[open] climbing out the back door didn't leave a mark

[scythersergeant]

Who: Shinoa and you!
When: About 4/4? Backdated to before Gilgamesh's rescue catchall!
Where: In and around a bar in a shadier part of Capablanca.
What: Shinoa narrowly escapes getting kidnapped, and decides to warn fellow Heroes about it. If someone wants to go in and beat stuff up make sure no one else fell for it in this particular establishment, Shinoa is all for it.
Rating: References to human trafficking, violence



[You don't hand a teenaged girl a drink and expect her to drink it these days. Considering that in this case you're a stranger, and that this is a shady bar, there's really no reason to take anything other than a 'no' for an answer.

But the bartender seems to disagree, because he's not taking Shinoa's refusal well. Shinoa stares down into the plastic cup she's holding, smelling innocently of grape juice, and repeats that she'd rather finish this outside thank you very much.

"Oi, I'm bein' hospitable!"

"Do you want the drink back? You can have it back." She offers the cup with one hand, while her other hand slides to a ready position across the handle of her scythe. Her clothes are not the standard uniform, but no one's pretending they're not uncomfortable about the Hero in the room anymore; it's just too hard to hide a scythe twice your (small, but still) size. She's not about to walk into this kind of place unarmed, though, which is clearly a good call considering how the adults to her left and right are eyeing her with a hostility that rather implies complicity.

"I'm a Hero and quite experienced with my weapon, for the record." Shinoa informs the bartender, and then marches out.

If you're also around the entertainment districts tonight, whether investigating for Blanc or simply taking time off, you might find a girl clearly armed and clearly uneasy circling a particular row of taverns. If you're recognizable as a Hero, she might pull you aside and point out a certain bar-]

Be careful about that place. I think they tried to drug me in there.

Comments

[scythersergeant]

[Well, maybe there are native furries.....?

At Dust's suggestion Shinoa purses her lips and shakes her head frantically.]

Hey, be careful! What if they succeed? Are you armed? You'd better not go in there if you're not armed!

I'm just worried someone else might've fallen for it.....

[mithrarin]

Of course I'm armed! [Dust literally cannot imagine a world in which he isn't armed. He's already committing the greatest of blasphemies in this life by occasionally sheathing his sword.]

The only reason I want to try is because it'd tell us what they want. If they try anything on me, it's because they want Heroes.

[scythersergeant]

Ohh.

[Shinoa agrees; one must always be armed. His good sense and valid reason make her reconsider what had once been an absurd suggestion.]

Okay.... I'll hang closer to the entrance. If you need me, shout or something and I'll bust in?

[mithrarin]

[It shouldn't come to that, but -- well, Dust cannot on any level deceive himself about Shinoa's ability to protect herself, no matter the impression her physical appearance instinctively provokes.]

Right. And if it isn't Heroes they want...

[They're smashing up the place. Dust isn't going to stand for that.]

[Dramatically, because he can't help but be that way, Dust turns and stalks for the door, cape billowing out behind him.]

[scythersergeant]

[She wonders what Dust would suggest if it weren't Heroes these people want. Shinoa's never had to deal with these things, even though she knows trafficking is a grim reality present even back home.

But Dust is gone, so she just grips her scythes and waits for his return.]

[mithrarin]

[A couple of minutes pass before there's a crash of glass, a heavy thump, then a crack of breaking wood.]

[A heartbeat later, Dust comes out of the door, idly dusting his hands off.]

They wanted Heroes. [Or their fetishes are even more questionable than he had thought, but let's not go there.] Tried the same sort of thing on me.

[scythersergeant]

[Shinoa frowns.]

We should report this to Lisbrand or something.... but from what I've seen I doubt the military has the manpower to deal with this.

[mithrarin]

To put it mildly. If they had the people to deal with it we wouldn't be needed.

[Dust half-turns, looking back over his shoulder at the establishment. What he has to say is perhaps a bit too late after his brief flurry of violence in there, but nevertheless.]

But there's more than just them involved. There has to be.

[scythersergeant]

This definitely doesn't look like it's the top dog of the command chain.

[She frowns severely, a frown uncharacteristically grim for something found on a young girl's face. It's strange for someone so young to make such deductions with so much confidence.]

Any propositions? If they're going to eventually transport Heroes out to headquarters we could trail that, but I don't know how long we'll have to wait before a trip happens.