Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Cassian]

Cassian had downed an entire mug before he looked up at the dancers, wiping the froth from his lips with the back of his wrist as he watched them dance and leaned in to listen to Peter. He whistled to himself and shook his head "You don' want to be getting' involved with gypsies lad. My mother was a gypsy, she warned me as such. Witches that'll rip your fuckin' heart right out yer chest." he told him and slammed the empty mug back down on the table to have it refilled. Still...Issue with gypsies or not, he couldn't help but watch them. They were entrancing, but they were supposed to be, and he was incredibly weak minded for a man of physical strength.

His eyes watched over his ale as one of the sisters as she moved into the crowd. "Fuck me they can move...." he muttered, and finished his second drink.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"I will take my chances," Alec sighed dreamily as he watched the way the girls moved and sipped at his drink.

"Me too - you're going to be facing a lot worse with us Cass," Peter raised his mug and the two sloshed their ales together without taking their eyes off of the pretty women. It wasn't entirely a lie - Cass was probably more than likely going to find himself the unwanted object of desire of many monsters in the days and weeks to come. At least these women could only hurt them on an emotional playing field.

Slowly the women wound their way over to the table the little group were sat at and each of them took a man to sit on the lap of.

"Who's this?" the girl on Cassian's lap purred as her fingers twirled through his hair. "Alec have you been bringing home strays again?"

"Lexi strong armed him into helping us on a recent mission," the youngster provided helpfully. "Cassian this is Ember, Fiera and Thea. Ladies, this is Cassian."

"Charmed," the lady - Ember - who sat on his lap gave him a sinful smile.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian bobbed his head as he had to give Peter that one, it was true, but he was half gypsy and the women frightened him more than Lexi did. Sirens in their own right. and of course, they knew they boys....He sighed, his eyes pinned on the woman. So weak.

He did however shift to give the woman, Ember, more room to sit, as was gentlemanly. His arm snaked around her waist.. "M'lady..." he grinned at her, his eyes wandering over her fine shape with a quiet groan as his free hand reached for his drink, which he even offered to share. His hand wandered too, squeezing at the woman's thigh as he leaned to whisper something in his mother's tongue into her ear.

"Let us buy you three beauties a drink." he offered, and called for the barmaid to bring wine and ale to the table.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Ember gladly took the drink and took a swig without removing her dark green eyes from his before setting it on the table behind her again. The fact he spoke their language made her curious enough to indulge him and she stayed upon his lap. Gold glittered at her ears, throat and wrists and she gave him a smile that would make many a man drop all their jewels at her feet for one taste of those lips.

"You speak our language," the other two sisters looked over in interest and Ember walked her fingers slowly up his chest to then play with a tendril of hair. "And where on Earth did our Lady Commander find such a diamond in the rough?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian took the woman in with all the desire that any half-drunk, human man would, his teeth flashing in a grin at her words "Aye lass. Half gypsy myself... So don't be thinkin' I'm some outlander you can win over with your spells. I know all of em.." he smirked, his fingertips tracing the length of her thigh.

He groaned as she mentioned Lexi. He was supposed to be taking his mind off of 'Commander Sex-on-legs' tonight. "Plucked me out of some shit hole. Said she knew a better place. With better ale and better women." his brows lifted. "If you happen to know any.." her grinned, a boyish look on his face.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"Spells? Us?" Ember feigned indignant hurt and shifted her position to offer him more skin to explore underneath her long flowing skirts. Her thighs betrayed the fact she was no simple dancing girl but a warrior too. His groan got a slight raise of the eyebrow and she trailed her fingers down the side of his face.

"Well Alexandria always did have a habit of playing with the filth," a dramatic sigh. "But she told the story right, there are plenty of better women here. I'll make sure to point them out if I see them, of course, but until then," her fingers gripped his jaw tenderly before she leaned down and whispered in the same language he had used on her a string of silken promises.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian rolled his shoulders at a tension he hadn't realised had been building in them, and he frowned a little at the still aching bruises.. There was her name again. His jaw clenched and he let out a quiet huff and a dry grin "Aye lass.. Filth is exactly what I am." he dipped his chin, and lifted his drink again, his eyes scanning over the crowd as she whispered into his ear.

