's a less legal and more lucrative form of carpentry around here, and I'm not really any good at this whole thievery thing anyway. Nor am I going to kid myself into thinking that it's a respectable way to live," he explained quietly, looking over to Safiya, who seemed to be stirring. "I'm just glad I can put some distance between me and the guards, 'cause otherwise, sneakiness isn't really something I can manage." Indeed--being around six feet tall, at least in Jadiram, was generally not conducive to going unnoticed so easily. It would be a wonder that he wasn't incarcerated if it weren't for his impressive speed, which was put on display just the night before.

"Have you ever run a shop before? It shouldn't take too long for me to build a stall, if you want to try it the legit way at the bazaar. Though, ah... my only concern is that other people in town might not be as, err, accepting of you as we are." His gaze shifted towards her ears as he spoke.

"Not that it'd be impossible! I mean, orcs still wander around the city without getting too much flak from the guards. Though that's mainly 'cause the city officials don't care to start a war with the neighboring tribes, or give them any reason to unite against Jadiram. But they still get bad looks from a lot of the shopkeepers."

"She's a lot cuter than an orc though," Rabi chimed in.

"That's definitely true," responded Ilias, raising a brow. "But if we're somehow found out, I just... don't want to lose her again for any reason," he admitted. "The last thing we need is some water merchant trying to accuse us of having stolen from them, since they wouldn't always be wrong in that. I'm thinking we should at least set up shop in a part of town where they won't recognize any of us."

"I, um, maybe I could help!" suggested Rabi. Ilias could only respond with a polite smile, showing a trace of hesitation in giving an immediate reply. The Void Rabbit could easily guess why. Someone as meek and passive as the blonde-haired youth likely wouldn't be able to persuade others into buying things, especially not trinkets that weren't necessarily crucial to living. Not to mention his unconventional look betrayed typical gender norms. Such was the case for Safiya as well. While those who sold water could be as fat and ugly as Gallahn made them to be, a dealer of luxury goods, like the metalware they acquired, would have to have far more attractive qualities. Ilias looked over to the bunnygirl, implying the obvious. An operation like this would likely have to be run by Xara and her magnetic personality, unless she had any other plans regarding Rabi and his willingness to volunteer...

Then, a yawn could be heard from across the room. Safiya had woken up, her short hair mussed into a peculiar style thanks to the way she would shift about at night. "By Gallahn, is it morning already?! Why's everyone up so early?" She sat up with a start, looking surprised to see that someone was up before her. Rubbing her eyes, Safiya took a moment to stretch out afterwards, peering curiously at the trio. "So um... what are we talking about?"

Whether or not Xara cared to disclose the information to the 'leader' of the group was up to her. Nadim and Yasmin were still asleep for the time being, though it was tough to tell if they were soon to follow the blonde-haired one out of the realm of slumber.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Xara quirked an eyebrow of her own as Rabi suggested that she was cuter than an orc. Normally she'd have allowed the compliment to feed her already massive ego, but she took interest in the effeminate youth's compliment for another reason entirely. One more for Rabi liking girls, Xara mentally added to the scoreboard. Beyond that, though, the void rabbit listened seriously to the comments and suggestions made by the two even as she consumed the remainder of the bread Ilias had handed her.

"I think it's definitely for the best if we set up in another part of town where we're less recognized. Especially after last night," she mentioned. Xara imagined Rabi would think she was talking about their theft from Asra's cart while Ilias would remember their embarrassing escape the night before. In truth, both would be right about her meaning as she believed that both were equally good reasons to sell their goods elsewhere, and they were compounded by the fact that the captain of the guard knew Xara's face personally after her stunt with his cousin. "And one of the benefits of being a rabbit is that all I need is a nice, roomy hood or a hat and a good pair of pants in order to hide it, let's see an orc do that," she suggested with a grin. "It might not work forever, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it. To tell the truth, I'm more worried about what sort of thing we'll sell once we're out of trinkets. We don't exactly have a naturally replenishing resource on our hands. It's something else we'll need to figure out."

"And I'll have plenty of jobs for you if you want to help," she directed at Rabi. It was the truth. He might not have been confident enough to persuade others into buying goods and he wasn't willing enough to use his perfect stature for thievery, but while many weren't likely to buy golden trinkets simply for the opportunity to talk to a pretty, meek young boy, Xara believed that a lustful merchant or two might loosen their purse strings to impress a pretty, meek young 'girl'. She didn't feel like she needed to reveal just yet that part of her plan involved seeing how many of her clothes Rabi could fit in, though. "You'll get a fair share, of course," she added with a bright smile that only barely betrayed the plot underneath it.

