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Ri was covered in paint after a long day of painting masks for a new job. The job in question they knew nothing about other than that it needed four masks. And that was okay, cause they didn't need to know exactly what it was for, just that it was for the Robber Claws.
It was on days where they ended up covered in paint that Ri was thankful for their short hair, one less thing they needed to worry about getting covered in paint. Their senses sharpened as they heard a knock on the door. They knew it was probably nothing, but one could never be too careful in Ketterdam. They went up to the door, ready to attack if they had to. The door opened to reveal a girl with heaps of strawberry blond hair.
“Iseut,” Ri said in a half revealed, half-irritated voice. “What do you need?”
“Just the masks I asked for, if they are ready”
“They're ready, over there.” hesitatingly they added “What do you need them for anyway” They didn't need to know what everything they made was for, but sometimes curiosity got the best of them.
“Just need some disguises for job”
“If this job involves stealing, and or smuggling something, why not just ask me, you know I'm the best”
“Yes, you are very good at those things, but as you might have noticed there are more members in this gang. Also, I can't afford to only give jobs to you. And I think there are other people with skill sets that are better suited for this job”
“Fine, other people exist too. Remember you have to pay for those masks”
“Right, did we agree on 800 kruge”
“Yes we did”, Ri hoped Iseut didn't know them well enough yet to sense when they were lying. Sadly that was not the case.
“You said that way too confidently for that to be what we agreed on. It's 400 isn't it”
“When did you start paying attention to how I speak?”
“When I first heard you being honest”
“I’m not that awkward!” they protested, but they had to admit, when they were being honest they were not as confident as when they were not.
“Right. Anyways, here is 400 kruge”, Iseut said as she went to the table where the masks lay and collected them. As she went out the door Ri called “fair winds”
“And bright stars”, Iseut replied. It was the way to say good luck in the Robber Claws.
The next day Ri made their way to The Queens Head for a gang meeting. As they entered they spotted Brooke and Lyra sitting by a table near the bar. They smiled at them as Ri came over.
“Anything exciting happening tonight, or did the action wait for me?” they asked. The others chuckled in response.
“Well nothing particularly exciting has happened yet, but some new people showed up”, said Brooke. “They're sitting over there,” she said with a nod to a table further back.
“What do we know about them, why are they here?” Ri asked.
“Well the one with the braids won't talk, but the other one said her name was Verre. I think they are looking for a safe place”, Lyra said. She usually did not trust strangers right away, especially ones that didn't talk.
“If they're looking for a safe place, is this the best place?” Ri said.
“Better than others”, Lyra said. Even though she didn't say it, both Ri and Brooke knew she was talking about the Stadwatch. She had been a good guard, but when they kicked her out she turned on them completely. That was of course great for the gang, but not so good for the Stadwatch. That would at least show them how valuable Lyra could be.
“Where's Erin?” Brooke asked. Brooke had not been in the gang long enough to get that Erin didn’t go to a lot of meetings, but rather got the information later through her closer friends.
“She doesn't like meetings”, Ri said.
They couldn't really elaborate any further as Iseut was signaling for them to come to the back room.
“I wanted to discuss possible future jobs, or new ways to profit the gang, but some new people showed up”, Iseut said and glanced down at Verre and the mystery girl. The other girl had yet to say a single word, she just stared into the table, as if it could answer all the questions she inevitably had.
Ri had been so focused on the two of them, that they had not even registered that Darcy and Mavery had arrived. Even though Ri wasn’t a person who cared much for other people they would have to make an exception for Mavery. She was the youngest one in the gang at only 16 years old, and everyone seemed to have a soft spot for her, even if they weren't the most loyal to the gang. It made Ri happy to see she made it safely to another meeting, and Darcy was always a kind face to see. The two of them also remained silent while waiting for the others to speak.
“We want to join the gang”, Verre finally said, with little emotion other than determination.
“Why?” was the immediate answer coming from Lyra. Iseut was the unofficial leader, but Lyra was very protective over who she thought should join. She needed to know their motivations before she could let them get any closer to the gang's inner workings.
“We need a place to be safe”, Verre said, again more determined than anything else.
“Why come here for that, this is a gang, a gang full of criminals. There are plenty of other places that are safer than this. Why not go to the Stadwatch?” Iseut replied. As the words stadwatch left her mouth Lysas fist clenched, but she remained silent.
Verre glanced at the other girl as if she needed permission to speak any other words than what she had already said.
“The Stadwatch isn't safe for me”, the other girl said, she seemed annoyed.
“And why is that?” Iseut asked, she was getting close to knowing what she wanted to know.
“If go to the Stadwatch and ask for help they’ll either send me back to Fjerda, or use the fact that they can send me back to Fjerda as blackmail”, she said, and even though her voice did not solid like it, tears where starting to well up in her eyes.
“You're from Fjerda?” Iseut asked, more interested now. The girl nodded. “Why can't you go back?”
“Living as a woman in Fjerda is not even a life.” she said as if it was the most basic piece of information, then she added “On top of that I'm a tidemaker, who was stupid enough to get caught with the other people I was training with. That's why I can't go back”
“A tidemaker?” Iseut asked, this was what she had been looking for. “What about you?” she asked nodding towards Verre.
“I'm just living in Ketterdam alone, better to be with a gang than be on my own in the city”, she said, then she added: “I'm also a pretty good dealer”
They could be useful, Ri knew that as well as everyone who had heard this conversation. Tidemakers were always useful for something, it could be anything, even entertainment for the club. And a gang could never have enough dealers.
Iseut was about to say something when Erin burst through the door to the back room. it was not unusual for members to arrive late to meetings, however, Erin was usually quiet, and more importantly Erin never went to meetings.
“What's wrong?” Ri asked
“I have some very interesting information about someone with a lot of money!” she shouted.
“Well let's get to planning then”, Iseut said, ready for a new job. “But first-” she pointed to the girl “- what's your name?”
Ri had almost forgotten that they didn't know this girl's name yet. but they did not have to wonder much longer.
“Linnea”
“Okay. lest welcome Linnea and Verre as new members of the Robber Claws”