FSE

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By the water, a city by the name of Buyen made of multiple levels of rickety buildings constructed with wood in varying degrees of quality sat. The docks by the bay carried the scent of salt and fish down toward where the people lived. Markets and bazaars peppered the inner portions of the city where all sorts of trade goods could be found. Boarded bridges and steps connected the lower levels and the upper levels together where mazes awaited those who were new to the city. For the most part, it wasn't recommended to stay too long around the docks or the city itself. Thieves wandered the shadows and crowds with sticky digits waiting to cut any purses available and why wouldn't they? If you weren't already wealthy as a merchant living at the top, you were a laborer of some sort with poor pay or impossible hours. Even the guards weren't paid enough to care unless the thief was so stupid as to steal something and get caught out in the open. People did what they had to do in order to keep afloat, and that usually meant anything for a bit of coin.

Just around one of the many open markets in the mid-level of the city an alleyway opened up where an otter and a hooded figure in a patchwork cloak slipped within. Both moved between a few crates and barrels that obscured them from outside eyes peering within. The otter then sat his rear on one of the barrels and brought his pants down with a quick tug to let his cock out in the air. Meanwhile, the figure brought herself down to her knees. Slowly, she slipped her hood back to reveal feline features and turquoise eyes that seemed to glow in the shadows of the alley. She took his cock in paw and started to stroke and coax his meager shaft to full erection before she planted her lips on the tip to bring it back into her mouth. Back and forth her head started to bob and the otter grabbed on to the back of her head with a sneer to urge her on just a bit faster. Neither wanted to get caught, so the feline accepted the action and the otter continued on tugging her head forward. Her tongue coiled around his member while one of her paws moved to slide down his legs gingerly. At that point, her digits slipped into his pockets for just a few seconds while she doubled her efforts on his cock. A small smile touched her features as she withdrew her paw from his pockets to cup his balls softly and squeeze. It wasn't long before the otter grunted, holding her head down firmly while his balls twitched and throbbed. The feline remained still with her eyes shut and she even purred for him to urge him to keep filling her mouth. When he was finished, he let go of her head with a satisfied sigh. The feline pulled away slowly to open her mouth to show the result of her work on her tongue. She closed her mouth and swallowed before opening smiling wide with her bright turquoise eyes opening slowly to look up at the otter. A shiver ran down the back of the otter as he fumbled to get his pants back on. From his pockets, he produced a small pouch bulging with coin that he placed on her outstretched paw. The feline gladly took hold of the coin and got up to plant a soft kiss on his nose as a thank you for the payment.

"Come back anytime." She whispered before the otter nodded rapidly and hopped off of the barrel to walk away and get on with his day.

Lyssa watched as her repeat customer walked away with a little happy wag in his tail. She smiled until he was out of sight, the smile curling into a smirk as she found herself alone in the alley with her payment. With a happy sigh, she sat on the barrel and let the contents of the pouch fall into her paw. Shimmering coins and plenty of them for a job well done. A small gem then fell from the sleeves of her shirt and she chuckled as she plucked it up and looked it over. Her little customer was a merchant of magic crystals so occasionally she relieved a few from his pockets if he was ever dumb enough to take one with him while he used her mouth. Maybe he knew she was stealing and maybe not, either way, he always came back and she always took just a little extra. Perhaps someday she would let him have more than her mouth and charge just a bit without stealing from him, or maybe she'd simply charge more and take a tip too. She already had a few crystals of her own to aid in her escapades, but none as pretty as this one. The stolen crystal was a deep violet with shadows bubbling from within. She had to admit that she wanted to keep the precious thing for herself, but it would be better off pawned. Crystals were nice and the magic that they could channel was invaluable, however, coin for food was more important. Besides, it didn't even match her eyes. Hopping off of the barrel she put everything back in the pouch before stretching. It was time to get going to the pawn shop.

Out of the alley in the opposite direction, she walked away from the market and turned down into a set of steps that creaked horribly when she stepped on them. Every step was an irritated twitch of the ear or tail from the noise that made her want to repair the thing herself, but she continued on. Lyssa found herself on the ground level of the city where a canal ran between two sections and the sunlight poured down from above. In the sun, her black peppered russet fur could be seen and her eyes seemed to shimmer. After a few steps, she brought her hood back up and slipped into the crowd of people commuting to where they needed to go. Nobody batted an eye at a feline wearing a patchy cloak in the middle of the day and she prefered it that way. There wasn't anyone to pester her and nobody thought she had anything of value beneath the cloak, of course, there were some that tried.

She felt someone inching closer and closer. They rustled through the crowd and she could hear their steps pressing harder on the wood than the others around her. Perhaps they were nervous or someone new to the trade, maybe even an addict with some trouble controlling their body, but before anything happened she grabbed their wrist and looked down to see that it was bright-eyed rat child looking up at her. She continued to walk with the child's wrist in tow as if nothing happened and she could see him pleading with her not to do anything. Lyssa only smiled and carefully planted a few coins in his paw before jolting her head as if telling him to scram. When she let go he darted through the crowd and that was the last she saw of him. Hopefully, he would pick a better target next time.