When Safiya woke up, shortly afterward, and questioned what the trio was doing, Xara was quick to answer for them. And yet, she used much less guile than she normally might have used, simply because she hoped that the truth, or at least part of it, combined with her natural charm might sway Safiya over to their way of thinking. "We were talking about how to go about selling the trinkets we collected, big sis. I was thinking we could try to set up a stand and sell them directly on the street. We'll probably get more gold for them and won't cause as much suspicion as if we tried to sell them piecemeal to established merchants," she offered, hoping that her straightforwardness might get her a taste for Safiya's opinion on the matter.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Rabi's visage brightened at the prospect of him serving as a useful asset to the bunnygirl. Despite the lingering grogginess in his expression, his lips still managed to curl into a smile as he tried his best to keep himself from hugging Xara in reply to her promising offer.

"Thank you so much! You honestly don't know how much this means to me. My mother always told me that I should be strong, like my brothers, since I am a boy. But I just... I've never been good at any of that stuff," he explained once more. "And whenever I do find some kind of job, I get taken advantage of, like what Miss Asra had me do," said the effeminate youth, with his cheerfulness fading somewhat towards the end of his sentence. He paused briefly, as if to contemplate his latest troubles.

"But if you're willing to let me help, I swear, I will do anything to make it work!" Rabi finally added, with more resolve in his tone.

"I... think I see part of your prob--err... nevermind," muttered Ilias under his breath, putting on a worried look.

~~~~~​

When the Void Rabbit explained her money-making scheme in a more direct manner to Safiya, the blonde rubbed the back of her head and gave a thoughtful look. "Mornin'... mmph. Hmm... so, you wanna pawn them off right away, huh? Good idea. It'd definitely help to turn these trinkets into something we can eat or drink, since it's not like we need them anyway. Despite what Yasmin might have you believe," she said, turning an eye towards the lavender-haired girl, who was thankfully still asleep.

"So! Are you gonna have Ilias build us a stand, then? I've never thought about actually selling stuff on the street. Seems kind of complicated. Usually it's uhm, taking pots and coin from the water merchants, eh-heh... not that they don't deserve it, mind you! They're easily the worst of them all, because they KNOW how complex all of those numbers get, but they use that to take advantage of those who don't! I heard that their markups are as much as TEN times that of what they originally paid. Can you believe that?! If I had it my way, I'd make a shop with special discounts for those who need it, so we can take back the wealth of this city and keep those monopolinizing water tycoons from exploitating people who don't know any better just because they need water to live. Besides, it's not the commoners' fault that they couldn't afford the education for all of that stuff to begin with!"

"I think you mean monopolizing... but erm... hmm." Ilias simply sighed and shrugged. It was an expected tangent from the group's idealistic leader. "I feel as though the rich people would probably start complaining that they're being discriminated against, if you were to pull a stunt like that... or maybe say a few things here and there about equality."

"Equality?! Easy enough for THEM to say when they're the ones who tip the scales so badly to begin with! How can you still complain when you never have to worry about your next meal or whether or not you'll even be able to get a sip of water this week?!" said Safiya in a louder voice, which caused the last two sleeping members of the group to stir. It didn't take much to get her awake this morning, apparently.

"Pretty sure that having more money doesn't mean your problems magically go away," the carpenter pondered aloud. "But uuuuhhh... what do I know."

"I guess," replied the blonde-haired woman. "But that's no excuse for exploitating others just because you can get away with it. They call US thieves, they're the worst of all. Stealing from people who barely have anything left to steal is the lowest! Why is it that whenever -we- steal something, it lasts us a day, but when they steal, they get to live in a sumpchus house for years?!"

Rabi simply mustered a nervous smile, looking back and forth between the two, wondering exactly how the prospect of opening a shop had turned into a heated discussion about politics and the economy.

"I think it's cause they know the right words are 'exploiting' and 'sumptuous', but uh, I digress. Anyway, I'll... get to work on building the stand, I guess," remarked Ilias with a sigh. "I'm guessing you want a portable one, maybe made out of wood? I'm going to have to actually buy the materials first."

