Wolf and Cunning Foxes

One Week Ago - 1:45 AM - Olympia's Undercity

"Ay, that right? What's't 'bout ya that makes ya think ya can just take it?"

It's simple. You can recoup your losses if you walk away. Hand it over, you walk away. If you make a move here and now, you'll be injured at best, dead at worst. Injured, you'll lose more than what you hand over tonight. Dead, you'll never recoup its value. Think. What's the most logical choice?

The two conversing figures stand just feet apart, each sizing the other up in the near-complete darkness of the night. The Undercity had artificial lighting which, while far from a perfect replacement for natural lighting, approximated the daytime of the upstairs well enough. This particular street, however, had been cast into a state of perpetual twilight. It hadn't been entirely deliberate, but, then, it hadn't been entirely accidental, either. Lax enforcement of Olympia's building regulations in this neighborhood facilitated the growth of high-rise apartment complexes that were little more than dilapidated, crowded slums. As the buildings rose, their shadows stretched across the width of the street, giving the place a dim, unfriendly look which only further encouraged Olympia's residents to stay away. The unsavoury types already in the area, who had been responsible for keeping the inspectors and the bureaucrats away in the first place, had gleefully taken advantage of the lack of prying eyes. The neighborhood gained a reputation for hosting the bulk of Olympia's less ethical entrepreneurs, and an open-air "grey" market grew up on its main street. Those with a little cash jingling in their pockets could make their way to the markets and purchase a variety of items that no one could quite prove were obtained illegally. Those who were willing to open their pursestrings wider - and who could find the right connection - could be put into contact with those figures willing to engage in more blatantly illegal activities. To reinforce the air of seclusion, the market's operators had built great overhangs and arches over the width of the street, further blocking the lights shining down on the neighborhood and plunging the street into the shadows. Somewhere in the city records, this small neighborhood's original name remained in the books, but most who were familiar with it called it by its new name, a name which arose from a few well-connected folks who had misunderstood some immigrants describing the shadowy neighborhood. Senka, or, as the not-so-clever graffiti artists tagging its signs called it, Sin-ka, was the exception, not the norm, when it came to the Undercity. Seedy enough to match up with all but the worst rumours about what the Undercity was like and yet affluent, Seneka was an altogether strange place within Olympia. While the Curse had dominated the Undercity, its key players had been able to cough up the "protection" payments that allowed it to stay under the radar. When the gang collapsed, a wave of mixed feelings swept through, as the local bosses and market salesmen realized that they'd be able to keep more of their profits, but would also face increased scrutiny from a police force with its resources less tied-up and the newly rebranded force called The Cure.

It was always dark in Senka, but this late into the evening, when the markets were all closed and the lights on the street and in the buildings along its sides were extinguished, it was only a tad brighter than a night with a half-moon and a sky half-filled with clouds. In the darkness of the night, the man - a low-profile gangster named Trent - who had been until moments ago wandering down an empty street could only just make out the outline of the figure confront him - and the dagger the figure held out from just under its cloak. 

I'm patient, but you don't want to test me. Are you ready to hand it over?

The figure spoke with a deep voice, his - Trent assumed the figure was a man, at least - every word steady and his tone commanding. His voice was somewhat muffled, but he spoke loudly enough that anyone nearby could understand his words. He had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, calling out to Trent before stepping into view, dagger already in hand. Whoever it was, he was wrapped up tightly, wearing a cloak and other scraps of cloth to conceal everything except for his eyes. Immediately, he had demanded Trent hand over an expensive antique watch which the gangster had only earlier in the day pilfered from the home of a poor soul who had neglected to lock their door. 

"Hnnnn… Fine. Take it, ya louse. Just scat."

Weighing his options and preferring not to get stabbed, Trent begrudgingly thrusts the watch at the figure, who, to his great surprises, sticks his other arm out of his cloak and flawlessly catches the small object as it hurtles through the darkness. 

You've made a smart choice. 

As quickly and silently as he had appeared, the figure confronting Trent retreats back into the darkness. For his part, the gangster grumbles, but, too tired to do anything about his misfortune and with no hope of going to the cops to report his stolen prize had been stolen from him, simply continues on his way. 

Presently - Senka Outskirts - 12:30 PM

Ooooh, ooooh, ooohowooool!

