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In front of her, by all accounts, is a princess.
There's a bruise right below her left eye, an ugly cut spanning from the corner of her lip to her cheek. The marks stand out from her golden skin but they pale in comparison to the fire in her eyes. And such pretty eyes too, narrowed and glaring her way. But the grace she holds herself and the oh-so-defiant lift of chin and jet black hair so strange to see in a place like this screams princess. Princess of what, she still hasn't figured out.
Felicia crosses her arms, leans to one side, and hums. "Who do we have here?"
She already knows who Cindy Moon is. Or rather, "Silk" as everyone calls her. It didn't take much to do the digging nobody else bothers to do, to unearth a tragic tale behind such an enigma.
"None of your business," the princess grits out and Felicia holds in a growing grin. Her voice is deeper than expected and it sends a vibration through Felicia’s bones.
"I'm afraid it is, if you were found on my turf." Felicia lets the grin come out as she almost purrs the last, "I knew you couldn't stay away."
They've met before. More than twice, they've fought. It was the first meeting that piqued her interest and prompted her to start fishing for information, only to come up blank. Felicia doesn't do blanks in her information.
The second sweep for information after the Dragonclaw incident was much more lucrative. Silk had since been working for the rival gang, taking everyone by storm when she joined. Felicia reckons it's hard enough on the streets as a woman, but one without a husband, and one from the East? That must be even harder. She's not surprised Cindy was taken in, with a skillset like hers
The said girl stiffens and Felicia sees the hints of a blush tinge. Tendrils of satisfaction crawl up Felicia's chest as she continues. "I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"
"I want to join." It's said so plainly, more like a statement than a betrayal to her current station. But her eyes, how they burn, and there's something in there Felicia wants to see more of.
She approaches the tied up princess, letting her hips sway as she does. "And why should I trust you?"
"You invited me," she says with the same kind of simplicity from before. Felicia guesses she did, that night in the alley, heart bursting in her chest, black hair clasped in her hands. Her gaze flicks to Cindy's short hair, choppy and uneven, it's apparent she didn't bother to fix what was done. It doesn't have to be like this. You could come work for me.
"I did," Felicia acknowledges out loud, and circles her exactly once to hide how unbalanced she is by it all. "But I'm surprised you're actually taking me up on that offer."
"You know me," Cindy ducks her head and says softly, barely above a whisper -- only for their ears to hear. "You know me more than you let on, but you don't know this." Felicia leans in, eager for whatever secret she can get her claws on. "I have a brother, one I need to protect."
Felicia moves back to stare, long and hard, at her captive. Cindy stares back, unwavering. "A brother?" Felicia mouths, and waves her men out of the room. They leave without a second thought, the Black Cat can take care of herself.
"A brother," Cindy's brows knit together and she looks almost unsure -- wary -- then, the expression melts in the next second and Felicia files it for later. There's more to the story than this. She repeats. "Someone I need to protect."
"I thought it went the other way around," Felicia hums. She taps her fingers against her elbow and arches a brow.
The deadpan look she receives is enough for that thread of conversation to die.
"So you want to join the Black Cat gang for protection? Do you not get enough as it is?"
The other gang is notorious for only protecting the ones they value, the others can rot. And if this brother isn't blessed with a special affliction, then he's by all accounts only useful as leverage.
Cindy looks pained, giving Felicia all the answer she needs. She's desperate -- that much is clear -- and desperate people make valuable assets. And Felicia could never say no to a pretty girl, especially one who...
Well, Felicia tries not to dwell on that particular weakness of hers.
"You're gonna have to do a lot of legwork," she observes. "To move up the ranks." The way Cindy's whole face breaks out in relief makes Felicia want to say something more. She almost doesn't. "But if you keep close to me, I can assure things will go a lot smoother."
"Can I--?" Cindy nods down at the rope around her wrists.
"Go ahead."
She snaps them in one smooth motion and stands up. Rubbing her wrists, she looks raring for release, all the pent up energy suddenly seconds from breaking free. "When do I start?"
"First order of business," Felicia holds herself steady even as the sight of Cindy Moon all muscle and scrapes threatens to weaken her knees like some schoolgirl. She refuses to give anyone the upper hand, so she advances again, leans in to whisper in a pretty ear. If Cindy just found a brother -- Felicia's still shocked that there's more to the Moon family -- there's a good guess where he'd been for all this time. "We take down Goblin Nation."
The hitch in Cindy's breath tells her all she needs to know.