"Oh, uh, right. Try trading off a few of those trinkets for the supplies," suggested Safiya. She moved to the chest and opened it. "Weird, I swear I remember there being more in here... oh well. Here," said the girl, tossing an anklet of sorts to Ilias, who caught it.

She turned to Xara afterwards, relaxing a bit as she set eyes upon the petite thief. "This was a good idea though, my clever little bunny! This way, we'll also have a nice and proper stand for when we need to, uh, redistribute some wealth. Though, who's going to do the selling?"

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Well, Xara couldn't exactly say she expected the conversation to go quite the way it had. Certainly she hadn't expected it to become quite so passionate, even though she had a pretty good idea of where Safiya was coming from. The void rabbit certainly couldn't disagree with her fellow thief. The merchants were every bit as much thieves as they were, the only difference was that when the merchant stole and plundered and robbed their customers of every coin they could it was considered enterprise. Xara, however, wasn't sure that she was as interested in changing the system as she was in simply bringing herself, and those who she considered friends, up the rungs of the societal and monetary ladder that was already in place.

One thing at a time though, she supposed. Let Safiya wage her crusade and help the less fortunate in the process if it meant her happiness. Xara didn't necessarily care what any of her allies intended to do with their share of the wealth she wanted to acquire for their group, so long as their little family had that gold in the first place. "The vote so far is for me," she vocally replied with easily summoned cheerfulness once Ilias had left with his trinket to begin his work and the conversation had died down, her only other contributions to the argument at large being to nod her agreement that the stand should be portable. "But I intend on keeping Rabi as an assistant. With products like this our customers are probably going to mostly be those rich merchant types to begin with, and I think between the two of us we can milk them some of their extra coins," she did her best to play at Safiya's disdain for the wealthier Jadiram citizens with her suggestion.

"But I think we can all pitch in on this. Yasmin seems to have a pretty good eye for this sort of thing, and her knowledge on these sort of trinkets might be just what we need to maximize our ability to haggle, even if she's just valuing things as they enter our inventory. Nadi could probably help by keeping his ear to the ground both to make sure that the guards don't catch onto us when we're selling... redistributed items, and researching anything that Yasmin can't price. Ilias's talents are obvious," she accidentally slipped and used his name instead of calling him by the nickname she had conjured for him, but while she realized that midway through her sentence she continued smoothly, "and when he's not working on upgrades or nothing requires his craftsmanship he's big enough and strong enough to be intimidating to anybody who might steal from us or lend a hand with the inventory. You're good with those knives too, big sis, so between the two of you I'm sure nobody will be able to steal or muscle us out of our, uh, acquired stuff."

"It might be a good idea for all of us who aren't doing other runs to work on this until we deplete most of those trinkets, I think, and then we can figure out what to do from there after we've figured out how much we're going to get from all this," Xara suggested. She'd definitely just betrayed how much thought she'd been giving to this merchant business, but it seemed to her that it was a setup for the best opportunity she'd have to persuade her 'big sister' to consider more permanently moving into a higher class sort of thievery. Now she just needed to see how the muscled blonde responded to her initial nudge.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"Wow... you really had this thought through, didn't you?" replied Safiya, though not in an accusatory or remotely negative way. If anything, her tone of voice seemed to imply that she was rather impressed with the bunnygirl's foresight. "Or maybe you've just done it before? I guess I'll just have to second that vote, then! If you need any physical work taken care of, I can pitch in. And Ilias probably won't mind this change of pace, since he's not exactly the most discreet kind of guy to be doing the daily runs without getting into trouble," she added, nudging the tallest member of the group.

"Yeah, yeah..." said the carpenter with a shrug and a look of relative indifference. "Kinda hard to at my height." Indeed; he was about six feet, and while Safiya was only around three inches shorter, she clearly had much more experience in the realms of misdirection and the like. "I'd be kind of worried to be just standing there though, since I'm pretty sure that some water merchants in Jadiram recognize me from all of those attempts to steal their goods going bad. Or because a lot of my tries just degenerated into big, uh, chases..." The flashbacks of the 'chase' with Xara in his arms from the previous night crossed his mind, causing him to blush visibly.

