Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20170630021617/@comment-5999656-20170705201630

Both individuals at the counter turned to look at the newcomers. Lustra did so slowly, rotating her head and giving an exaggerated scowl, as if the very movement annoyed her. The young shopkeep, though, straightened up and paled at the very presence of the blonde in the center of his shop, and began stuttering uncontrollably even as he tried to acknowledge the woman.

"Ms. K-K-K-Kerria..." he began, quickly, no doubt trembling in his shoes at the lady as she walked up to him. Any further words he might have got out, however, were stopped by Lustra loudly plucking her fan out of the counter, twirling it back into its folded position, and rapping him sharply over the head with the metal rib.

"Ow!"

"Eyes on the prize, scrawny," Lustra crooned, mimicking Kerria's tone. "Give me a number, and I'll make sure no Baba Yaga wannabe lays a hand on you."

These words were nothing more than a necessary utterance in order to preserve her deception, however. From her brief glance at Kerria, the woman didn't strike her as a depth-plumbing mafia hitwoman. While it was too early to be sure, Lustra knew firsthand just how beneficial having connections in the right places was. Sooo... how would she go about testing the waters?

The spiky-haired male glanced from Lustra, to Kerria, and back again. He bit his lip, caught between a rock and a hard place. Ms. Kerria was practically a legend among gangbangers, but this mysterious contractor next to her wasn't budging either. He pulled out a pen, and still trembling, managed to scrawl out a messy number on a piece of paper which she slid to Lustra.

"Th-that's the number the Qing take weapon orders at."

Lustra cocked an eyebrow.

"That's all you can do for me?" she hissed impatiently.

"Y-yeah...," came the nervous response, as the shopkeep eyed Kerria again. It seemed he didn't want to drop any real information as long as the blonde was around.

Lustra gave a loud sigh as she straightened up. She wanted to talk to both of them - the store owner and the myterious knowledgeable woman - but separately. On top of that, she still had to act the way she looked right now - like a sketchy maybe-assassin. So then the plausible course of action would be:

"Listen. If I get rid of this lady here, would you maybe be willing to take me a step further?" Lustra said, tilting her head with a teasing smile. The shopkeep's eyes widened, but he said nothing. Lustra turned her face so that she was looking directly at Kerria, and gave a small wink that the man behind the counter couldn't see.

And then she swung. It was a wide blow with the blunt side of her fan, pulled back so that it was telegraphed obviously towards Kerria. The direction was so obvious, in fact, that the shopkeep whipped his head to the side to see what Kerria would do. It was the move Lustra was counting on, as the broad strike flew not towards the woman, but towards his temple a mere foot from Lustra, slamming him against the wares behind him and knocking him out cold in one deft motion.

Lustra leaned her elbow on the counter again, fan dangling casually from her fingers. As Kerria watched, Lustra released her semblance as her true form emerged again. A pleasant-looking young lady in white summer clothing, with cool amber eyes and a pensive resting expression, soft beauty marred only by a small scar over her right eyebrow, now gazed at her.

"Kerria, was it? If I may ask, what is it that you're here for? I'm looking for some leads on the Qing Triad myself, as you may have noticed," Lustra said languidly, toying with the scrap of paper between her fingers.