Girls And Secrets

Ritter's Market -  -- The market is a bustling place, with different merchants peddling their different wares on the side. Pirated software at one booth, cheap replica pistols at another. The array of strange curiosities seems almost endless in this area. The clucking, barking and meowing of different types compete with the loud and general drone of the market going public. Gangs roam the area, looking for a moment of opportunity to cause trouble. A clear area lays around a run-down looking lift, which leads down to the wastelands below. --

Near the Bytes and Bullets vendor is Bri, watching the crowd as usual. Her cane in her hand, and her little medical boot still on her right leg. She doesn't seem to be doing much more than people watching at this point.

Kestrel saunters into the market, idly browsing at a booth that seems to specialize in gun parts and supplies. She looks over a few items, shares a few words with the vendor, and shrugs before she continues toward Bytes and Bullets. "Evenin', kid," she offers when she gets close enough.

Bri smiles brightly up at Kes, "Evenin'," she says with enthusiasim, "How're you?"

"Eh," Kes replies, seesawing a hand back and forth. "Could be better, could be worse." She chuckles quietly, and nods toward the vendor she was talking to. "'E keeps tryin' ta sell me shit an' call it diamonds, see?" she confides with a wry smirk. "Prob'ly cause m'a girl. Meh. Jackass."

Bri eyes the vendor and nods, "Aye, I have that problem...until they discover I know what I'm talking about," she adds with a little smirk. "What're you trying to buy from him anyway?" she asks.

Out in the crowd one young kid in particular makes his way through the crowd, his eyes roaming the stands. Slowly he approaches that same booth that Kestrel just left, his eyes roaming the wares there.

Kestrel shrugs. "Mostly stuff ta make m'own gun parts," she replies. "Got stuff fer castin' barrels an' such, cheaper ta do it m'self. More work, but..." She grins. "More profit, too. 'E keeps tryin' ta sell me crap steel, though. Don' wanna use low-quality stuff or ya git imperfections what warp yer barrels an' such, see? 'At'll -kill- ya, 'at will." She shakes her head, looking again toward the vendor in question.

Bri nods, "Aye, I can understand. It's like trying to write programs on bad storage devices," she replies, "No matter how good the program is, it's only as useful as long as the utility holds out."

That young man looks about to see if anybody seems to be watching then apparently feeling safe enough he makes a snatch for an item on the counter and runs for it.

"Mmmm," Kes replies, nodding. "Only data storage thingers don' typically blow up when ya try ta use 'em, 'ey? She stifles laughter then. "Lookie 'ere, got us a free show goin' on now. Check it." She nods again toward the vendor and the young man.

"Hey!" the fat vendor shouts when the kid takes off with a rather large chunk of metal in his hand, "Come back here!" The fat man barely clears the counter as he jumps over it, and nearly loses his balance in his attempt to pursue the kid.

That kid's fast too. He tries to avoid the fat man by vearing off in the direction of Bytes and Bullets, knocking into Kestrel as he passes, his attention back in the direction of the man chasing, not where he's going.

Pavel comes wandering into the market, hands in his pocket, cap pulled low. He looks faintly bored.

"'Ey, watch it!" Kes yells after the kid, jostled but not knocked over. Thankfully, she doesn't run into Bri, either, though she does aside, "Think I oughta shoot 'im?" to the Sivadian, even as she's reaching into her jacket. "Betcha twenty-five cred I kin still hit 'im from 'ere."

Bri snickers, "Bet you can't take him and the fat man at in two shots," she says with a smirk, "And if he's cheatin' you, double the reason to shoot the vendor...least in the kneecap," she adds with amusement.

The kid doesn't reply, just continues in his run, no apology or anything, his path taking him in Pavel's direction.

Kestrel laughs. "Yer on," she agrees, and draws a pistol with a canister-style silencer on the end of it. The pink-haired Later levels the firearm at the fleeing kid, aiming fairly low for a leg shot, and pulls the trigger.

The kid starts to slow, about to answer Pavel's question when he suddenly goes down screaming, the bullet entering through his calf.

"Gotcha now!" the vendor cries out as he closes in on the downed kid

Bri just laughs as she watches Kes take out the gun, and fire the first shot, "What goes around, comes around, aye?" she says through her giggles.

Pavel swears suddenly, tensing and dropping into a crouch to lower his profile. He looks around, trying to trace the source of the bullet to see if he himself is in any danger.