Luckily, Safiya took as much as mere embarrassment over his lack of thievery skills. "Hah! Well, we wouldn't HAVE to steal right back if it weren't for all the theft that the barons started. As for my botched runs, it's been a while, but, most water salesmen at that time thought I was a man for some reason, so I should be okay. I guess I just have to doll myself up a little more in order to not get recognized?" She turned an eye to Xara. "Either way, I gotta admit that this is all pretty new to me, so since you seem to be the most experienced one in this kinda thing, I'll put you in charge of it for the time being. Including the roles we'll have and all that. Sounds like you've already got a good feel for what we're all about."

The tomboyish blonde scratched the back of her head as she sifted through the treasure once again. "Man, you wouldn't believe how heavy this thing was, though. Now that I see how much we have for once, it's really tempting not to just spend it all since we've got it. Or exchange it for something nice and edible! Would sure beat storing all that stuff away in some place where it'll sit and do nothing, anyway..." she pondered aloud. "The way I understand it, some merchants keep some extra stuff in storage that they won't sell for some reason, those greedy fatcats. Especially when those in need could be using it instead. I mean, what are they waiting for? Like the prices are just gonna magically go up or something?"

Her ponderings were met with shrugs and silence from Rabi and Ilias, respectively.

Yasmin's half-asleep voice could be heard just seconds later. "Nnnnmmhh... w-what are all of you deciding without us, now?"

Safiya could only beam and reply, "A great plan that our little Xara came up with. I'm sure you won't have any objections? It involves a merchant stand and making lots of money off of these useless trinkets!"

"Our... little Xara?" echoed the lavender-haired one, her eyebrow twitching. "Useless? But some of these are practically priceless!" she added in a louder voice. The concern appeared to have woken her up fairly quickly. "Do you even know how much some of these are probably worth?!"

"Well... no, but that's what we have you for, right?" asked Safiya with a shrug.

"Aaaaaand... that's my cue to leave. So I'm going to go fetch those materials now," said Ilias, who would then prepare to set off to run his errand. He gave Xara something of a longing look, one that said that he wanted to hug or kiss her, or give some other display of affection, but simply couldn't due to those watching. A moment of hesitation crossed his features, then he set his jaw and mustered the courage to ask in spite of it all. "Coming with?" The young man's passiveness from before had dwindled from the other day's near loss, so it seemed.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

The void rabbit remained as silent as Rabi and Ilias through Safiya's musings, there probably wasn't anything she could've said that would've been considered reassuring by any stretch anyway. When Yasmin awoke and was added into the conversation though, she couldn't help but add; "If they're priceless, imagine how much we'll get for them! We might even be able to spend the money on getting ourselves a bigger hideout. Maybe one with separate rooms, because it's beginning to feel really dangerous inviting new friends over whenever you and Nadi are left by yourselves!" Xara's tone was cheerful, as if it was purely in jest, but it was every bit intended as a barb.

This was part of why she was more than happy to step out when Ilias requested her. "Sure!" She retrieved her cloak and donned it in order to hide her ears; the other members of their little group weren't the only ones who had built less than stellar reputations in their time in Jadiram. She doubted Ilias had found the time to wash it, but it wasn't as if she'd found the time to wash herself after their escapades the night before either. "But I call dibs on designing the sign once we've got everything," she declared before exiting with the tall craftsman.

After they were a short distance away from their shared home, however, Xara would stop him and pull him aside. There wasn't any mischief or lust in her eyes as she looked at him this time though, this was purely a serious stop for the void rabbit. Her words came in rushed whisperings as she began to explain the reasoning for the sudden halt. "Ilias, I need you to keep this a secret, but Yasmin removed a portion of the treasure from the chest and hid it under her mattress last night, I spotted her when I was going to get your change of clothes. Rabi knows as well, and when you get a chance later I'd like you to check and see it with your own eyes. I don't want to have to tell big sis about this because I think she's already had to moderate enough infighting, but I do want to have enough evidence and witnesses to it that if it becomes unavoidable I can prove who took it." She mentally marked down another partial lie toward Ilias on her lie sheet. Xara truly didn't want to have to bring the matter to Safiya's attention, but she was willing to go so far as to drag Yasmin kicking and screaming into her merchant scheme with threats of blackmail if necessary. And if she had to tell a few more lies and fabricate reasoning to the craftsman to get him to unwittingly assist in that then she was willing to do that as well.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

At Xara's 'joke' regarding the sale of the potentially priceless treasures, Yasmin initially responded with a shocked, almost offended look--one that the bunnygirl could hardly forget anytime soon. For the wittier of the two girls, it was definitely worth the quip and then some. However, at the comment regarding her and Nadim's lewd displays, the former noble would only squint her eyes and smile in a most exaggerated fashion. Making little attempt to mask her sarcasm, Yasmin allowed her expression to quickly fade into a glare.