He whispered back again and grinned, stealing a quick kiss under her earlobe and patting her thigh to get himself up. "Excuse me m'lady!" He finished off his drink and slammed it down "Gotta piss.." he told the boys and slipped away.

They might notice, or they might not as they were clearly kept occupied by gypsy sirens, that he was gone much longer than was necessary to relieve himself.

It was a good twenty minutes before the crowd over at the fighting pit were jeering and waving their betting parchments, as Cassian's third opponent entered the pit.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

It was only when a scream came from the fighting pit that the boys seemed to twig that Cassian was no longer among them and they made their own excused to go and see what was going on. As they approached a man was thrown out of the bit, limbs flailing, to land in a gap that was formed pretty promptly by the gathered watchers as they began to realise it was move or be landed upon. The man groaned where he lay.

"I thought you were watching him?!" Peter stepped over the man to the edge of the pit and grimaced as he beheld the scene.

"Me?! You're older."

"By six months."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian spit blood into the dirt as he watched the man stretch and swing punches at the air, readying himself. He took off his shirt as his blood warmed and tossed it aside, standing still with his fists clenched at either side as he waited for the man.. "Stop dancing about like a ponce an' fuckin' hit me already." he growled, and the man spit at the floor in response as the crowd cheered for 'Theus'. Apparently he was a regular, a sure bet, he had most of them on his side.

The man circled and lifted his fists to protect his face, and he swung a cross and jab at Cassian's stomach in quick succession. Cassian took the hits, and coughed. He was strong, and quick, and perhaps he'd have a decent match unlike the first two. The next was a right hook to the jaw and Cassian went to his knee, shaking the dizziness from his head and wiping at the bloodied lip as he pulled himself back to his feet amidst the jeering crowd, calling in support of their Theus.

He took another punch to the stomach and doubled over, and the man's fists slammed down into his back and he fell to the deck with a grimace and a few more coughs. "Fuck.." he groaned. The crowd were cheering, and the man was ready to take his victory when Cassian pulled himself back to his feet and rubbed at his shoulder.

"Stay down you stupid bastard!" the man laughed and Cassian smirked.

"Aye.. Next time perhaps.." he coughed, spitting more blood.

Theus was losing patience, he took a quick stride toward him and threw what would have been a blinding uppercut if he'd managed to catch his jaw. Cassian grabbed hold of the man's wrist and twisted as his other hand gripped the hair at the back of his head and slammed his face into the pit wall with a sickening crunch. Theus crumpled unconscious and the crowd quieted.

Cassian dipped a chin to the bookmaker, his hand held out for his winnings which were handed over with reluctance.. He lifted the bottle of whisky he'd left at the side of the pit, and took a long drink before striding out since no other competitors came forward.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

The boys scrambled to the exit of the pit when they noticed Cassian beginning to leave. There was a stunned silence around the ring which began to be filled by an angry hum of grumbling as money was forked over. It was probably a wise idea to get him out of there sharpish. The White Ravens were a decent bunch but most were only human and nobody liked to lose to an apparent underdog who had come out of nowhere. A few dark looks followed the pair.

"What was that?! We get you a lovely girl and you go fight in the pit," Alec hissed and gently guided Cassian up and away from the fighting ring. Peter watched their backs as they left. As they cleared the top of the stairs however a woman was waiting there with her hands clasped in front of her.

"I should have known he was with you two," the woman's brows pulled down a little as eyes as deep and blue as the heart of the ocean itself ran between the three men. But then it disappeared and she smiled instead as she embraced both of them and kissed their cheeks.

"Rose," Peter smiled sheepishly. "We'd like to introduce you to Cassian, our latest recruit," the woman held out a hand in greeting. She was the opposite of Lexi in everyway. Instead of sharp lines and hard muscle she was soft curves and rosy cheeks. Laugh lines bracketed her lips and marred the corners of her eyes compared to Lexi's scowl. Her blonde hair fell in perfect ringlets around her angelic face. When she smiled it put the sun to shame.

"It's nice to meet you," there was genuine warmth in her words and then she inclined her head slightly to the side. "Come, let's go have a drink to cool off a little. It's the least I can do after you won me a fair bit of gold."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian was counting his coin. He’d done a fair few people out of a fair bit of money and he felt eyes on him. “Aye lad, couldn’t turn down a challenge..” he lied. The challenge had been entirely his. “I’ll no doubt have snakes in my bed for it..” he huffed.

