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[Today isn't a good day. Sure, the weather's nice and money's not tight right now, but nothing is going as planned. They were supposed to have at least one new clan member by now and instead Naki's not patient enough for this. They started at noon, they should have someone by now! It's only three but you know what, three hours is far too long for Naki to wait. Greed, his only other clan member, is the one who's been doing most of the work, but Naki's very picky about who else they're getting to join them, and considering how combative the Warrior is, it's no wonder they haven't found anyone.

Naki eventually slams his hands down on the table in front of him and surges to his feet. Several of the pub's patrons glance over at him curiously.]

That's fucking it! I can't take this shit anymore! I'm not cut out for this shit! I wanna fight, that's what I'm good at! If none of these fuckers are working out, let's just go take on some missions or something!!

[Several of the potential future clan members look irritated with Naki's outburst and turn to leave. It's a wonder there were this many that turned out for a clan with only two members in the first place, but then the pickings have been a bit slim in Cyril lately.

Naki storms over to the bar and immediately begins searching through the posted requests. His reading skills are subpar at best, but he's always had a knack for picking out the ones that pay the most.]

Here! Let's do this one, Greed! This'll be more fun than sitting around and listening to these bastards talk about their lives!

[The bill he's waving in Greed's face is for hunting Tonberries, but it pays well, assuming you want to put your life on the line.]

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[Even with all of his charm, Greed isn't having much success recruiting newcomers. Of course, part of that might have to do with Naki being Naki, but Greed isn't about to shout at his fellow clan members, especially now when it's only the two of them. If they get into a fight, it's no clan at all and that would just suck.

Maybe that's why he only looks faintly annoyed at Naki instead of turning to leave himself, joining the other man at the bar to flip through the postings. He's thinking about pointing out one that sounds fairly easy for the two of them-- scare off a few thugs who have been bothering a neighborhood. No big deal, but he's interrupted by Naki showing off the one he's grabbed.]

...Tonberries?

[They could use the money, and Greed trusts Naki to a certain extent, but...]

...The fuck's a Tonberry?

[Well, that's Naki for you. He scowls at the bill before handing it off to Greed and looking through the others.]

If you don't like that one we can do something else that'll pay well. I don't care. I just wanna kill something!

[Naki.]

Nothing, really. Just a monster that's capable of killing a person in a single strike.

[Seriously, how do you not know what a Tonberry is??]

It's possible we'd be better of facing something that isn't so... deadly.

Oh. Are they really that powerful?

[Naki tips his head at that, looking curious.]

I wanna fight one!

[...But maybe not right now. He goes back through the bills and comes up with a few others that are still pretty high paying.]

Look through these then. Maybe there's something here?

[Knowing Naki, he'd end up taunting one because Tonberries are tiny and cute, and Greed would have to use a Phoenix Down or something before dragging Naki out of there.]

We could always try this one.

[He points out the one that attracted his attention initially. Three against two sounds difficult, but Greed's been beating up thugs for years. He's not worried.

Taking them on would be much less fatal than a Tonberry!]

[Naki snatches it up and squints, trying to read it. Unfortunately his inability to sit still for too long outweighs his desire to read, so he hands it back to Greed.]

Summarize it for me, I'm not reading all that shit!

[...It's like two lines, Naki.]

[Fortunately, Greed has a lot of patience.]

There's a gang causing trouble here in town. We pick them off and we get paid. The person offering the reward isn't picky about them being alive or dead. Easy for us, right?

Oh yeah, that'll definitely be easier for us! It's way harder when they want 'em kept alive!

[Naki grins widely. This sounds fun!]

You said it's in town? Great! Let's go get 'em!

[...and this is why one of them shouldn't be a violent asshole.

Unfortunately, Greed sees no reason to keep the thugs alive when the pay is the same either way.]

Hell, yes.

Come on.

[So off they go!

This is going to be stupid.]

[That's no surprise considering that it's them...

Cyril's a pretty lively town most of the time, but it seems like everyone's vanished recently. That's probably because of the Clan Tournaments being held in Bervenia right now, but Naki hasn't really noticed too much of a difference. As long as there are bills in the pub and things to do (that will get them paid, of course), Naki's content.]

So you think they're around here somewhere or are we looking for the outskirts of the town?

[Greed's vaguely aware of the Tournaments being held. He probably should care about them, because he's pretty interested in getting as much money as possible, but it's not like their clan can hope to compete right now. They need more people in the clan first.]

I'd hope they're around here somewhere. The note didn't exactly say.

[...maybe they should head into the rougher area. That's probably a better bet than aimlessly wandering around. Greed leads them in that direction.

If Greed was going to go around robbing people, he'd do it in a richer area, but the thugs around here aren't that smart.]