Luckily, that bit of interaction would be the most that Xara would be forced to have with Yasmin for the time being, as she wisely chose to accompany Ilias on his errand when the craftsman announced his departure. He put on a curious look in reaction to her insistence on designing the sign. "Oh? Did you have something specific in mind? If you sketch it out, I can do my best to reproduce it," said Ilias. "Or uh, if it's something you wanted to do by your own hand, I could always teach you how to carve wood," he then added, as if to correct himself. The two moved along, carrying a rather normal conversation for once--until Xara pulled him aside for a more serious matter.

At the Void Rabbit's story, the carpenter simply shook his head and sighed. "No no, evidence aside, I believe you on this one. Somehow, I'm just not surprised that Yasmin would do something like that," he murmured. "It isn't the first time she's tried to get some along with her own slice of the pie. I guess old lives aren't always such easy things to leave behind... and she's used to white marble, gilt, brocade and all that fancy stuff. Not clay walls and old leftover fabrics to sleep on, like what we do every night," explained Ilias.

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised that she's still with us, but it's not as if she has anywhere else to go. Safiya would definitely have something to say about that little habit of hers, though, so if you really feel the need to rat her out... you know where to go. It's not like Yasmin is the slickest one out there. She has an idea of how to talk her way out of things to people who don't know any better, but even big sis can tell when she's trying to pull a fast one." He paused. "If you need my testimony or whatever though, then sure. Just promise me you won't do anything so drastic as to make her leave, alright? I know you two don't get along, but... she's still a part of our family, even if she is a huge brat."

He took a deep breath and paused, hesitating, before moving on. "B... Besides, if she wasn't here, I'm pretty sure Nadim would be intent on making you his main squeeze," he grumbled. It was awkward enough having shared the bunnygirl with the smooth-talking thief at one point, but Ilias was apparently less than thrilled with the idea of Nadim attempting to claim Xara for his own.

"Anyway, let's get some wood," said the handyman, all too happy to change the subject back to the matter at hand. The two made their way into a part of Jadiram's many shopping areas that was less familiar to Xara, yet the territory certainly wasn't new to Ilias, judging from the way he wove through the smaller alleys to get to the dealer he wanted.

"I'll take... hmm. Two planks of desert sandwood and seven bitsapp," said the carpenter, observing the quality of those handed to him before handing over his share of the cash. "Thanks." His transaction was swift and to the point. Oddly enough, no attempt at bartering on Ilias' part was made, though he also seemed to know the prices. It was almost puzzling, how such a skilled artisan could wind up in a rooftop shanty with two thieves and a former noble, but there he was.

"Bitsapp is sturdy enough to take a few good whacks, and we'll use the sandwood for that sign you wanted, since it's a lot easier to carve into," he explained, hoisting the lumber over his shoulder, though he'd raise no argument if Xara cared to help to the best of her abilities--a somewhat challenging prospect given their general difference in height and size. "What did you have in mind, anyway?"

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"I don't want that either," she lied in response to Ilias's request that she not do anything to cause Yasmin to leave, mentally adding another tally to her board. At the rate she was going, the void rabbit would need to find some way to repent for those lies to her comrades some day or she might run out of room in her head to keep track of the score by the end of the week. "But all my life I've moved sideways along the social ladder, or just done my best to avoid dropping down it. In my home I survived, and not comfortably, by stealing, and now I'm having to do the same here," she admitted in a hushed tone, not really want to announce to any unseen passerby that she stole for a living. "I know I'm not the only one in our group that's gone through that. But now we've been literally given a golden opportunity to move up thanks to all the stuff big sis carried over from that other world, one amazing enough that there might be a day in sight where never have to do another water run and risk getting grabbed by the guards or, worse, one of the merchants again. And if I have to drag Yasmin kicking and screaming into this so that we can all climb up that ladder, I'm willing to do it."

