N'thei gives Rajiv a little advance notice. (Vignette)
"How long?" Rajiv stood in the storeroom piled with Vijay treasures, ill-gotten and legitimate, surveying the long work it had taken to reach this point. Traders with a permanent stopping ground, a caravan that had a home. He slanted a look across to N'thei, one that the bronzerider met implacably. In the back of his mind, Rajiv had to admit that N'thei wasn't looking well, half-healed and somber, the glass-eyed sluggishness of a chronic insomniac-- and maybe it was the vibe from that injured grimness that kept Rajiv's own temper in check. There was a desperate-man quality beneath the bronzerider's larger-than-life aura, and Rajiv knew better than to tempt said desperate men. Despite having the plug pulled on this operation, despite losing a good thing, despite the 'Reaches essentially ready to kick out his whole family in the dead of winter, the trader knew it would be ill-advised to press the issue with N'thei. Eventually, the bronzerider was going to crack; Rajiv would rather it happened when he wasn't in a fist's vicinity.
"Long as I can give you. Best have the bulk of it out by Turnover though, anything you don't want 'examined.'" N'thei made quotes in the air with his bent fingers, his one hand raised while he thumbed his lower lip thoughtfully, turned slightly to put his focus on the shelves laden with baubles. "Shame it turned out like this."
Rajiv shrugged. He aimed for more flippant than he felt, and a long life of salesman-smiles helped him pass as nonchalant. "Well, I thank you for the warning, and I'll have the lads in here later tonight to start moving the. Merchandise." The jest was mild, but both men shared a momentary chuckle over the pertinent pause before merchandise, though N'thei's laugh grated rustily beside Rajiv's well-oiled one.
When the bronzerider opened a handshake, Rajiv was honestly struck, blinking a few times in dismayed uncertainty before he got the intent and tried to give as firmly as he got. "Been a pleasure doing business with you," N'thei said briskly, surprising a tone of regret at the imminent departure. Nodding, the trader said something appropriate in response. The two men parted ways, with Rajiv lingering to start mentally packing, with N'thei sloping off down the tunnel, his gait still sluggish and disrupted by healing wounds.
A thought welled in the back of Rajiv's mind, half-formed, crystallizing only when he was left alone in the cavern to take stock of all that merchandise. Don't get mad. Get...
"Long as I can give you. Best have the bulk of it out by Turnover though, anything you don't want 'examined.'" N'thei made quotes in the air with his bent fingers, his one hand raised while he thumbed his lower lip thoughtfully, turned slightly to put his focus on the shelves laden with baubles. "Shame it turned out like this."
Rajiv shrugged. He aimed for more flippant than he felt, and a long life of salesman-smiles helped him pass as nonchalant. "Well, I thank you for the warning, and I'll have the lads in here later tonight to start moving the. Merchandise." The jest was mild, but both men shared a momentary chuckle over the pertinent pause before merchandise, though N'thei's laugh grated rustily beside Rajiv's well-oiled one.
When the bronzerider opened a handshake, Rajiv was honestly struck, blinking a few times in dismayed uncertainty before he got the intent and tried to give as firmly as he got. "Been a pleasure doing business with you," N'thei said briskly, surprising a tone of regret at the imminent departure. Nodding, the trader said something appropriate in response. The two men parted ways, with Rajiv lingering to start mentally packing, with N'thei sloping off down the tunnel, his gait still sluggish and disrupted by healing wounds.
A thought welled in the back of Rajiv's mind, half-formed, crystallizing only when he was left alone in the cavern to take stock of all that merchandise. Don't get mad. Get...