DOWNTIME 5 - ANJI

Anji sits in a nearby alley not far from the precinct, with the idea that she wouldn't have anywhere to sleep when she cancelled her apartment lease was never one that crossed her mind prior till now. She sees a couple beggars walking by, looking at Anji with confusion as they see her LACG badge.

Anji fiddles with her badge, self-conscious of her current predicament. She didn't dream that she may end up totally without a home by accepting Korvus' offer. Why did she flip her landlord the bird?

For once, she's crabby. No shower, no bed, no nothin'. Her mom clearly made a huge mistake trusting this guy. Her boss didn't trust him, the rest of her party didn't trust him. What even happened between them? What was she gonna do?

As Anji stews in her thoughts, a cloaked figure approaches her. "You look down on your luck."

Anji's internal monologue is rudely interrupted, but she couldn't be more thankful. "Oh! Well, yeah. But it's okay. I'm sure it'll work out!" And she gives him a huge smile.

The figure looks down at the halfling girl, teeth gleaming in the darkness. "Oh, life can be funny. Sometimes, it all DOESN'T work out. And then, well..." the figure pulls back its hood to reveal reptilian scales and powerful jaws. "...what are we to do then?" The Dragonborn seems to be genuinely asking Anji, not speaking rhetorically.

Anji jumps and feels really, really bad. Like really bad. Not only had she assumed the Dragonborn in the orphanage was some evil demon, but this one definitely scared her. She wasn't used to seeing them. She sighs and pledges to work on this personal character flaw; clearly Dragonborns are very nice and friendly.

"I don't know, I guess..." she says, "I really want to ask my mom, but sending a letter would take too long and I can't take time off. The only person who knows my mom here kind of got me into this situation. But I don't think it was on purpose..."

"Well, the answer you seek is simple... we'll go get something to eat!"

Anji gets the feeling that this Dragonborn isn't just a random passerby and that they know more than they let on... but she also doesn't get the sense of any kind of malice, danger or ill-will in their invitation. Anji trusts this dude. "Okay.... Yeah, I'd love to get something to eat!"

The Dragonborn smiles, all fangs, and gestures to walk alongside them. "Most people don't know it, not even long time residents of the Squalor District, but there is some of the best food in the city here if you know where to look." The reptilian eyes shift to the side to look at Anji as they walk down the street. "So... what's your story? Cute halfling girl like yourself, sitting in the middle of the street. Seems you've got a job, clearly you've got family... what gives?"

Anji's heart skips a beat, but... it's okay, it's okay.

"Well..." she pauses, considering what she should tell him. Fuck it. "My mom suggested I talk to one of her old adventuring buddies, but... well, my boss doesn't like him very much. He gave me a place to stay, but my boss got really mad so I left... I'm just not sure what to do at this point.

"Huh." The Dragonborn comments, absently. "So you're worried about what you'll find out about your mom's old adventuring buddy? Or... you're worried about what you'll find out about your mom?" The Dragonborn tilts its head, "Or you're worried about something else entirely?"

"I don't.... am I worried about anything?" Had Anji even thought about being worried? "I guess... oh, I don't know. What was my mom doing hanging out with someone everybody hates, anyway?"

The Dragonborn shrugs. "We women are an odd lot. I say if you really want to know, there's only two person who has answers to your questions. And since your mother failed to let you know about any of this before sending you here, it seems like there is only person you know will give you that answer."

Anji squishes her face in her hands. "Yeah... maybe I should just go talk to him and not tell my boss. You're really nice, you know that?"

The Dragonborn woman smiles, a mouth full of daggers. "Hey, us dragons have to stick together, amiright?"

Anji forces up a weak smile. "Heh... Yeah! I guess... I'm not a dragon, though!" Anji goes to stand, trying to stumble over her awkward words. "Thank you so much for talking with me. I... I think I should go now."

The Dragonborn nods at her, then turns and walks the other way.

Anji had never met a female Dragonborn before. Especially not one with such a pretty orange dress.

Anji's a little stunned but ready to KICK ASS. Off she goes to talk to Korvus, heading back down to the Salsa Psuedodragon with renewed purpose. As soon as she enters the door, the guard shoots straight up. "M... Ms. Honeycomb! We weren't expecting you! I hope everything was to your liking at the house?"

Anji will not be swayed. "I would like to speak with Korvus! P-please..."

"Absolutely Ms. Honeycomb! Right this way!" The guard practically trips over himself to lead her up the stairs.

Anji is now realizing she doesn't know what she's gonna say. It hasn't been very long, and she certainly doesn't want to make her mom's friend mad. She just wants to know what he did to make her boss so mad.

Maybe it's not even that serious.

The door opens to the upstairs and Korvus is sitting at his desk. He beams. "Anji! Here I was thinking you were being a stranger. Did you like the house? Everything meet your needs?"

