Private The Blood Veins of Ethos City

[Arekk]

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY​

The neon-lit skyscrapers swallowed the streets of Ethos City with their magnificent high-rise designs and along the acid rain pouring over everyone's heads it merely added the icing on the 'cake'. Every street was packed of by-goers going about their insignificant lives while numerous vendors tried to sell you their expensive wares in an attempt to make a quick credit.

If you looked around you'd notice that Lithios wasn't your typical ecumenopolis; aliens were confined to the their very own closed off area of the city where nobody could leave or enter without proper authorization. Call it however you want it but they were not welcome in the /actual/ city with the humans, they were not liked. That wasn't everything however, crime ran rampant in every little corner you walked.

Drugs? Obviously. Guns? Of course. Human trafficking? Always.

Everybody owned a piece of territory, no matter how big or small, and ran their personal thing. Organized crime groups existed by the infinite number but just a handful of them were rich and powerful enough to own the biggest spot that really made the credits and that was the Red Light & Entertainment District.

Corruption was just a piece of the puzzle, cops would not help you if you got into trouble in areas like this one unless you had your pockets full of cash and had relevant connections to the upper echelons in the Financial Distrct. It was a vile city full of vile people.

Arekk had enough of that, one last drink before parting ways with the city that had welcomed him for about six years. The Triple Overdose Club was booming that night, a special seat reserved just for him by the bar while the rest of the patronage danced to the loudest music your ears could ever listen to.

The night was young...

Siala Vash ​

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[Siala Vash]

Siala wasn't at the club to have fun.

No, she was here to hide. Fact was, it was harder for people to find her if she got lost in the crowd. And that's exactly what she planned to do tonight. Her ex-fiance's men had pinned her down to Lithios; she couldn't afford to stay here for much longer. However, she couldn't actually afford to leave. It definitely put her in something of a tough spot. But she wasn't new to this game, and she played to win. They key for now — lie low, get someone to buy her a drink, and pick a few pockets. With any luck, she'd end up with enough for a room—and if she was extra lucky—enough to skip off world.

Shadowy figures danced in the neon-lights, moving to the beat. And to say the music was loud would be an understatement. Dressed in skinny black pants, a long tank, and a leather jacket, she fit right in. Siala had smudged her dark eyeliner, just so, making her gaze even more alluring. That was important. People here weren't put-together like they were on hoity-toity core worlds. Here, they had some grit; they were rough around the edges.

Sidling up to the bar, she angled her way towards the counter. Of course, she could have tried to catch the tender's eye. Instead, she glanced over her shoulder once or twice, just checking. All clear, so her gaze shifted down the bar where a lone man sat drinking. Target acquired. Siala flashed him a smile, as if to say: 'buy me a drink."

Arekk​

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY​

For a moment, the music had drew and whisked him to another place, another time. The name being called fell to deaf ears and simply did not register. When it was spoke again, the voice was closer and tickled the stray wisps of hair near the nape of his neck, snapping him back to the bar.

"Your drink, sir."

A glass of iced Chi'ffa slid across the table, making its way towards the man as he toked from his cancer stick. Blue pools laid on on the droid bartender for a split second before pulling away, readying himself to drown his sorrows for the last time with his beverage.

The slicer's K-16 Bryar Pistol stirred nervously underneath his leather jacket, at any moment's notice you could become someone's target in Ethos City regardless of who you were. He carried a high reputation in the Lithiori underworld, having worked for many high profile organized crime figures that required his services.

Most of them were happy. Most.

You'd be surprised how prepared people were as soon as danger became looming. A single 'hello' or an offer for a drink was an open invitation to getting murdered. Trust your gut and survive kind of thing, whatever you want to call it.

Tonight, though?

It was different.

Siala Vash ​

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[Siala Vash]

With a freshly bought (not by her) drink in hand, Siala let her gaze wander. There, beneath the lights of the bar, she surveyed the denizens of the city getting' down with their bad selves. Nothing new, really. Of course, there was always at least one couple on the dance floor taking it a bit too far, a sight that made Siala's eyes roll in another direction entirely.

Her dark gaze settled on someone...

Arching a brow, she thought he looked familiar. Though, not because they'd ever met before— they hadn't. But she'd seen his features portrayed in a few grainy holo-images here and there around Lithios. He did good work, too... so said the rumors. Her own presence here was a whisper, a quiet murmur that passed from lip to lip. Siala moved like a shadow, and she liked it that way.

“Hey,” she said, moving up to Arekk . Her posture was casual and her smile inviting, her way of saying 'I'm not a threat.' “Do I know you from somewhere?” Siala asked, just to make idle conversation. Part of her nightly ruse was enchanting men that could offer her protection, and she had sacrificed many to the cause. Her routine began with a fluttering of lashes, just like it always did.

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[Arekk]

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY​

Arekk enjoyed mixing both of his vices together; liquor and cancer sticks. His jacket oozed of cheap cologne to masquerade the scent of cigarra, hair carefully taken care of minus the five o'clock shadow on his face.

"Not sure." The slicer replied as he sipped from his glass. "Though I'd remember someone like you."

Predictable, he thought.

The district was known for its plethora of night working ladies making their rounds about the clubs and outside of them, trying to get that cold credit chip that would allow them to keep enjoying a life of 'luxuries' in exchange for some favors, if that's what you wanna call it.

Siala didn't look like that. And that's why Arekk sat upright, looking directly into her soul, covertly scanning the sorroundings to see if she was accompanied.

"What has you wondering?"

The exchange was calm and collected just like his demeanor, not threatening but cautious at the same time. Like an Acklay stalking its prey before the big kill.

"Two more drinks." He signalled to the bartender. "Whatever she likes."

Siala Vash ​

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