"No, I got -you,-" Kes says quietly, chuckling. The comment seems to be for Bri's benefit, though the Later doesn't take her eyes off of the two. Her gun's shifted slightly before she fires a second time, this time aiming to disable the fat vendor the same way.

And down goes the fat vendor, a bullet in his calf as well. He falls to the ground rolling and moaning in pain, shouting, "Fuck! I've been shot!"

The kid tries to stand, tears running down his cheeks as he limps toward safety, heading somewhat toward Pavel, "Damn it," he mutters as he tucks something into the band of his pants and covers it with his shirt.

"Nice," Bri says with a giggle, "How much do I owe you for that?" she teases.

Pavel scowls absently, ignoring the boy's plight to demand of him, "Who shot you? Is it personal?"

Kestrel just grins sidewise at Bri and slips the pistol quietly away in her jacket. "Eh. Nothin'. It madeja laugh, so I'll call it good." She shoves her hands in her pockets, leaning back against the booth. "Besides, I never mind showin' off a bit, 'ey?" A wink is given to punctuate the statement.

Bri giggles again, "Maybe I'll have to find a way to get some pie from New Luna sometime...just for all that," she says with amusement.

The Vendor just rolls around in the street trying to hold his leg to stop the bleeding as he screams, "I've been shot!" One guy passing nearby glances over, "Suck it up," he comments as he continues on past, nobody seeming willing to help the fat guy.

"Don't know," the kid says as he finally stops to sit against a wall, his hand covering the wound to try and stop the bleeding, "Fuckin' surprise to me. If anybody shot me, I'd expect it to be that guy there," he says indicating the vendor rolling on the ground. "I did run into that little pink haired lady back there though," he says pointing back in the direction of Bytes and Bullets.

Pavel glances over to follow the line of the point and chortles after a moment, seeming to relax. "Oh, all right then," he says casually, straightening and walking towards the booth.

"Now 'at'd be nice," Kes agrees with a nod, still speaking quietly. Her gaze again wanders to the bleeding pair. "Man, 'at fatass jest dunno when ta shut up, does 'e?" she inquires wryly. "Whatta baby. Ain't even anywhere vital." A shrug follows, and she again looks sidewise to Bri. "Well, 'ere was our 'musement fer th'day, anyhow."

Bri nods, "Was good for a laugh anyway," she says with a little smirk. "Does this make us bullies?" she asks looking up at Kes thoughtfully.

Looks like the danger's mostly clear and so another vendor ventures over to help that fat guy. He speaks softly into a comm unit and another guy comes out of the stand. "Shut up," the first helper hisses to the fat man before they both help him get to his feet, and a makeshift bandage is tied around his leg.

The kid for his part is already back up and limping for the mainstreet, and out of view before too long.

"Might makes right, this is Tomin Kora," Pavel tells Bri as he approaches, smiling. "Hello, lyubimaya. Dare I ask why you shot him, Kestrel?"

Kestrel blinks blankly at Pavel. "Shot who?" she asks. "Oh, 'em two? Dunno who shot 'em. Musta had a silencer on th'gun, see?" She shrugs. "Kid ran inta me while 'e was runnin' away, but 'at ain't a real good reason ta shoot someone, now is it?"

"Pasha!" Bri cries out, limping toward him and throwing her arms around him, not even commenting on his question, "I missed you, love," she says before kissing his cheek lightly.

Pavel laughs lowly, wrapping his arms around Bri in return and hugging her tightly- if carefully. "Privet, privet," he murmurs. "And... ah. Well, if I assumed wrongly, at least I am not dead for it.

"Naw, wouldn't shootcha," Kes replies, with a grin and a wink. "Bri'd have m'head if'n I did." She watches the two for a moment before she looks away, back out through the marketplace. Hey, it's only polite not to stare.

Bri giggles and leans in for a light kiss before pulling back to look up at Pavel, "That fat guy got what he deserved anyway," she says with a shrug, "He was cheating people something awful."

Pavel returns the kiss, then notes with a smirk as he glances between the two women, "That has changed rather fast from dunno who shot him, I think," he observes, not seeming to care. "Justice has a funny way of happening."

Kestrel eyes Bri sidewise, then grins slyly at Pavel. "Girls gotta have our secrets," she observes. "Makes us all mysterious. Whatever 'at's s'poseta mean." A chuckle follows, the Later then digging a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting it.

