Kraken Tower

One of Centaurium's crowing skyscrapers, Kraken Tower does not only house the cities' richest, but also serves as nerve center for the Endemic, the largest dissident organisation on the planet.
Visitors, make sure you get off on the right floor

(Art by Min Nguen.)

Somewhere on an unspecified floor, in a needlessly large room, sits a troll behind a lonely white desk with a lonely white husktop.
His eyes dart over the screen, tabs opening and closing as information comes in. Finances, reports, deliveries, recruits, casualties, threats, allies, problems, solutions. It's kind of insanely stressful to keep track of as one guy.
He sighs, closes the husktop and stands up, taking a deep breath.

it's fine, it's fine
i need a break, and these assholes can take care of themSELVES for a just a few GODforsaken minutes
if ANYthing blows up or whatever the fuck I'll hear about it

*He sighs and starts going trough his drawers*

thought I had a bo#le of...SOMEthing in here where did I put it

L__king f_r this, sweetie?

*Ezdral tosses a flask of black liquid idly in her left hand before uncorking the stop and taking a swig. Her eyes bulge and she hacks, spitting the black sludge out, coughing*

Wh_t IS th_t g_rb_ge???

hehehe, CLEARly something you go#a have TASTE to appreciate, princess!
give me that

*He steps towards her holding out his hand, but suddenly turns pale*

you
didn't get that from the LOCKed drawer, did you?

*Ezdral snickers and walks over to him, drawing a finger from the base of his neck to his chin*

W_uld it b_ther y_u if I h_d?

*She vanishes, then her voice sounds from the desk behind him*

S_, d_u y_u h_ve s_mething f_r me t_ d_ _r d_ I h_ve t_ find my _wn entert_inment?

*Vitrid turns around, looking a bit shaken by her shenanigans*

yeah, I've got something alright
I was THINKing, grand vizier Vantas, or whatever the fuck his title is, would make an EXcellent target
he seems to be some kind of...mediator between miss cu#hroat and miss cu#lefish and killing him could, eh, shake things up a bit
BUT
theres a good chance offing him makes 'em pissed enough to work together just fine

*He walks over to the desk and crouches at the locked drawer*

so we're going to play it safe and inSTEAD go for some revenge, and weaken their forces while we're at it
...keys, keys, keys

*He goes trough his pockets, then looks at Ezdral, somewhere between panicked and annoyed*

keys?

*Ezdral sighs, bored, jangling the keys on the end of her finger*

But th_t s_unds b_ring _nd e_sy! I w_nt _ re_l fight!

didn't say the actual FIGHT would be easy

*He stands up and holds out his hand (again), knowing any attempt to grab the keys would be futile*

but you're gonna have to give me those, or you won't be going on Any assignments for a LONG time, deary

*Ezdral frowns and tosses him the keys*

Fine. But this better be g__d.

*Vitrid snatches the keys out of the air and rapidly turns to start fiddling with the lock*

royal influence in centaurium is pretty much a joke at this point, but if we wanna get anything done on the MAINland, we go#a deal with those hunters first
you remember their leader, girl with a ca#ail?

*He recovers a small vial with a translucent liquid out of the opened drawer and immidiately tosses it blindly over his shoulder*

catch

*Ezdret vanishes, appearing in front of the bottle and snatching it out of the air before inspecting it suspiciously*

Wh_t's this stuff f_r? Y_u trying t_ seduce me?

*Ezdret pops the stopper and takes a careful sip of the clear liquid, before grinning and taking a huge swig*

N_w TH_T is s_me g__d stuff. I'll meet y_u d_wnst_irs. Th_t cute recepti_nist still w_rking here?

*Vitrid stares at her for a couple seconds, seemingly baffled, before snapping out of it*

uh, yeah, yeah, she's still here
try not to mess with her TOO much, last time you two cha#ed she fell down a flight of stairs five minutes after
hell, nobody even USes the stairs in this place

*Ezdret snickers and winks*

_h y_u kn_w me! I'd never hurt _ fly!

*Ezdret vanishes, appearing on the first floor*

Well hey there, be_utiful. F_ncy seeing y_u here.

tHat is easily tHe cHeesiest tHing i Have ever Heard ezdret

*Ezdret leans forward and gives her a sultry look*

D_n't be like th_t I w_s just te_sing. N_w cmere _nd give me _ kiss.

*The young troll girl looks tentatively at Ezdret before leaning in for a kiss. Damn it. This woman was way too cute for her own good. If she put that to her advantage, heavens know what she could do*

*Vitrid shakes his head. Gods, this woman is gonna be the death of him.
He opens his husktop again and presses a button*

hello?
yeah I'm gonna need another vial of antidote
no, no cleanup crew, there's not even a body
say, what's in that stuff anyway, it's apparently quite appetizing
alright, send it to me when you find out

*He captchalogues the husktop, straightens his clothing real quick and heads out the door.
A cheerful 'ding' lets him know his elevator is waiting already*

...


...


...


*ding*

*He steps out of the elevator and heads in the direction of the reception, hoping dearly Ezdret learned some self-control in the past 30 seconds*

*The elevator dings behind them. The receptionist starts as the door slides open and Vitrid steps out, pushing Ezdret away and buttoning up her shirt while brushing her hair back to it's kept state. She blushes furiously and flashes a sullen look at Ezdret, who's face is covered in lipstick marks. Ezdret grins and shrugs before walking over to Vitrid. Her hair is more messy than it was upstairs, and her shirt is untucked from her skirt*

Sup.

*Vitrid sighs deeply, then gives a mostly-fake grin and makes sure to talk loud enough for the receptionist to hear*

got her heart flu#ering pretty fast, huh?
guess all that practice is starting to PAY off

*The receptionist gives Ezdret a stunned look. Ezdret smiles, but it stops at her mouth. Her eyes are as cold as ice. She vanishes, appearing behind Vitrid, her hand a fingergun pointing at the back of his head. She makes a sarcastic shooting sound*

Just keep th_t in mind next time y_u try s_mething like th_t _g_in. I d_n't need pe_ple ruining my reput_ti_n n_w d_ I?

*Vitrid chuckles*

heh, nah I know you got that covered

*He nods at the receptionist, addressing her directly this time*

I'm just messing, sweetheart!
I can hardly get her to shut up about how a#ractive you are

*He leans back a bit and whispers at Ezdret*

but seriously, tell me you at least know her name

*Ezdret frowns, looking offended*

I'll h_ve y_u kn_w th_t I kn_w the n_mes _f _ll my p_rtners th_nk y_u very much.

N_w, sh_ll we dep_rt?

*Ezdret holds the door open, smiling*

*Vitrid lifts an eyebrow, but he can't help but be a little charmed by the gesture -largely because she doesn't even need the door herself- and returns her smile in kind as he exits*

my, my, how very a#entive of you

*Ezdret smiles and winks at the receptionist behind him, who blushes furiously, before letting the door swing close*

Whelp! I'm _ff t_ g_ kill _ c_t girl. C_nt_ct me when y_u're in p_siti_n.

*With that, Ezdret vanishes, appearing in the distance before dissipating again, warping all the way to the capitol.*

*Vitrid nods (not that Ezdret's still there to see it) and pulls out and equips an earpiece*

I need transport to the CApital, whatcha got for me?
perfect, be there in ten

*He checks the street for any unpleasant-looking types -a habit that has served him well before- and heads off when he's certain none are present*