Meeting at the Market

If it can be had in the wildlands south of CS Missouri, then the city of Kingsdale is your best bet to find it. A rich and influential metropolis (for some rather loose definitions of the word), Kingsdale is a market that welcomes nearly all comers. The bustle and noise of its forums and trade district are unlike anything to be found outside of the great cities in the North and this draws many visitors. Some come for the riches to be had, some come for the nightlife, some for the seedy underworld that any such influx of money and power brings.
 
And some come for other reasons. Kingsdale doesn't ask any questions as long as nothing explodes. That's part of the charm of the place.
 
This isn't to say that there isn't an order to be had here. Indeed the oligarchs that run the city are keen to keep a rather tight lid on anything that might drive away business. To this end they keep ties with mercenaries, criminal syndicates and lawmen alike. And with one group in particular that in some ways resembles all three. The Apprehension/Recovery Corps or ARC is in the business of finding what needs to be found and bringing it back. Sometimes this involves invoking their neutrality to cross jurisdictional lines. And sometimes what needs to be found is much closer to home.
 
This is why Trent is currently walking the market streets, hands in his pockets as much to look casual as to keep the pickpockets from easy spoils. His faded green jacket keeps off the chill in the spring air and gives him a slightly military look that only sort of matches the rest of him. But the human (looking) man is easy to miss in the mass of sentient life that is the east side bazaar at this time of early evening.
 
Oh. Noodles. Those smell good.
 

There a fair number of D-Bees in Kingsdale, and one more wouldn't draw too many eyes but Xayide errs on the side of caution when she's out among so many eyes. A glamour on herself hides the double pair of curling horns and brings her snow-white hair closer to platinum blonde, smoothing her appearance to something that look more familiar, if not less of a D-Bee, to that of an elf.
 
Dressed in tailored clothing and a cloak that's really not needed for the minor chill in the air, Xay is at a market stall with plants. Herbs, flowers, cute succulents and busy ferns, there's a pretty wide array. Currently it's some of the flowering offerings that have her attention.
 
With her attention on the flowers, Alette has taken advantage of that distraction to sneak off on his own. The wolpertinger ducks from shadow to cover as he does his own exploring, head turning as Trent moves past the little rabbit-like creature.
 
—--
 
Trent does note the little rabbit like creature but doesn't pay it much mind, which may later prove to be a mistake as while his hands are in his pockets he has a belt with all manner of interesting things on it. Useful - but also interesting - things.
 
Alette though may well note the gait of someone stalking or tracking something. Or someone. He had only paused for a moment at the noodle stand and paid brief attention to the contents. He is rather hungry but it has to wait. There's something further up the lane and now he is moving toward it.
 
In fact he is making a beeline for the plant seller that Xay had stopped at. And as he is approaching someone steps up next to Xay. A lithe woman with deep auburn hair and pointed ears to go with a healthy, ruddy complexion. She bends down to examine a flower, bringing her in Xay's field of view and almost caresses the petals. Then she looks up at Xay and smiles a smile that means trouble.
 
"Hello."
 
-----
 
Alette's easy to overlook, or ignore. He's small, and sneaky, and so cute he looks pretty darned harmless, even with the horns and the little fangs. Trent's belt catches the wolpertinger's attention and he stalks the much larger being with his little hoppy gait, avoiding the churn of foot traffic.
 
While Xayide's glamour takes some of the severity of the cool demeanor she carries, people still rarely approach her without good reason, and the smile on the elf's lips has Xay's blue eyes narrowing slightly. The sidhe eases a half-step back as she turns to face the elf, giving herself some distance and tilts her head in a nod. "Hello." Xayide returns.
 
—--
 
The other woman straightens up but her hand remains on that flower and it visibly perks up from the touch. Like it's growing or like the sun had come out. "I wonder if you might do me a favor and hold onto something for me?" There's an emphasis on the word favor that's slight but definitely there if someone were to be listening for it. "Just for a little bit."
 