He looked up at the sound of a soft voice, his brows lifting slightly as he looked the woman over, and they fell again with a look of sudden awkwardness as Peter spoke her name. She was beautiful. But she hadn’t been at all what he was expecting.

He quickly realised that he’d forgotten his shirt. And he stood there covered in dirt, bruises and splashes of blood, swaying slightly with a half bottle of whisky in his hand. He cleared his throat, and dipped his chin in a nod to the woman “A pleasure, lass.” he answered gruffly and looked between the two boys.

“You bet against your own man?” he asked the woman in surprise as they walked to another of the bars. “Seems you’re about the only one that did.” ... apart from him that was.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Rose led them to one of the quieter parts of the Mess. As she passed people called out glad tidings and smiles, even the grouchy looking lads who would probably sell their own mothers if given the chance softened under her gaze. There was just an air about her. Despite how busy it was she found them a table no problem and ordered a bottle of whisky for the table. The two younger lads eagerly took their glasses when they arrived and sipped at the amber liquid. Rose turned her eyes to Cassian and gave him a soft smile.

"Kain told me about you so I thought I would track you down and see what was so special with my own eyes, I figured you'd be with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee here," despite the insult she made it sound almost like an endearment. The both gave her impish boy grins.

"Hey now, everyone needs to know about the Mess."

"We showed him the library, Rose, what more do you want from us?"

"I watched your first fight and it seemed pretty clear you would clear up in your others so I placed a couple of bets," she took another slow sip of her whisky. "So tell me a bit about yourself, Kain said you were a sellsword?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian got a few strange looks in his state of undress, and he attempted to dust off a little of the dirt from his chest. He paused by a barrel of stagnant water and dunked his entire head under for a few seconds, half to clean the blood, half to sober him a little, and he grabbed a towel from the waist of a barmaid as he passed her to dry himself off.

He sat his bottle on the table and his elbows at either side of it as he studied the woman. He had been jealous of her, of course. But it was hard to let that jealousy scowl at such a pretty picture. It just wasn’t the same as the jealousy of a man, a man he’d put in the ground but her?... something about her told him to straighten up his act a little. She was a perfect lady.

“He did, did he?..” he quirked a brow as she mentioned Kain and his shoulders tensed a little. “The boys here have told me a little about you too, lass. But the beauty they described doesn’t do you half the justice it deserves.” He smirked, a glance between the boys as they justified themselves.

“Aye.. A sellsword.” he answered and rubbed at his shoulder. He’d always been proud to call himself a soldier, he was still getting used to not being able to call himself such. They were all sellswords anyway.. “There ent much else to tell, lass. I’m sure your story is far more interestin’” he smiled at her and drank.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Both boys tried to straighten themselves up a little, smoothing down their robes and taking the whisky a bit slower than if they had been alone with Cassian where it probably would have quickly descended into chaos. Maybe they would have all ended up in the pit. Rose watched them with the amusement of a mother watching her children before returning her gaze to Cassian and tucking a ringlet behind her ear.

"I dread to think what they have said. Kain was very complimentary of you, however, you don't need to worry. It's quite a lot to go from men and mortal things to those you saw on your trip here," her eyes took in the tension of his shoulders before taking another sip of her drink with a little smile. "As for mine, it's probably similar to most here. Parents in the order, grew up on the job. I was in the same classes as Kain and Lexi so we grew up together but unlike them I decided to go down the Scholar route rather than the fighting one. It means I get to just look after the pretty books rather than deal with what's inside them. I'm just a glorified library really."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian couldn’t help but grin at the boys trying to straighten up too. Seemed the woman had that effect on young scoundrels as well as older ones. He licked blood from his lips and took another drink as his attention returned to Rose..Her name was fitting. He tried not to stare for too long, his gaze falling to his drink again.

“Those are not stories you need to worry ‘bout. As I’m sure you well know.” if there had been any bad words that could be said about the woman, they hadn’t been said to him.

“I’m glad you got the chance to make that choice, lass. I grew up in Vel Anir. There wasn’t much of a choice to be made there.” He smirked dryly. “You must be a smart lass.” He commented.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Rose laughed and shook her head a little before glancing to the two lads and back again. She finished off the whisky and poured herself another, topping up any glasses that were also empty or getting that way. Raising a hand she asked for some ice and when it arrived she put some in a small glass and pressed it to the bruise that was appearing on his cheek with a small tut.