Just outside of Senka proper, a strange, excited pseudo-howling fills the air, echoing off of buildings and startling residents of the Undercity as they go about their daily business. To those nearby, Myuri Kraft must make for an odd sight as she walks down the street with her gaze turned upwards towards the artificial lights  and barely able to keep herself from howling outright. She has no interest in the lights, though. Raised high into the air, Myuri's nose, rather than her eyes, guide the wolf girl as she takes in the rich mixture of scents in this portion of the Undercity. 

It was an average day for Myuri, wandering around and following her nose and her appetite as she explored every inch of Olympia. She had been doing this for months now. She woke up every morning resolving herself to complete the task that had been put before her, but, invariably, she would quickly become hopelessly distracted by some unfamiliar sensation and spend the entire day off-course. Her time in the city hadn't been completely useless, though. She had entered a big competition where all kinds of strange people had fought in a factory, and she had found a bar that smelled unlike anything else she had ever encountered before, a bar at which a collection of extraordinary personalities often gathered. 

But today, neither the bar nor the factory fight nor her main mission are in Myuri's mind. The wolf girl had picked up on a peculiar scent, one made of a mixture of numerous floral scents with a hint of honey. Could someone see scents with the same clarity Myuri could smell them, the mixture would have stuck out as an ephemeral trail of magenta on a canvas of greys - the scent of flowers was simply a rarity in most parts of the Undercity. Even as distinct as it was, almost no one else could have picked up on such a faint smell. Myuri, though, follows it with no difficulty, showing no signs of slowing down as she proceeds.

With her tail wagging vigorously underneath it, her hood - which she had put on in a token attempt to conceal her unusual features -  flaps and sways as she follows the invisible trail down the street. She practically skips down the street, only avoiding collisions with passing Undercity residents by sidestepping them at the last minute, earning her plenty of curses and shouts which she merrily ignores. Soon enough, she arrives at the building from which the scent emanates through the gaps in the doorway. With her eyes already turned upwards, Myuri has no problem spotting the sign over the doorway of the run-down building. Etched in the crooked wooden sign are three words. 

THE CURIOSITY SHOP

Not hesitating even for a moment, Myuri barges in the front doorway, happily announcing her presence to the dull cramped room. 

Hello! Hi! Hi! Do you have flowers here? I smelled flowers! And honey! Are there more bees here? I met a man with a lot of bees in a factory and it surprised me. I didn't think you would have so many bees in a city. But they were here! There were bees buzzing around and I think they were happy bees! I would like some honey if you have some. I can pay for it. It's weird that you'd have honey and flowers here, but I know the difference between how honey smells and how honeysuckle smells, so I know it's not just honeysuckle. I guess it really isn't weird now that I think about it! If you want happy bees, you have to have flowers! Can I see your bees, please? Please! Please!

Practically bouncing up and down with anticipation and with her tail wagging so hard that her hood was doing no good in hiding it, Myuri holds her mouth open in a wide smile as she waits with anticipation for a beekeeper to emerge from the doorway behind the seller's counter. A moment passes, and then another… after what seems to Myuri like an eternity and which in reality is only two or so minutes, the wolf girl's smile fades and her tail and ears droop in disappointment. Her words are punctuated by an animalistic whining, something not unlike the whining one might hear from a disappointed dog.

Can't I see the bees…? You don't even have to come out… I just want to say hi to your bees…

Sniffling but having nothing else to do, Myuri begins glancing around the room. Along the back wall, there's a counter clearly intended for the display of sale items, though it currently sits devoid of any goods. Along the three other walls of the room, dirtied and banged-up shelves dominate the room's already limited space, leaving a gap only for the front door. Each and every shelf is packed with knick-knacks, trinkets, and small antique-looking objects, all marked with price tags. Not a single object has a listed price over twenty dollars. 

Just as the wolf girl reaches out to begin grabbing the objects off the shelves to inspect them, her ears twitch under her hood and her eyes snap back towards the sales counter. A short, young man with platinum blonde hair and a regal-looking cloak and a tall, blonde woman with an unwelcoming expression step out from the doorway, taking positions behind the counter. The woman says nothing, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms as she studies the strange young girl standing in her store. The young man, on the other hand, puts on a professional and welcoming air as he addresses Myuri, reaching across the counter to offer her a handshake. 