Her seriousness in that topic didn't stop her from lightening up afterward and offering an amused response to Ilias's comment about Nadim, though. "Yes, you'd better be careful and start wooing me now in case she should ever disappear. You'll want all the head start you can get, I'm sure! Orrr... you could always have a bit more confidence in yourself and try to realize that I like you specifically because you're you and that he could never be what you are to me, you big dummy." It was true that the charming rogue of the group was a smooth talker and he certainly knew which buttons to push when it came to wooing a naive young woman from the deserts, but Xara wasn't that easy. At least, she hoped she wasn't that easy. Oh, sure, the redhead was good — scratch that, great — in bed, and Ilias was surely far behind in obtaining the experience to match him, but compared to Ilias any romp with Nadim seemed like it would feel cheap and meaningless, no matter how much fun it might be. Nadim just couldn't match the tall, sometimes awkward, craftsman in that department.

"Yeah, let's go," she would merrily agree once Ilias suggested that it was time to get moving. She would follow in silence, confident enough that the craftsman knew where he was heading, and similarly remained silent as he picked out the wares and paid for them without haggling. The void rabbit would try to help him with the wood, not quite willing to stand back and let him handle the whole of it, but it would quickly become apparent that she was more hindrance than help when loaded down with much of it and so settled for carrying the two planks of sandwood. "You really know your stuff when it comes to this!" Xara complimented Ilias once everything was sorted and they were on their way back.

"To be honest, I don't really have any idea! I just think that we need to avoid using any of our real names," she admitted once the topic wheeled back around to the matter of the sign. "I think I'd like to do something to pay respects to one of the group names that big sis came up with for us, but as merchants I don't think we should really call ourselves the five thieves- or I guess six now? At this rate we'll end up as the ten thieves, or the twenty, or thirty, or fifty by the end of the year! Anyway, it definitely has to be multipurpose, I'd like to end up selling lots of different sorts of things and given the nature of our suppliers there will probably be a day when we do just that! Ooh, maybe something like Six Oases' Treasures or something? In honor of there being six of us and where our first supply came from? Treasures is pretty vague too, could be anything!" Xara's physical enthusiasm proved a bit weighed down by the presence of the wood in her arms, but her tone would more than make up for it as she waited for Ilias's opinion on her spur of the moment ideas.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"So none of this is really that new to you, is it?" responded Ilias quietly. "Figures. Funny that you'd end up here with us, of all people. Not that I mind, or anything," came an additional remark from the carpenter, as he placed a hand behind his head. "We're all kind of stuck here for one reason or another."

Exhaling deeply, he gave her a slight smile. "I'd want nothing more than to be legit too. Safiya-sis says that it's easier to steal water than it is to buy it, and that it all shows a big problem with the current government... and, eh, who knows. Maybe she's right. But I honestly don't think that there's a whole lot a small group like us can do overnight to change whatever system is in place. I'm not even sure how I'm not in jail by now, but it's uh... it's something to be thankful for, and I intend on staying outta there as long as I can."

"And if anyone in our group can charm their way into a good deal, it's gotta be you. Nadim might, but I don't feel like his intentions are always in the right place, and I'm sure Yasmin would cause us to lose a customer or two. Safiya's a little too opinionated to be agreeable, and I uh... yeah, selling people stuff isn't really my thing either. I don't really like to push too hard..."

At Xara's clarification regarding the relationship between them, Ilias blushed visibly, his mouth crinkling in an odd attempt to keep himself from cracking a smile. It was an odd compliment to try and take--sex between them actually 'meant something'. But it was comforting for him, in its own way, and such an effect was visible enough that the Void Rabbit could notice as much through the carpenter's expressions.

After they had acquired the wood, Ilias nodded in response, proving himself confident in at least one area--his expertise in construction. "A little! Originally I was in an apprenticeship to be a carpenter, but that opportunity, uh... along with any jobs I would've gotten, went away pretty quick. Thanks to the Najjarine--the guild managing all of the carpenters in the city. If you're not with them, you can't really get business in Jadiram, so I wound up stuck here without a job, or even the money to get back to my hometown. Safiya-sis was kind enough to take me in, though. She even paid me to make that little block of clay we live in right now," he explained.

"Six Oases Treasures... hmm. I like it," replied Ilias to the bunnygirl's proposal for a name. "Kinda sounds like you're selling things from all over the place. Though, given what we've uh, acquired, it's probably not all that far from the truth. Alright, well, when we get back, I'll show you how to carve the design. On the other hand, the whole fake names thing might be tricky. If not Xara, what would I call you by?"

It wasn't long before the two did return to the rooftop hideout, where Safiya and Rabi were having a discussion. Rather, the latter was subject to a lecture by the former, who was apparently on a roll.