Bri smiles brightly, "How're you, my Pasha?" she asks, ignoring the statement, "Oh! I told our new Doc that I'd talk to you about some new...stuff for him," she says, her voice growing softer now as she speaks. "He wanted something new to try out."

"New doc, new stuff?" Pavel asks, lifting a brow. "A little more detail if you please, deyvachka." Following Kestrel's example, he swipes out a cigarette himself and lights it with a snap of his fingers. "I am good, though."

"...wait, is th'new doc's name Hall 'r somethin'?" Kes asks, a curious glance going to Bri. Pavel's lighting of his cigarette gets a quirked brow and a faint chuckle.

Bri looks over to Kes and nods, "Aye, Alastair Hall," she replies, "I just call 'im Doc, and he's on our payroll now," she explains. "I hired him, but..he's a bit of an addict, and...he mentioned that the stuff he's been taking isn't enough any more. I told him I'd ask you," she says with a little shrug.

"He had better be prepared to pay," Pavel snorts. "I am not going to cook him up rare and expensive drugs for free. Though I -will- cook him anything he asks if the creds are good or he takes it out of his pay."

Kestrel laughs aloud for a few moments, one hand pressed to her forehead. "...Doctor Hall thinks I ain't real," she says, after she's composed herself. "'E was higher'n hell on -somethin'- when I saw 'im, an' 'e refused ta believe I was really standin' 'ere an' not somethin' 'e plucked outta 'is drug-addled head." Another giggle is stifled.

Bri stops, blinks a few times, and laughs, "No!" she cries out through her giggles, "We have to tease him about that," she says, her hand trying to wipe tears from her eyes "How about the next time any of us are there with him and Kestrel," Pavel suggests, evil twinkle in his eye, "we pretend not to see her, like she truly is a figment of his imagination?"

"...Yer a cruel, cruel man, Pavel," Kes observes, then pauses for a draw on her cigarette. But really, she seems amused by the idea more than anything. "Might jest be entertainin'." She winks at Bri. "I ain't kiddin'. Was th'funniest thing I seen in a good long time."

Bri finally gets herself composed, "I can only imagine," she says still trying to hold back a giggle, "God, I'd pay to see that. I hope it is you and me next time we run into him," she states. She looks up at Pavel then, composing herself more, "Aye, I could talk to him about that. I'm actually not paying him much yet, but I think he wants to renegotiate pay, so I'll bring it up when he does."

"Good," Pavel remarks firmly. He stands near Bri and Kestrel, closer to the former than the latter, over by Bytes and Bullets. "...I -will- play that trick on him, I think."

Kestrel snickers. "This's gonna be fun," she comments, shaking her head. "M'usedta people not knowin' where m'at. Lookin' flat at me an' sayin' 'at I don't exist, not so much. I call it opportunity knockin', m'self."

Plumpaw, in a greatly improved mood today, strolls in to the Market and towards Bytes and Bullets, waving idly to the booth full of leather workers.

Bri snickers, "It's awesome," she says, "Literally, I'd pay to get to participate in that...even just to see it." She, Kes, and Pavel are near Bytes and Bullets, talking quietly. The market is still somewhat crowded, people milling about and visiting the various vendor.

Pavel chortles softly, advising Bri, "Spread the word then! If we all know to do it... it will be utterly hilarious, I am sure."

Plumpaw gently pushes aside the bickering pair that stopped in her path and continues towards the little cluster in front of the booth. "Do what?" She asks without preamble, flicking an ear.

Kestrel chuckles and shakes her head. "Kanter's mercy, y'all're gonna kill me 'ere," she notes. "Jest mind 'atcha don' laugh at th'wrong time, yeah? Could mess th'whole thing up." She grins at Plumpaw. "Doctor Hall thinks I don't exist. We're aimin' ta not tell 'im any different, least fer awhile."

Bri nods, "Aye, serves him right," she replies, "He was bein' a prick last night, had Plum all upset. One good turn desrves another I say," she smirks.

"Eh? What did he do to Plum?" Pavel glances over to the Demarian, lifting blue brows. "This is a story I do not believe I have heard."

