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Pick pocketing people has never been this easy. People here in Dublith have their heads high up in the skies to even notice wee little Ming snatching up every bit of their belongs from their pockets and bags. She holds up all her stolen good in a brown sack not too large for her size as she goes through how much she’ll get once she had traded it all off. But before any of that, she thought she could explore more of Dublith. It’s been days since she arrived here from her home country, Xing, via cargo. Exploring a bit more deeper won’t hurt anyone.
From the outer streets of Dublith to the central, she gawks at her surroundings, realizing how immensely different it is from her home country. Stone buildings, stone pavement, small spaces, and dopey people to pick pocket. All her excitement and amazement shriveled as she felt a strong surge of rancid Qi emanating as she goes further into the city. Ming had already felt this when she first arrived here, although she had assumed it was the country’s Qi. But it is already in her head that it isn’t the land she’s sensing, it’s someone or something else. There’s a part of her that tells her to back away from it and just go on with her day, but her morbid sense of curiosity took the better of her as she followed the Qi into the deepest parts of the city.
She came across a shady looking alley and an entrance way with the sign called “The Devil’s Nest” on top of it. She isn’t sure what kind of place it is but she knew this was where the Qi was residing. She could sense a lot odder Qi within the vicinity, definitely not a Qi of an average human. Ming walked towards the entry way to examine further until she sensed two people coming up her way from it. With a small fit of panic, she quickly searched for a place to hide before spotting a large wooden crate just nearby. She scurries over behind the crate and made less noise as she possibly can.
Two men stood in front of the entry way. A man in, what Ming could assume, a keikogi and a katana strapped behind his waist, quite a familiar clothing style. The other has a more ‘odd’ sense of fashion. He’s much taller than the other man, he has a fur vest, black leather pants, and dark shades. Ming could hear them converse casually, nothing fishy. But the Qi she had been sensing, it’s been emanating from the tall man in shades. The energy that’s pulsing through the man gave Ming chill crushing feeling, but her curiosity began to grow even more.
With the sudden pause from the two men alerted Ming with a jolt. The man with the sword sniffs the area, like some canine of some sort, before saying “Someone’s spying on us,” as he slowly approached my direction. Ming grew anxious as she searched a way to be able to escape without her exposing herself. Not before long, the man with the shade began to follow suit. Tension is building up as Ming frantically looking for an escape route. The alley way had no other passage ways, it was a straight way to the road. There was no other option but to stand her guard against them.
Before any as much of a blink of an eye, a katana blade is only a few centimeters away from Ming’s neck. She froze in place, fearing if as much as a twitch would cost her life. Her sack of goods fell, spilling out few items on the brick road. She glares at them as a weak attempt of intimidation.
“What are you doing in a place like this, kid?” the swordsman asked, gripping tightly onto his sword.
A kid, you say? Ming thought Maybe I could play along with the little kid charade. They might just let me walk away with no much of a sweat. With a fake stutter to start up her act she began to speak “Ah yes! I was lost. Can’t find my family. Foreigners from different country,” she pulled off an accent to further push her performance.
Both men looked at each other, a brief pause before the man with the shade began to burst out of laughter. Ming was confused by the sudden and odd reaction, calculating in her mind what on earth was funny. The swordsman looked all too dumbfounded as he lowers his sword, releasing her from his swords harm.
The swordsman began to speak with a frantic yet apologetic tone “Sorry, kid! Thought you were some kind of threa- “
“Sorry to cut you off, Dolcetto…” the man with the shades addressed to his companion before approaching Ming, face a few inches away from hers with a sly grin “…but do you really think a cheap trick like that you could escape from us? Why not be a good girl and tell us the truth, doll?”
The man’s deep and raspy voice brings shudders from Ming’s spine. She continues to glare at them, mostly focusing on the man on her face at the moment.
The swordsman, called Dolcetto by the shaded man, gives out a sigh “Just tell him, kid. He won’t rest until you do. Please, don’t make this hard for the both of us,” him clearly showing his desire to get this situation done with.
Ming, too, was thinking off the same thing. It’s already abundantly clear that there’s no other way of getting out of this other than do as they say. She begrudgingly agrees as she told her true intentions.
The shaded man’s grin grew even larger, his voice giving out a gruff chuckle “Let’s say I believe you. Why is a little Xingese girl like you doing in a faraway country? You’re an odd character, you know that? What is you deal, huh doll?”
Ming, still maintaining her nasty look towards the shaded man “And why on earth would I tell you?”
The shaded man gives a howl like chuckle, seemingly amused by Ming’s constant refusal to answer “How about a deal then? You tell me who you are and I tell you about me? It’s more of a bargain, really. There’s so much about me that I could talk about. So why not get on with it?”
At this very moment only idiots take such a dangerous deal such as this. But Ming, as much as she hates admitting it, is an idiot. This man was intriguing, fueling her curiosity to the max. Despite the dangerous Qi this man is emanating, the thrill that comes with that danger fuels her avarice for excitement. Ming agrees to do the deal but not without a request “Can you promise me not to spill any of my information to any people you come across?”
The shades man and the swordsman look at each other, communication with silence and slight gestures “Sure, doll. It can be our little secret.” The shaded man proclaimed with a wink. A coat of red spreads across Ming’s face. She has to admit, she does finds this mysterious man attractive. “We should probably talk inside. Y’know, with the privacy and all,” The shaded man gestures a hand towards Ming. Ming hesitantly grabs his hand as the shaded man help her stand up. Ming recollected her stolen goods back into her sack before following the two men through the entry way.
“Oh, the name’s Greed by the way.” The man with the shades announced they walk down the stairs towards The Devil’s Nest.