"...and THAT'S why the 'crime rate' is so high," explained the blonde-haired woman. "Do you think a chunk of Jadiram just went and decided that they wanted to steal water and be chased by guards for a living?! The barons will do anything to take away attention from who the REAL thieves are, and that's them! Rises in crime, especially theft, don't happen for no reason! If someone has the ability to make infinite water, then you'd THINK that there would be no need for anyone nearby to fight over it, right?!"

Rabi stared at her blankly, simply nodding his head after her latest exclamation.

"Oh! Um, welcome back," said Safiya, looking over her shoulder at the pair. "Got the materials? Great! So I looked at the treasures, and there's a big variety of things, pretty much all metal. Tea sets, platters, bangles, necklaces, some rings, daggers, and hair ornaments, to name a few. Even found some kinda musical instrument." She held up a silver cylindrical object with a mouthpiece and several holes drilled into one side. "Anyway, is there any category of these you wanna try to pawn off first, or are you just going to bring a few of each and hope somebody bites?"

In addition to answering the leader's inquiry, Xara was free to add any specifics on the design she wanted for the sign.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

"I suppose it's really all about control, isn't it?" Xara hummed thoughtfully at Ilias's comment about the Najjarine. "If we could get that kind of control over any part of Jadiram's markets, we'd probably be set for life..." she added without much consideration of how the carpenter might take it, distracted momentarily by her own thoughts. "But I actually wanted to talk to you about your skills too," Xara continued after refocusing her thoughts on the craftsman. "If we used some of the profits to get your hands on some tools, what kind of things could you build? I was thinking that when the treasures ran out we'd want to have some sort of backup to keep the money rolling in. And even if it's not enough to do anything fancy with I'm sure everybody needs stuff like tables and stools! And if you managed to build an entire house I bet you could make nice enough things to keep us full on a daily basis," she stroked his ego near the end.

Following that and their discussion about the potential sign, the void rabbit realized she didn't really have an idea for a fake name for herself either. "What about... Arax? No, that doesn't sound right. Raxa? Hm... no, not right either. Plus I want to have a name that goes with a neat title! Like 'pretty' or 'beautiful' or 'the magnificent' and none of those really fit! We'll have to work on the fake names later, I think," she shrugged her shoulders as best she could while weighed down with the sandwood.

Being weighed down apparently did not make her slow enough to miss the ending point of Safiya lecturing Rabi on injustice though. The scene caused Xara to briefly muse as to what her 'big sister' would do if everything worked out and their little group was left with a respectable amount of wealth and an income on top of that. The void rabbit had no doubt that everything the group's leader had to spare would go toward helping those in need. And yet, as admirable as even Xara found the woman's mental fortitude against greed and the temptations of comfort, the void rabbit herself felt no guilt in realizing that she herself would probably never be willing to give away so much that she risked her own comfort, let alone survival. She desperately hoped that clash in their personalities wouldn't lead them to conflict in the future.

As such, she pretended to have missed Safiya's comments about social justice and instead stuck answering the questions which were directed at her. "I don't really know, to be honest," she admitted easily. "I've never been on this side of things, so I have no idea how this all works in detail! I've spoken to some merchants but they weren't really interested in teaching me their trades. So I was thinking that maybe while Ilias worked on the cart we could do some research and figure out how the city's merchants do it! See what tricks they use to get people's attentions and sell their merchandise faster! Spy on the enemy, y'know? Maybe we can come up with more ideas for the sign if we go out and have a look around at our competition too."

 

[Takimaru]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Though he looked as if he was actively trying to avoid showing as much, Ilias couldn't help but to show trace hints of an embarrassed smile as Xara stroked his ego. She could practically feel the inflation under the touch of her flattering words. It was a gradual process, not entirely dissimilar to the way she often managed to arouse him physically, but either way, the bunnygirl would be reassured that she possessed the ability to do nearly as much to her tall lover's psyche as she could for his body.

Still, once he caught himself grinning stupidly, he would turn his face to hide as much before giving his reply. "Well, I mean, chairs and tables are pretty simple, for the most part, so of course I can do as much!" responded the carpenter quickly and matter-of-factly. "It's probably not anything that a high-class type of person would purchase, so don't expect too much out of me," he then added, trying his best to remain grounded about the issue. "But if it's just for something that works, I learned to do all of that years ago. Actually making the things is really about time and materials, so as long as I have those... we'll be fine, as far as stock goes. Like I said, I'm not real good at trying to convince people to buy them though, and people don't even look for new furniture all that often if their current pieces are built well. That plus the Najjarine issue makes things a little more complicated," Ilias explained.