"Smart for choosing the library probably, though it does mean having to patch everyone up when they come home looking like this. I went on a couple of missions but it just wasn't for me, worrying about people all the time," her eyes moved now to Alec. "I hear I almost didn't get to see your pretty face again," there was concern in her tone and her eyebrows pulled into a worried frown.

"Yeah..." Alec grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to learn to move out of the way faster," Peter rolled his eyes at the comment. "You need to learn to not try and be a fucking hero," Alec began to go red and muttered darkly into his drink.

"With that I would have to agree," Rose hummed a little. "I must admit I came to find you for a second reason, it is quite standard for all of our men no matter if they intend on learning magic or not to have some lessons on the types of things you'll be dealing with in future missions. I'm going to be getting you up to date."

 

[Cassian]

He winced a little at the touch but he found himself leaning into it and his mind wandered a little too far. “Well.. aren’t we lucky to have you here to patch us up.” he rumbled at her and smirked at the boys. “Aye, Lexi put him back together alrigh’.. he’s still a little shit though.” he muttered.

Cassian was incapable of sipping whisky. He didn’t drink it for the taste. He downed another glass as he listened to the woman talk of lessons and his brow furrowed. Lessons weren’t part of the deal and nobody said Rose would be teaching him said lessons. Fuck..

“I... right.” his neck warmed and he rubbed at the tension in the back of it. “I spose it couldn’t hurt to know more about the beasts we’ll be huntin’...Ent got no interest in magic though.” he frowned and sighed, his eyes a little heavier with the alcohol, clearly under the influence the woman’s charm.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"He's a gonner," Peter murmured to Alec under his breath and the other young man nodded sympathetically. There was just something about Rose that made people want to be around her, she made them feel good about themselves and cared for and loved. It was something a lot of people in the Ravens were starved of due to their line of work.

"No it pays to know what you're going up against, it'll make it easier for you to know how to kill them, have you got him hooked up with some new weapons?" her eyes moved back to the boys who nodded like boys in a school choir. She nodded in approval. "You don't have to learn magic if you don't want to - though you might want to consider some small healing or protection spells. Minor things."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian aimed a kick at Peter under the table without taking his eyes off of the woman. He was not a goner...

“Aye. Couldn’t hurt, lass..” he mused, downing another half of whisky and licking the excess from his lips as his brow lifted, a rather dazed look on his face. “But no.. no magic. If I learned to heal myself then I’d be missin’ out on all this special treatment.” He grinned, and the thought of Lexi’s hands crept into his mind.

“Mh.. Fuck.” he rubbed at his brow.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Alec yelped when he was the unfortunately recipient of Cassian's kick and Peter smirked into his glass some more. Rose looked between them with a little confusion and then moved the glass on Cassian's face so it was pressed to another bruise whilst it was still cold.

"Right... Well then, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon ok? I'm sure the lads can show you to my classroom," she glanced to them and then froze when she saw the woman who was now stood behind then, one hand on each of their chairs. The boys jumped out of their skins when they noticed Lexi and clutched at their hearts.

"Gods, Lexi," Alec heaved.

"Sorry boys, didn't mean to creep up on you I just wanted to make sure how you were still holding up but I see I needn't of worried," her eye wondered over the table with an unreadable expression.

"Lexi, you should join us," Rose gave a hesitant smile. A slight flicker of pain and then Lexi shook her head and pushed off from the chairs.

"No I don't want to spoil the party and I need a good nights sleep. I have a meeting with Jer in the morning to discuss things further. Goodnight all," her gaze rested on Cassian a moment then she strode off through the crowds.

 

[Cassian]

His attention had been on Rose and he'd nodded at her words, but his answer stuck in his throat as he heard Lexi's voice and he could almost feel the heat drain from his face. Perfect. She'd certainly picked her moment, and he felt as guilty as he looked for a moment before he sat back in his chair and lifted his chin, squaring his shoulders with a hint of defiance. "Aye, lass. Come drink with us, let off some steam.." he frowned, really wishing he'd had a fucking shirt on and wasn't as drunk as he was.

