[audio]

[thiefshonor]

Seems we spoke too soon. I'm ready to hear your proposition.

You know who you are.

Meet me in the back corner of the buffet, and don't bring anyone else.

Comments

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[Creepy zombie woman suddenly wants to see him? Suspicious. Don't expect him to go unarmed. With a cleaver sitting snug against his chest and a long kitchen knife up one sleeve, Cadence slips (unnoticed) into the buffet and strides along the wall to the back corner.

Ah, is that what creepy zombie women look like? Nice jaw.]

Changed your mind, hm?

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

[She was sitting at a corner booth table, a cup of coffee and a plate of food in front of her. It looked like it was mostly meat, the pinkest and most undercooked slices she could find.]

Have a seat.

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[He feels like he's on To Catch a Predator. Is now the time he denies the evidence? He slides into the seat opposite her, ready to flick out his knife at a second's notice. You can never be too careful.]

How theatrical.

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

[Crosses her arms and leans forward, resting them on the table. She studies his face and his clothes and his composure. This is a business deal.]

Tell me again what you had in mind.

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[Now, now, he can't just tell you outright, can he? A smile plays over his lips.]

Something happen between you two?

[Nahh, nahh. Save your teasing for afterward, future king. He crosses his arms and leans back.]

At the moment, I've got no plans. Breaking in would be easy as any other job, but I don't know what the cage is made of. Furthermore, I'll need a way to lure the guard away from the jail cell.

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

[She's completely unamused.

In response, she suddenly slips her hand into her vest pocket and pulls out a folded-up piece of paper, and pushes it across the table over to him. If Cadence unfolds it to look, he'll see River's drawing of Erol in his cage.]

You unlocked that electronic door to that restaurant too, yeah? So a passenger's room would be easy, like you said. It looks like the cage is made of bent metal, and there's only one person who can do that. As far as luring away the guard goes...

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[He unfolds the paper slowly. No tricks? No? Good.]

Therein lies the problem. The cage. There's definitely no way I can open it, by myself at least.

[Cadence looks closer. Hmm.]

... The locking mechanism is extremely crude.

[His gaze flicks back to her, and he smirks.]

I'm sure you can distract the guard. Long enough for me to slip Erol a knife, at the very least.

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

Hmmm.

[She shakes her head.]

There's a safer way to do this.

[Reaching into her vest again, she pulls out a plastic bottle. It's the bright-orange bottle of prescription medication, but the label looks blotted from getting wet. And inside isn't pills, but a runny clear paste.

And do emphasize her next point, Celeste suddenly fades, the image of her blending into the background around her. At this distance and in this lighting, Cadence would be able to still see her - she was just transparent.]

Whoever goes into the room might have to deal with someone walking in. Plus, I think if we used this, that'd be better for a coupla different reasons, you know?

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[Hmm, transparency. That would come in handy, wouldn't it? His gaze turns to the bottle, curiosity obvious.]

What do you propose, then?

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

This is pufferfish poison. It's a "neurotoxin", accordin' to my books. Usually when I use poisons, I don't care what they do - just as long as they do what they're supposed to. But this little potion here, it's pretty cool.

[She grins. This kinda stuff was Celeste's world.]

Not only is it painless, but it won't leave a bloody mess. And let's say we get caught... that someone finds out we broke in there. If we give him a knife and he offs himself, then it's obvious why we went in, isn't it? But this way, we can just tell him we brought him some food from the Kuma-ko. Wouldn't it be a shame if the bears made a mistake preparing it?

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[waywardassassin]

[Ah. Ah. He leans forward, elbows on the table (manners, future king, manners!).]

Oh, what a shame indeed. I'm impressed, I hadn't even considered pufferfish poison. Clear, undetectable. Clever.

[He flashes a grin. Oh, he would enjoy working with this creepy zombie woman.]

It looks like we've got a plan, hm?

C-C-C-COMMENTLOG

[thiefshonor]

Seems that way.

[She licks her lips and looks around the buffet. Yep, empty.]

Let's give it some time. I think it would be... unwise to rush into this, eh.