Among the quiet crowd, she could hear the whispers of workers talking about what needed to be done at the docks. There was a captain ferrying food to another country, a fishmonger that had run into some bad luck and more. Through what she heard there were always things to pick out and learn, but this crowd had nothing that she desired or needed.

The unkempt boards of the city soon opened out into the better maintained dock where the towering sections of the city faded away into the open air that smelled of salty brine with hints of fish. As the crowd stepped out into the open, they split apart one by one heading off in all directions to where they needed to go. Lyssa herself took a right along a row of buildings that formed a sort of outer layer with a small smile. It certainly felt strange being out in the open, but there wasn't much to worry about here. The guards that she passed were either drinking or playing their gambling games. Some of them waved if they saw her face and in response, she only raised an idle paw before moving on. She had friends among the guard, some genuine and some only for money and information, but when the sun was out she made it a rule not to flirt with authority. A small oil lamp hanging off of a pole marked where she wanted to be and she ducked right past it and into a cramped alley.

She stepped over barrels and crates, twining and weaving through little webworks of various boxes and other things before she stopped at a door with another lamp above it that was lit. With a sigh, she removed her hood and took hold of the door's handle to open it and step inside. The pawn shop was a small place with what she might consider junk piled up in every corner. There were treasures among the junk piles behind the counter and sometimes nothing. She knew for the most part that the junk around the store was a front to make it look less organized than it really was. Behind the counter was a door that was slightly ajar where the backroom was that held most of the actual valuable stuff along with the hall that led to the owner's room. Of course, she also knew exactly what the owner was doing right this moment because she had forgotten to knock.

Almost as soon as the door shut behind her she took a step to the left with a small smile just as a bolt sunk itself into the wooden frame. Lyssa heard wild swearing and the cranking of another bolt being notched before she called out, "Illi, it's me. I forgot to knock."

The door behind the counter cracked open just a bit more and she saw the crossbow clearly now with bolt ready and heard Illi grumble, "Me? I don't think I know any me's, but go ahead and introduce yourself before I skewer you where y'stand."

"Lyssa." She said flatly.

Quiet touched the air as the crossbow was lowered before the door was suddenly flung open wide cracking against the nearby wall as the owner revealed herself. Illi was grey-furred rat with a notch on one of her ears and a sword at her belt. She always wore some sort of weaponry and her equipment was usually in top shape. Occasionally, she had let Lyssa purchase a dagger or two but for the most part she guarded her collection jealousy.

"You're always the quiet type! Swear I didn't even hear a thing 'cept the door poppin' open and I thought someone might've come around lookin' to collect or for trouble! You never know." Said the rat with the crossbow now pointed at the air, but still quite loaded.

Lyssa only shook her head and chuckled, "You could ask questions while pointing the crossbow, you know? People are likely to answer questions when threatened in a small space."

"Maybe! But maybe they pull a fast one and I don't live. Either way, what brings you here today?" The rat said before tossing her crossbow off into a corner.

She winced as the weapon discharged a bolt into the ceiling and sighed. Lyssa was adjusted to Illi's tendencies but the lack of trigger discipline was always a concern. Either way, she wanted to get on with business and so she plucked the pouch from her belt containing what had brought her here today. From the pouch, she produced the crystal she had taken earlier and set it carefully on the front counter.

Illi clamped her mouth shut and her smile slowly shifted into a hard line as she took the gem between two claws to lift it up into the air. The rat stared at the purple crystal, shifting it from side to side before setting it back down, "So...What nobility y'manage to snag this from?"

Lyssa blinked, curiosity blooming as she replied, "Why, no nobility. Just plucked it out of the pockets of that merchant that frequents my favors."

The rat snorted, "Wonder where he stole it from. This crystal is premium grade and special at that too. Hexes and curses and the sort. Not your general use stuff, nuh. Usually only see these on magi and military sorts like that. Means our friend is tradin' with some sort of martial types." Her eyes then narrowed as she brought the crystal up and stared at it, "Don't think our own region of Fortes employes hexes too often. Used to be a soldier so I should know."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, "Really? I figured you were here all your life living it up around junk."

"Junk she says!" Said the rat whose tail was lashing about now as she lowered the crystal to look Lyssa in the eyes with a sneer, "You know better than that sweet. Just you go on thinkin' that all of this is junk and you keep tellin' everyone the same thing."

Lyssa smiled and leaned on the front counter one paw coming out to motion, "Sooo...How much for the hex crystal?"

It was true that she thought it was interesting that her precious repeat customer would have such dangerous things in tow and that he might be selling to some sort of military might, but other things were more important. Other things typically meant the value of the item being appraised and how much she could get for and if it was dangerous to hold.