[They're about on par with Naki, aren't they...?

The slums are familiar territory to Naki and while he's definitely not bright or good at much, Naki is good at fighting and he's always been pretty good at sensing hostility. It doesn't take him long to reach out and touch Greed's arm. He doesn't speak, he just tips his head toward the south. Someone - or something - is there.]

[Greed stops, glancing at Naki for a brief moment. He smirks, because naturally the man can't help but be arrogant about a situation like this.

It'll be trouble for them eventually, but Greed doesn't care right now. He nods at Naki before turning to look towards the south. There wasn't much of a description of the people they were after, except for a comment about them all wearing red bandanas.

So, what's it look like? Is it one of them?]

[It's a couple of them, actually. They don't look all that pleased with someone intruding on their territory. One of them slips away while the other approaches. The one fleeing is probably running off to get the other guy.]

Hey, you! Are you the guys we're supposed to take out?

What makes you think you guys can take us out on your own?

[The other two return and join the leader. All three of them look pretty confident, but Naki's grinning as well.]

Hopefully you guys'll make this interesting!

[And there he goes, unstrapping the massive sword from his back and charging in with no thought to how he's possibly going to take on three guys on his own.]

[...Naki, please.

Greed, for his part, looks entertained as hell. Three against one makes things interesting, and Greed has never been a fan of playing specifically by the rules, either.

He can hit pretty hard, but that's only when he cheats. He is a thief, after all. The class implies he's fast, not that he can break people's faces in by punching the,.

Still, Greed doesn't make a habit of breaking rules, and Naki doing everything by himself would be annoying. The guy could get himself killed, and then where would Greed be? He likes his clanmate. So Greed charges into the fray, pulling out his dagger.]

[The three thugs are a Soldier, Thief, and an Archer, so two of them are definitely going to be fighting up close. The third's already got his bow and arrows out and is moving back so he's got some range. Naki's focused on the Soldier, swinging his broadsword down to try to knock the guy's shield out of the way. Naki's always wondered why people bother with shields. They're heavy and if you've got a big enough weapon, it can block attacks just like a shield! Why bother dragging that into battle when you could have an awesomely giant sword?? Come on guys.

Anyway, he manages to separate the guy from his shield, kicking it away. The Soldier tries to make a break for it but Naki bodyslams into him. Naki's not a large guy, but it's enough to knock the Soldier off balance and they both go tumbling into the dirt.

How are you holding up, Greed?]

[Naturally, the first thing that Greed does is go after the Archer. If he keeps close to the guy, there's no way in hell the thug can do any damage.

He's not very good at this whole all-out-brawl thing with people who aren't using close range weapons or fists, but Greed can't complain. Greed swipes at the guy. He's pretty damn quick on his feet, and at such close range the Archer is absolutely useless at anything but trying to deflect Greed with his arms.

This is going so stupidly.]

[Good call, Greed! The Archer can't do much at such close range, which means he can't try to blind them or immobilize them! Naki isn't paying attention to that though, so have fun over there.

He manages to punch the Soldier in the face to knock him to the ground and Naki's sword comes down immediately afterwards. It's a rather nasty blow and without a White Mage, that guy might not recover easily. Naki's got other priorities in the form of the Thief, so he swings his massive sword at that guy's head. The Thief is much faster than Naki and manages to dodge, jabbing his knife between Naki's ribs. The Warrior growls and swings his elbow at the Thief's head, but once again the Thief dodges.]

Fucker--!

[This is the problem with being slower, you just can't hit the speedy ones.]

[Well, this is going to be a pain in the asses, isn't it?

Greed turns, just long enough to see Naki get stabbed and he swears, because what the hell are they going to do? Naki had been not get even more injured. Fortunately, the Archer eventually goes down hard, and Greed stabs the man hard enough he won't be getting back up any time soon.

Or ever.

He twists around to attack the Thief. This should be easy, right? Greed's as fast as the other Thief, and he has a tendency to cheat at that.]

[Naki brings up his sword to use it as a shield against another attack, which allows him to maneuver enough to get the Thief between himself and Greed. The Thief doesn't even notice Greed's approach and that attack's going to hit hard. The second he cries out in pain Naki bring his fist up into the Thief's jaw. He can't use his sword when he's this close to Greed, but Naki's been raised to fight and his next blow is a punch to the throat. The Thief goes down thanks to both Greed and Naki's attacks and Naki grins.]

Heh, that wasn't so bad.

[He's bleeding from the wound to his ribs, but he still looks exhilarated and alive.]

[That poor Thief...

As it is, Greed doesn't care at all. He steps over the Thief to look Naki over.]

You're going to need to get that looked at.

[Hopefully before Naki passes out somewhere. They really need a White Mage in the clan, don't they?]