"Doctor Hall? Whoozat?" Plum asks quizzically, slooooowly putting together what Kes and Bri had said. She narrows her eyes and folds her arms with a huff. "D'you mean that limp-legged jerkface with the gross jacket? He insists ya don't exist, Kes?" Plum snorts a derisive laugh. "Not surprised. Can't see past his own big nose, he can't."

Bri giggles, "No, no, he was all high on whatever it is he takes, and he thought she was a hallucination," she explains. "It'd be funny to continue to make him think she's just that," she adds with a conspiritorial wink. "Like I said, it'd serve him right."

"What did he do to you?" Pavel asks of Plum after he fails to get an answer elsewhere, his look of curiosity only deepening.

Kestrel nods in agreement. "Yeah, 'at's him. Gimpy leg, sleeps on 'is desk." She chuckles quietly. "Samples 'is own prescriptions too, from th'look'a things."

Plumpaw clicks her teeth and offers a strained smile to Pavel. "He calls me a cat person." She says with a sarcastically sweet tone. "And sez that's better than the alternatives. I sorta want to dropkick 'im, but I feel bad for picking on 'im with his gimpy leg. It'd be like catching a foul-mouthed child." She flicks her tail irritably and rolls her eyes.

Bri nods, "He was really pushin' those buttons last night," she comments. "I think he does it to get a rise out of you though. He's just a bully. He was over picking on Longbow and I after you left. I think he's nicer when he's trashed than when he's sober." she states. Pavel shrugs slightly, confessing, "If he is too much of a pain, let us kill him. We do not need to put up with that hoop, do we?"

"Eh. Kin always shoot 'im when we're done messin' with 'is head," Kes offers with a shrug. "Opportunities fer this level'a entertainment're few an' bar between, 'ey?" She grins, takes a puff on her cigarette, then grinds the stub out on the sole of her boot.

Plumpaw nods firmly. "I agree, Kes. Is worth the laugh, almost. I'll try not t'strangle him too soon,"

Bri smirks, "Aye, and we do need him, we just need to knock him down a peg 'er two," she states. "He's a good doc, I've seen him when he's actually working. He knows what he's doing. He helped me with my breathing and my chest pains, and everything," she explains. "He's just..grumpy is all."

"Grumpy is fine," Pavel says easily, almost pleasantly. "But if he does not properly respect people here, we will be doing a favor to teach him, da? We will do it better than our enemies would."

Kestrel chuckles quietly. "Gotta point," she agrees, nodding at Pavel. She blinks at Bri. "Did 'e? 'E said somethin' 'boutcha bein' in ta see 'im, but I didn't know whatcha went in fer." A smirk is given. "'E calls ya 'th crippled girl'."

Plumpaw nods to Pavel. "Aye, at least he'd still have limbs if I took it out on 'im. Might not if he picks on the right...er, wrong...people." Plumpaw siiiiighs to Kestrel, exasperated. "'cuz, you know, that's not hypocritical at /all./"

Bri chuckles softly, "Aye, but I'll be getting better soon. He's...always going to be the crippled doc," she says with a smirk. She looks up at Pavel and nods, "Aye, better us than somebody else. Least ours won't involve bullets if it doesn't have to."

"Are you being sweet, Sabrina?" Pavel smirks faintly, kissing the top of her head. "Being crippled is no excuse for being stupidly disrespectful, I think. For now, though, I will settle for pretending Kestrel does not exist!"

"Who?" Kestrel asks, blinking at Pavel. She chortles gleefully, shaking her head. "'Is's gonna be a whole mess'a fun." She stretches then, yawns, and straightens. "Mmmmm. Thinkin' I oughta git some sleep soon."

Plumpaw chortles, with a touch of vengeance. "Yea it will," she agrees darkly, looking over her shoulder towards an almost empty booth. "Um. I shoulda prol'ly get some work in, too."

Bri blinks up at Pavel innocently, "I'm always sweet, love," she says with a little smile then adds, "And whose Kestrel?" she lets her eyes track over to the the petite Later, "Sleep good," she replies with a little smile. She nods to Plum, "Hope that's going well for you."

"Ah yes, of course," Pavel says very dryly. "Da svidanya, figment of our imagination. And good luck on your work, deyvachka." He slips an arm around Bri's waist, smiling almost pleasantly.

Kestrel winks and taps her temple. "Even hallucinations gotta sleep," she notes, chuckling. "Night." A wave is given, and the Later heads off, heading toward the edge of the market.