After hearing her rundown of self-appointed titles, he would respond with a compliment of his own. "I think any three of those would work to describe you," remarked the woodworker. It was a rather brazen attempt at flattery, closer to something Nadim might say, and perhaps just slightly out-of-character from what she knew of Ilias. That, or it was just a new way of showing his affection. How Xara responded to it, however, was another matter...

At the hideout, Xara's choice of holding her tongue likely saved her an earful from Safiya, who instead appeared rather happy to see the Void Rabbit and the carpenter return from their errands.

"Research, huh? Hmmm... that's not too bad an idea, I guess. I really don't pay all that much attention when it comes to the finer details, now that I think about it. So it'll be just the two of us to go, then?"

Ilias couldn't help but frown slightly at that. "Leaving me behind again? I nearly lost you two the other night..."

Safiya gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Okay, so it was a bit of an accident... but we came out of it alive, didn't we? And a bit richer, at that. With an extra friend!" She'd nudge Rabi afterwards. "Anyway, it's not as if that was the first time we've ever faced serious danger. We could stay cooped up in here all day for fear of anything else that could happen out there, or we can decide not to let that close call stop us. If anything, I'd say we're a bit wiser now thanks to the experience."


The carpenter sighed. "If you say so... but could you at least take someone else with you, just for my peace of mind?"

"I'll go," offered Nadim, who entered the scene with Yasmin not far behind, a small sack of goods clutched in one hand. "Just got back, so I guess my timing was spot-on, huh? In place of Safiya-sis, if you want to stay here and help Ilias." He couldn't help but flash a friendly grin at Xara, though the bunnygirl could just as easily sense the ulterior motives behind it all.

Yasmin huffed. "Oh? Then I'm going too," she interrupted, stepping forward. "I don't know what you're doing, but I'm sure I can help."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: A Thief's Oasis (Hafnium) GMed by Takimaru

Somehow, Xara was pretty sure that neither Nadim nor Yasmin accompanying the group would add to Ilias's peace of mind. Not that it mattered anyway, the group couldn't afford to be so inefficient with its manpower right then anyway. Plus, while the void rabbit wouldn't have minded Nadim accompanying her she really didn't care to bring Yasmin along with her whether the smooth talking redhead came along or not. That in itself was a problem because they couldn't afford to give Yasmin free reign over the treasure and Ilias would likely be too occupied to prevent her from emptying it out in its entirety, which ran the risk of sparking an unnecessary conflict with Safiya if she noticed.

There was one person, however, who Xara knew could distract Yasmin for hours at a time, and that was Nadim. So, in what was perhaps an ironic twist, Xara had every intention of making use of his exceptional skill in bed, though she would target it toward Yasmin by way of leaving them more or less alone again and taking Safiya and Rabi instead. She hoped Ilias would forgive her for the awkwardness that her decision would doubtlessly spark. "No need to worry so much about it!" She tried to reassure the carpenter with her usual smile. "We'll just have a look at the stalls, see which ones are successful, which ones aren't, and take notes on what seems to separate the good from the bad! We're just stealing ideas today! No talking to ugly shop ladies on the agenda!"

"Anyway, Nadim just made a run and Yasmin was with us yesterday and had to make a run for it recently, so it's probably best if they just stay here for the moment in case you need a hand or somebody tries to raid us for our treasure or something. I don't think Asra would've reported big sis or me or Rabi, so I think we should be the three that go! With big sis with us I feel perfectly safe, and I want Rabi to work the stall with me when it comes time to sell stuff so it'd probably be a good idea for us both to learn this sort of thing at the same time," she announced to the group at large, casting a glance at the effeminate youth as she did so. "And the sooner we get it done, the sooner we'll be back, safe and sound. So I think we should get on the road!"

After explaining her reasoning, or at least as much of it as she intended to explain, Xara moved to don her cloak and hood again. She would, of course, wait and hear out and reply to any arguments against her suggested groups and course of action, though she wouldn't exactly make it easier for anybody dissenting to level those arguments by waiting for very long. If given the chance, she would bring Safiya and Rabi out of the hideout and get the trio making their way toward the markets that they intended to deploy their own cart near as quickly as she could.