Welcome, miss. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. What brings you into our little shop of curiosities today? Are you looking to buy, or are you looking to sell something? 

Hi! Hi! I'm Myuri! I want to meet your bees!

E-excuse me? 

Your bees! I smelled honey and flowers coming from here, so there have to be bees, right? You smell like honey and flowers, too! Where are the bees? Can I see them? Are they under your clothes? 

Uhm, Er, We don't… we don't have bees here.

Buuuuut you smell like flowers and honey! Why would you smell like a bee smells if you don't have any bees here? You haaaaaave to have bees here!

The young man behind the counter cocks his head, trying not to be rude even as he takes a few steps back from the seemingly deranged hooded figure ranting about bees in the middle of the shopfloor. Seeing her companion at a loss for words, the taller woman chuckles and, without shifting from her position, speaks with a calm and even tone.

Fermi, I wouldn't have expected you to be so dense, especially in front of a customer. It's a plain fact that a merchant needs to be able to rapidly evaluate new information and understand its significance. This young lady has obviously picked up on the scent of our perfume. 

Perfume? You're wearing perfume? But you don't smell like flowers… He smells like flowers! I smell lilacs, and roses, and lilies...

Noticing Myuri pouting and pondering the relevance of the perfume to their discussion, the woman again lets out a chuckle before stepping away from the wall and approaching the counter. Explaining everything matter of factly, she reaches across the counter to offer Myuri a handshake of her own.

That's right, I don't wear that perfume, so I wouldn't smell like it. Only Fermi here insists on freshening himself up with such an expensive scent. I've tried to tell him that such a strong odour will never help him to find a woman, but he doesn't listen to a word I say. I'm glad to see someone else agrees that he overdoes it. 

You must be a special girl to be able to tell exactly which flowers are in Fermi's perfume. If I remember the formula right, you hit them all on the head. My name is Fleur, Fleur Boland. This boy here is my junior partner, Fermi Amarti. We run this place. We call it a curiosity shop, but it's not much more than a glorified thrift store. You saw our sign? Yeah, we don't make enough here to fix that. But we pay the bills. That's enough about us, though. You didn't just come down here looking for bees, did you? What brings you here?

While the young man - Fermi - stands on indignantly, looking to his partner with confusion reflected in his expression, Myuri pipes up and grabs the tall woman's hand, shaking it up and down with great energy.

Hi Fleur! Hi Fermi! I bet I won't remember your names, but my name's Myuri Kraft! Don't worry! Just because I'm not good at remembering names doesn't mean I won't remember who you are. I remember what people smell like forever! You'll probably have to tell me your names again, but I'll recognize you! That sounds really sad that you don't make much money here. My papa has a business, too! He was a merchant for a long time, and he still does merchant stuff, too. I came here because… because… becauhhh…

Myuri's mile-a-minute speech seems to hit a speedbump and come to a crashing halt as she thinks over her response to Fleur's final question. Completely unable to come up with an answer, she glances at everything in the room in a desperate attempt to jog her memory. An awkward moment of silence ensues as both Fleur and Fermi lean forward with curiosity and the wolf girl scrambles to find an answer, but, finally, with a large gasp, Myuri continues. 

Oh, oh! Because my papa sent me!  That's it! I'm supposed to be doing papa's work! Papa heard from some of his friends that there's some merchants doing bad things and tricking people in this city! He said that he kept hearing rumours that they were running a big scam somewhere in the city, and it made him really mad. I remember papa slamming his fist down on the table so hard that it spilled mama's ale and then she was really mad. But papa explained to me why it's so bad. He said that dishonest merchants ruin the reputation of all merchants, and that this scam was so big it was going to ruin people's lives. He wanted to come up here and find them and teach them a lesson, but mama said he was too old and papa didn't think he could leave the hot springs anyway. So I offered to go! Papa was so worried, but I convinced him I could do a good job! I did! I did! I told him I would sniff out the bad guys! I know I can find them! Papa finally let me come here, but he told me I had to find help! He said there would be a bunch of good people who would help me find the bad guys, but I forgot where he said the good guys were! It's okay! I can find them! Can you help me?  Do you know any bad merchants? 