She found herself having to catch the crystal out of the air as the rat tossed it off like something foul before sighing, "Nothin'. I can't sell that. No one would buy somethin' like that from me and if they did they'd question where I got it from. Too many questions, too much risk. In fact, take it out of my store and if y'ever come back with it I'll not miss the shot next time on your little beatin' heart."

Lyssa frowned and looked over the crystal, "Hmmm...Nothing huh? If you won't take it, that means no one in this city will take it, right?"

"Hah! You act like I kiss danger. Some folk around might take it, but I'll warn ya for free that most would point out exactly where they got it from and you'd have some deep trouble followin' you around. I say chuck the damn thing or use it yourself, though, I don't think you're a hexin' sort."

Her frown deepened as she flicked the crystal up in the air before catching it, "I suppose I'm not, but really, not even general use?"

The rat grunted, "Nope, try to use that thing for anythin' other than what it is intended will taint whatever it is yer' trying to do. Yeah, you might be able to heat up a pot or toss a blast of raw power at someone, but you'd give the person some disease and the pot would poison anythin' in it"

Well, that just soured things, didn't it? She couldn't use it for herself unless she intended on seriously maiming someone or herself, and she couldn't sell it unless she planned on explaining to several authorities why she had a military grade crystal in her paws. Of course, whoever had even one of these and was caught with them had a lot to answer for and what that meant planted a fat smile on her face.

Illi's eyes twinkled as she perhaps saw the dots connecting and she muttered, "Keep me out of whatever it is yer doing, but I'd pay to hear what you have planned."

Again she flicked the crystal in the air before she caught it and placed it back in the pouch all in one movement, "Sorry dear, no can do. Maybe if my plans pan out I'll come back and tell you all about it, but for now, I've got a certain someone to catch."

If she could get in trouble for having one of these, she only could wonder how her friendly otter merchant would react to seeing that he had dropped something so extremely valuable, and so extremely dangerous. Just as she drew her cloak in and turned around, the door to the store swung open and her ears perked wide as a guard in rusted armor stepped inside.

Not all guards were the good folk that waved her by and looked the other way when little runts stole from food stands. There were some that took their jobs a bit too seriously and loved nothing more than to abuse the power they held. This was just that sort. He was a fat dog who walked in with a certain swagger in his step and his paw was placed on the pommel of his sword which he wore without its scabbard as if he were flashing his fat cock. She held her sneer and instead kept a neutral smile about her features, waiting for him to make the first move.

"Illi, y'in with a customer I see. Not to interrupt, but inspection day is right now and I'm here to check to make sure you don't have anything stolen or illegal around here." His eyes then trailed to the bolt on the wall and the one in the ceiling.

Illi answered before he could comment on it, "Target practice. Never know who might come in unannounced lookin' to steal from little ol' me."

The guard stared at her for a moment before nodding. He stepped past Lyssa and she hoped above all else he wouldn't make a comment as she started to walk, but she stopped as she heard his voice, "Hey...Since you're here while I'm inspecting, I guess it means I should be lookin' through your pockets just to see what you got."

Lyssa frowned internally but kept her face neutral as she turned to him. She opened her arms out to show what she wore beneath along with the pouches on her belt and daggers as well. Even though she was armed, she could see that his eyes trailed to the features of her body pressed against her clothing. She knew what he really wanted a feel of and perhaps normally she wouldn't care, but she had something in on her person that could land both herself and her friend in a lot of trouble. At first, she simply watched him reach to begin patting her down, but as his digits neared her hips she grabbed onto both of his wrists firmly before slamming her head into his muzzle.

He yowled and she felt it just before she heard the crunch of bone. The guard yanked his wrists back and she let him go and brought up a foot to kick him in the gut against the front counter. His back hit solid wood hard and he reached down to grab his sword while cursing before the sound of a bolt sinking into his back popped through the air. While the shock of being hit from behind conquered his mind, she took a dagger from her belt and sunk it into his throat. What was going to be a yell slowed to a gurgle and he fell over, life bleeding out onto the wood.

Lyssa sighed and cleaned the blade of her dagger off on his clothes before sheathing it, "Right...Sorry about that. He just entered my personal space and I slipped."

Illi stood behind the counter with the crossbow pointed up at the ceiling, "Right and my claw slipped too. Anyway, get out, stay for a minute or two to make sure that no one's comin' and head off. Nobody will miss this one probably."

The feline nodded her thanks and turned to continue on her way out. She didn't want to get caught with that crystal and leaving him alive while he had seen her face would have meant trouble for both of them. Still, even as she stepped back into the briny air of the alleyway near the docks she felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Taking a life was far too simple, and yet, it never sat well with her.

While she leaned against the door she drew her hood up and shut her eyes. Waiting here to make sure that Illi had the time to clean up gave her a chance to think about her next move. Hopefully, if her return customer wasn't a fan of being blackmailed then she wouldn't have to kill him too.