Edited 2015-03-08 05:20 (UTC)

I think I've got a Bandage somewhere-- hah!

[Naki pulls a Bandage out of his pocket. It's a large one, like they normally are, and he yanks up his shirt and attempts to apply it. Sadly, logic has no place here and Bandages are only used for removing immobilization and disable status effects so the bandage falls right off without doing anything at all.]

Ah-- fuck. I forgot they do that. I don't have any Potions on me so... Yeah, I guess I need to get it looked at... I hope the fucking White Mages don't charge too much.

[And of course Greed doesn't have any potions either! This is perfect! They're both idiots.

He puts a hand to Naki's shoulder firmly, smirking. It's not that he's worried, because Greed and Naki are a hell of a team. It'll take more than this for them to get into trouble.]

Come on, let's go to a White Mage before something else happens.

[He'll wait for Naki to move before he does anything.

Just in case.]

[Naki shrugs slightly and yanks his shirt back down over the injury. All things considered, it's not that bad. He's had worse. A White Mage can heal it without it scarring, which is good! He'd be pissed if he got a scar from something like this. When he turns to head back to town, Naki finally notices that the white jacket he's wearing has a rip in it from the knife.]

Ahh--! That fucker--!!

[He whips back around to glower at the Thief's body, but it's not like the Thief can really answer for his actions now. Instead, Naki storms over and reaches into the Thief's pockets to take his gil. After a moment of thought, Naki proceeds to loot both the Soldier and the Archer. Might as well get some extra payment to cover the cost of the White Mage!

Once he's done with that he heads back into town, looking pleased. He's pretty sure they'll make a profit from this, even with the cost of the White Mage.]

[It's a good thing the injury isn't severe enough to be worried.

At least, it's not severe enough for Greed to be worried. Someone who wasn't so... him might be concerned about his partner being stabbed in the ribs. Thankfully, with the money pick-pocketed, they shouldn't have a problem seeing a White Mage.

If they do... well, Greed has always been a smooth talker. He'll think of something!]

That could have gone better. We really do need another person on our team or something. Hard to keep an eye on people when it's two against three.

Yeah. Ideally we'd get someone good at magic, so they can be a White Mage and learn how to heal us. Though I guess that'd suck in battle, so maybe they'll know some Black Magic as well or something.

[He doubts anyone with a varied skill set like that will join them so easily though.]

We wouldn't have to blow a ton of money on Potions that way, though I guess it'd suck 'cause we'd have to split our profits three ways...

[That means he gets way less!!!]

Maybe a Red Mage.

[...like hell would a viera join up with these two idiots. Greed would spend the entire time hitting on her.]

I guess we can talk about it after you've been healed up, eh? It'd be far less of a pain in the ass to have a healer around, though. Even if we had to split the profit, at least we'd be getting more of it.

Oh yeah, a Red Mage! I forgot they existed, actually.

[It's not like Greed would have been the only one hitting on her...]

Yeah, that's true. I guess we can ask the White Mages if they know anyone who's looking for a clan, that might be a good place to start looking!

[Ah, there it is! The building is unassuming and frankly quite boring, but everyone knows to come here to get their injuries treated. It doesn't take long for a White Mage to see Naki and heal up the injury, so at least there's that!]

[...the poor mage.

They can never hire a viera.]

And next time, don't get pissy at everyone. Maybe we can actually hire a healer that way.

[His tone is light, so obviously he's teasing more than anything else.

Hopefully this won't make them broke. Don't get stabbed again, Naki.

Maybe they should stock Potions...]

[They're going to need a lot of Potions...]

Well, now what? I guess we could go search for more clan members but it's just so boring. And everyone we had showing up was expecting way too much! They wanted a ton of gil and we can't afford that shit!

[They're going to go broke just stocking up on Potions...]

...and the tougher jobs are something we can't do on our own. Shit, this is difficult. Why is the pay so lousy, anyway? It seems like those bigger Clans can sustain themselves just by what work they pick.

[Sorry in advance, Greed!!]

Well, they've got a ton of people, so they can send people out on quests all the time. But I dunno, maybe it's just that there's nothing really good left around here? We could try moving elsewhere, see if any of the other towns have anything good.

Maybe.

[They'll probably be better off in a smaller city, right? More chances for them to get jobs, and maybe they won't be fighting for money so much.]

You have any idea where we should set up shop next? I could pick out a place, I'm not picky.

I don't really care one way or another. I'm used to big cities, but wherever you wanna go is fine.

[He shrugs, not bothered by this at all. Picking up and moving in a hurry isn't anything new to him.]

[Well, wherever they end up... he's not sure, right now.]

There's no rush or anything. What's the never town over, anyway? That Bangaa one?

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