Once again, it's Fleur who answers the wolf girl. Despite her acute senses, Myuri, too lost in her own racing thoughts, fails to notice the glint in Fleur's eyes or the subtle smile crossing her face.

Your father sounds like a righteous man. It's an unfortunate truth that there are those in our line of work who would resort to tricking others into giving up their hard-earned money. I don't know what to tell you. There's thousands of those crooks out in the world. I'm sure you could go into the market down the street and round up some twenty crooks who match the description you gave. Speaking plainly, I think you're wasting your time. But I wish you luck all the same. You're at least trying to do something about the problem. That's more than most people ever do. 

There's a market down here? A market! Does it have a bunch of food like the big market in the building on the surface? Did you know that there's a place there that will give you food in the shape of a cat's head? It doesn't taste like a cat. I thought it would but then it didn't. But it was still good! Oh, but you said I can find the bad people at the market! I should go th-

-No. No, I wouldn't do that, if I were you. If you start asking those kinds of questions there… I don't like to think about what might happen to you. 

He's right. If you want a good lead, you should go down and talk to Plague. The Curse was once the biggest gang down here. If anyone had tabs on where the biggest crooks down here have been operating, he'd be your guy. 

Plague? That's not a good name… But if you say he could help me, I'll go find him! I'll find him right now! Thank you! You were really nice and helpful, so take this!

Myuri rummages through a small cloth sock hanging off of her neck, eventually pulling out two gold coins which she slams down on the counter. Then, with a few more excited hollers and pseudo-howls, she bolts out the door, repeating Plague's name to herself over and over so she won't forget it. Fermi and Fleur stand in silence as they watch her leave. Once the wolf girl seems to be long gone, Fermi turns to his partner and breaks the silence. 

Do you really think I overdo it?

Of course you do. Have you ever taken a look at your clothes? You overdo everything. If it weren't for me, no woman would ever speak to you. But that's not important. This girl, she-

-She has you worried, right? I figured that out when you started asking her questions. You never speak to the customers. 

That's right. I don't know if she's all there in the head, but, if she can remember scents as well as she says she can…

Then if she ever runs into Eve, she'll know it's you, right? But that's not a big deal, is it? Can't you just wear some perfume or cologne or something when you go out? 

I thought about it, but I don't think that's going to work. If she could identify every flower species in your perfume, don't you think she could pick up on my body odor even if we masked it? 

I guess so. So, what do we do? Didn't she say her last name was Kraft? If she's who I think she is, she has to be looking for us. 

The answer is simple. We have to get rid of her. But you can't do it. It would ruin out entire backup plan if you ever got your hands dirty. 

And you doing it would be too risky. Even if you went out disguised and were able to get her alone, if she somehow escaped, it would all be over. You don't think… Could he do it? He does have more connections than we do…

You're denser than I thought. We need the agent to stay upstairs. None of this matters if we don't have him. He's the one bringing in the real cash. 

So, what do we do? 

Have you forgotten, Fermi? We do have one expendable set of hands. What's the worst that happens to us if our distributor goes down? We can always find another. What he leaves for us is a piddly sum compared to what we get keeping this going, anyways.

I guess that's true…

As Fermi ponders Fleur's idea, she withdraws into the back room. When she emerges, she has a grey cloak and some loose cloth draped over one arm, and a box of goods held in her hands. She sets the box on the counter. 

Here, look over this week's delivery. Anything we need to take out for the agent?

Fermi rifles through the contents of the box. He inspects each object briefly as he sorts through a collection of items stolen from residents all throughout the city. Jewelry from the posh aristocrats of the Inner City sits in the box, mixed with trinkets and valuables from the Middle City and Outer City. Even an antique watch from the Undercity - the very same one which had passed through Trent's hands - rests with the other "curiosities" which the duo kept separate from those on display. Once his inspection is complete, Fermi takes just four objects out of the box and sets them behind the counter, out of view to any visitors that might walk in. 

Just these ones. You'll take these ones upstairs to the agent. The rest can go to this week's drop-off point. 

Good. I'll leave our distributor some extra instructions with this week's drop-off. I'll take our other present and give it to him, too. I'll let him know that he can do whatever he wants with them as long as he leaves us a cut… and he uses them to get rid of Myuri Kraft if she ever comes sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.