Weekends {Ricter & Adeline PLZ K THX}

[Adeline]

A quiet sigh escaped the tigress. It was as if a little bubble had just burst somewhere in her abdomen, and the resulting deflation let the air barely escape her lips. Of course. None of the street folk, the "common" folk knew anything there was to know about the Odyssians. What were they exactly? None but they knew, and Adeline doubted they even understood themselves.

"Well," Adeline hesitated, "All I know about the Odyssians is that they're artificial, unnatural, inhuman...created by the Council, to protect and serve the members...and they've been contacting me. I need to ask a favor of you. Is it one you're willing to accept? I don't quite know what I may be getting us into. I don't quite know what we are going to be dealing with. All I know is that it's not natural, and it's not right, and it can't be trusted. Even if they appeal to our natural instincts as furres, the Odyssians cannot be trusted. Your job is to keep me thinking that. Don't let me trust. Don't allow me to lower my guard. I'll need a companion if I'm going to meet with the leader. I need someone whom I can rely on by my side. I don't know if you think I'm asking too much of you or too little right now, but I'm asking."

Truth be told, Adeline was scared. She could sense something was about to happen, as much as she could sense the storm brewing in the air. Born and bred sea-master, the tigress could foretell the weather almost eerily. This time, she was hoping she was wrong. A drink, perhaps. That would relieve everything. Just a few bottles, cans, dregs, whatever the hell it would take to relieve everything...that's what she needed.

But no. She had to stop that. Alcohol weakened her. She couldn't be weak. If something really was going to happen, and Adeline could feel it coming, she had to be at her best, even if it meant deprivation of her daily amnesia medication. She had to be stronger than the alcohol. She had to withstand the urge. She needed to keep her head clear, an impossible task even without alcohol to cloud up her mind. There was just too much confusion to understand.

[Ricter]

Listening to her, his eyes narrowed. So they served the Council but they wanted to contact the Foundry. To him there was nothing strange about anyone wanting to defect from their current organization. Sounded to him like the slaves were beginning to resent the masters. Just as she could predict the weather, he had grown to predict those around him. Simple little things told him everything about a person. For instance, he could tell that the tigress before him was hankering for a fix something awful but he could also tell she was strong enough to resist it. All in all, one thing would tell him if the Odyssians were honest in their intentions or playing them for fools. What they wanted. In all his experience he had learned that nothing ever came for free.

Despite her fears his were null and void. Sure, there were some things that scared him half to death but this wasn't one of them. Despite that she seemed frightened of the Odyssians he wasn't. If it was alive it could be killed, that was all he needed to know. Before she even asked he had already chosen the answer to the question. Yes, he would go with her. Upon joining the Foundry he'd pledged his services to them, for him that meant anything they asked, from just guarding a door right down to murder. "Yeah, I'll go with ya." he told her, not once looking away.

Thinking for a moment, he looked away, then his gaze went back to Adeline again. "At tha' end a' that meetin', ask one question. What'da'ya want. Don' question tha' answer, jus' walk afta' that." He obviously had a plan for that, otherwise he wouldn't have said it. Like she had learned about him, not a conversationalist. He spoke when he had something to say, not more than that. Of course, he was already starting to think of a few things, a few contacts to get a hold of. He wasn't going to be accompanying her unarmed.

[Adeline]

Adeline nodded slowly, relieved that Ricter agreed, but still a little anxious about the whole situation. However, she couldn't let that show. She had to keep her face impassive.

"Thank you Ricter, I'll take that advice. I'll contact you with more specific instructions when a meeting has been set up."

Nodding briskly, she did a 180 turn, frock coat turning sharply behind her, and walked back off into the city, getting enveloped by the fog. She would go to Angelo's, get a quick drink...nothing too much, just a bit of alcohol to settle her nerves and stomach, then walk to Groves' and think about things there. God knew she had quite a lot to think about. It wasn't just a storm a coming; it was a bloody hurricane and it was getting ready to rip the city to shreds. Adeline had to know she could withstand that. She just didn't know how.