Anji lets out a heavy sigh and she almost seems to deflate. "I... It was gorgeous, everything was beautiful. Uh..." She looks at him nervously, "There's just... did you, maybe, play a prank on my boss or... something like that?"

Korvus looks oddly serious for a second. "Your boss... Chief Draco? Did he... say anything about me?"

"Well, not the chief. Garius said... Well, he didn't say much, honestly." She didn't want to think about what he said. "But he seemed pretty upset that I knew you."

"Ah! Not Draco, Garius... we've only known of each other through reputation, I've never met the man myself. I am not sure what he could possibly say about me." Korvus seems to wave off the concern. "Did your mother ever regale you with stories about our adventure together? Fighting in the depths, encountering ancient ruins, death-defying escapes?!" Korvus stops at that last part. "Well, of sorts, I suppose..."

Anji breathes a sigh of relief. Just a silly game of messenger pigeon! Something probably got mistranslated along the way. She'd have to remember to mention something when the time was appropriate. She rushes to the seat that's definitely across from Korvus. "No! She never mentioned you before, but she's been on so many adventures... tell me about them!"

"Ha! You remind me of your mother - so full of life! Well, let's see... I met your mother after she had been adventuring for a while. She and I were recruited by a cleric and a paladin to dive deep into the underground... right underneath the city! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself, but the two religious folks had maps that led them right into a system of caves that went down for miles." Korvus smiles, thinking back in retrospect. "Your mom and I battled monsters and evil bastard creatures in the darkness, my dagger finishing what her fireballs started! It took us close to a month of battling within a razor's edge of death, swimming in the blood of our foes, before we finally made it out! HAAHA! Great times."

She definitely hadn't heard about this one-- her mom never talked much about the city at all. Had she ever talked about it? It seemed all her adventures had been in the forests and mountains.

"Wow!" she's awestruck and has totally forgotten the original reason she came here. "That's so cool... she wasn't grossed out by the blood? And you weren't either?!"

Korvus lifts his head back. "Ha! No... heck, down there, the blood felt good on the cold skin! All part of the job. Anyway... we made our way down and found a magical, wonderful city, full of amazing books and knowledge! We made our way through and found a powerful artifact, but the cave collapsed before we could secure it. Your mom and I ran for our life, barely escaping death..." his face looks away, turning somber at this. "...in a manner of speaking." He then turns to you and smiles. "We all can't escape death forever, can we?"

"Wow....." Anji's eyes are little stars. What is this, a cartoon? She's brought back down to earth by his last statement. "Well, I guess not... I don't like thinking about that too much. My mom said those thoughts come with age, though..."

"That they do. In fact, your mom and I were both pretty spooked after we got out. As fun as it sounds, it was pretty terrifying. We both realized we weren't indestructible. And we both agreed to leave our adventuring days behind us, maybe sit down and have a family. Heck..." genuine emotion seeps into Korvus' face, "...there was a moment when I thought she may have even wanted to have that family with me."

Well THAT was weird. Sure, Anji's dad wasn't a big burly hunk o man, and he didn't do anything cool, but her mom really loved him. Did she love Korvus like she loved her dad?

Man, that's another thing she doesn't want to think about. Better bottle up these emotions and uncomfortable thoughts.

"How did you two separate, anyway? It seems like you really cared about each other..."

"Well, this is all ancient history. We had our differences, ultimately wanted different things in life. Your mom just didn't feel safe in the city any longer, so she said she had to go. That's what it ultimately boiled down to." He looks up at you with a wistful smile. "Having you here is like having her back all over again."

She didn't feel safe? Well that explained why she wasn't around anymore, but she'd still never said anything about city adventures. Korvus clearly felt safe in the city, but he's so much bigger than her mom, and probably stronger.

Now that she's getting comfortable that nagging uneasiness in the back of her mind is starting to come back. Garius really didn't like him, but Korvus said they didn't know each other. Maybe Garius was confused. She pushes it down again and pretends it isn't there.

"I'm happy to be here!" and she laughs, "I love hearing my mom's stories, it's great to listen to you!"

As the two talk, Anji doesn't at first notice an elven girl, a little older than her, is standing in the office. Anji isn't even sure when she got there. She has a very pretty orange dress, almost the same color as the one you saw earlier.

Maybe it's a new fashion trend?

"Korvus... I hate to interrupt, but we have a meeting here this evening."

Whoa! Anji thinks maybe she should get a pretty orange dress. Everybody looks so nice in them.

"I hate to be a bother!" Anji says, immediately standing and totally knocking the chair over, "Thank you so much for explaining everything, Korvus, I appreciate it a lot! I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course, Anji." Korvus coos. "Remember... be safe!"

Anji laughs, "Of course!"

END DOWNTIME 5 - ANJI

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