He looked back to Rose and shook his head.. "Was she always this stubborn?.." he asked, not letting his instant regret show on his face..fucking whisky.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Rose watched her go with sadness and regret. It seemed for a moment as if she might go after her then shook her head ever so slightly and turned her attention back to the people at the table. The boys both quickly made excuses to go and use a bathroom. Rose offered Cassian a bittersweet smile at his question and then downed her glass of whisky in one go and poured another with a little wince.

"Yes but she has got worse since she became Commander. Sometimes it is hard to think she is the girl who rode to my homelands in the Steppes and back just to bring me a bouquet of my favourite flowers," she sounded a little wistful. "How did you find working with her?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian huffed as he watched the woman leave through the crowds, hoping she hadn't heard his comment. He downed another whisky with Rose, and tipped his empty glass onto it's side on the table. Not that one more would have made much difference, he was already drunk and angry.

He snorted at the woman's words, settling his elbows back onto the table and letting his head fall in front of him with a groan. "She can be cruel at times... But she's alrigh'.." he muttered with a sigh and brought his face back up to rub at it. "I should get goin'.. It was a pleasure to meet you lass." he reached to squeeze the woman's arm, and left through the crowd, trying to remember the way back, hoping he might perhaps catch her.

"Lexi!" he was just yelling like a drunk man now. His shoulder collided with one of the men the boys had pointed out to him earlier. "Watch it blackbird.." he growled at the man who turned to grip Cassian's arm.

"The fuck did you say?" the man glared, three of his comrades closing in behind him.

"Oh..fuck. Sorry. What I said was.." but before he could speak another word, Cassian's fist collided with the man's jaw and he crumpled to the dirt.

One of the comrades came to aid the man to his feet whilst the other two started throwing punches, which of course, Cassian threw back. He channeled every ounce of whisky fuelled rage into each punch he threw, and soon the crowd gathered as they had around the pit. With two of them recovering and two on the ground, he set about kicking into the stomach of the one who'd grabbed him, but was soon pulled back by a man on each arm.. Perhaps one against four really wasn't the best idea.

He was held up as he took several punches to the ribs and stomach, and one more hook to the face had his knees buckle underneath him. Still, he a grinned a mouthful of bloodied teeth at the men. "Best you got, you fuckin' ponce?" and his eyes fell to the dagger the man had discreetly drawn, causing his muscles to tense and his smile to fade quickly.. "You really gonna gut me in front of all these people lad?" he spat, pulling against the men holding his arms.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi heard him shouting her name but she chose to ignore it. Being around Rose even for such a short time had set emotions off she didn't care to dwell on nor have time to. She had shit to do especially with the Forgotten living in her city for the next few days, at least until she had convinced Jer that nothing was going to get her to move her position on the matter of allowing him access to the inner sanctum of the library. She pushed through another throng of people who quickly rushed to get out of her way when they noticed who it was. But then there was a light touch on her arm. Lexi looked down at the young lad who could be barely more than seven with a tempered scowl, but he was filled with the confidence children had that no adults would do them harm.

"Lexi there's fighting," he sound around a mouthful of chubby fist that was in his mouth.

"For fuckssake," Lexi growled and then picked up the child and passed him to a startled looking man before marching her way back the way she had come. Because who else would it be who would start a fight?

She rounded the corner just as she caught sight of the dagger in the mans hand. A bolt of lightning arced from the tips of her fingers and hit the man in the palm of his hand causing him to yelp and drop the knife.

"Step away boys. You are in my city and you will respect its people," now the Commander had appeared the others nearby grew in confidence and a few reached for their swords. "I really have had a tough few days, I really advice you not to get on my bad side."

 

[Cassian]

His eyes raised to the man with the dagger, and his grin returned as it was shot out of his hand. He chose not to look at Lexi however, he simply lifted his brows with a certain smugness despite the blood trickling down his face.

"Control your fucking dogs then Lexi.." the man sneered and spit on the ground before giving the two holding Cassian a nod to let him go. One did, though the other was more reluctant and gave him another hard punch to his temple and he fell with a growl and grimaced as he rolled to his back.

"Fuck!". His hand pressed against the swelling head wound before he held it up to offer the man his own gesture as he turned to leave.

"Til next time magpie!" he grinned and laughed, though it turned into a cough.

"Knew you'd save me lass." he grumbled at her from the dirt, his eyes drifting heavily from alcohol and dizziness.