Trent isn't especially noisy but he isn't nearly as graceful as even an elf let alone someone who looks like an elf but isn't. The heavy tread of his bootfalls can be heard as he approaches from what is now behind Xayide. And by the way they slightly speed up she doesn't have to turn to know that someone has spotted something in her direction and is moving toward it with alacrity. The odds that it DOESN'T have something to do with a favor asked are low.
 
Then again... mmm. A favor...
 
-----
 
Hearing someone coming up behind her in something of a hurry has Xayide reaching for Alette to get eyes behind her. How fortunate for her that the one headed her way already has Alette's attention. Well. Trent's belt has Alette's attention at any rate. The wolpertinger startles a bit as he feels Xay's attention touch him, zigging off to cover before realizing he's not in trouble. Not like he's appropriated anything, anyhow!
 
Xay's head tilts over to the side, a deliberate sort of movement that's normally accentuated by her horns, the weight of which she's still carrying under the glamour. "That would depend on what it is. And how long a 'little bit' might be." She gives a brief pause. "I'm not normally asked favors by strangers." The promise of something so ambiguous as a favor is tempting, but so far the nebulous cost outweighs that temptation.
 
—--
 
"Just this..." The woman reaches into the vest she's wearing and produces a small item about the size of a poker chip - not that either woman would likely use those words to describe it. "And just until I come to get it. Won't be longer than a day or three..."
 
"Kassandra Coulter?" Though Trent is still about twenty feet away he has gotten clear of most of the bazaar crowd and through Alette's eyes Xay can see him reach into his jacket for something though it is of course unclear from the back what he is reaching for.
 
"What do you say?" The woman gives that smile again, not yet answering the call though there isn't actually any doubt from what Xay can see that it is indeed directed at her.
 
-----
 
Xay should ask more questions. Put some stipulations on the service. But one of the things about having left the Winter Court so suddenly is the lack of favors she currently has 'banked'. Her gaze narrows on the chit, which reads as perfectly mundane even if the woman holding it doesn't.
 
Xay 'sees' Trent getting closer from Alette's perspective, his target apparently the elf in front of Xay. Unless he's mistaking Xayide herself for this Kassandra. Making a quick decision, Xaide reaches out a hand, palm up and fingers down. "Any longer, and I'm not bound to hold onto it." But the favor will still be owed.
 
As Trent starts to reach into his jacket, Alette closes the distance to see if he can swipe whatever it is that the man has in his jacket now that it's not held close to his body.
 
—--
 
The woman's smile broadens and once Xay has the chit she steps back a pace. "Oh, Agent Trent. I didn't see you there."
 
"Hilarious." Trent deadpans. "Now, under the authority of this warr-" That is about as far as he gets before a flying enormous rabbit swipes the little PDA out of his hand. It's kind of sparkly and glowy and it has a picture of the woman in front of Xay on it. And a bunch of writing but the wolpertinger likely doesn't care about that.
 
"Hey!"
 
The other woman laughs. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you were going to say but it looks like you have a problem. I'll leave you to sort it out." Then she vanishes in a puff of energy. Likely a short ranged teleport but in a market with a crowd she may as well have bolted off at a sprint.
 
"Gods damn it! Hey, give that back!" Grab. Grab. Nope, not working. Damn that thing is slippery.
 
----
 
Xayide's hand closes over the chit and then she pulls her arm back close to her body. She still has her back to him, but as Kassandra steps back, the tall 'elf' turns her upper body to look back at Trent with her own eyes.
 
Just in time to see Alette swipe the gizmo, dodging the grabbing hands and then bolting into the crowd. Cries call out as the wolpertinger startles people, causing a few to trip and others to stumble.
 
Xaide glances back as Kassandra makes her flashy exit before finally turning the whole of her body around so she can face Trent, the chit tucked away and her hands folded before her.
 
—--
 
"Critters..." Trent says in a slightly annoyed way to Xay. She can tell at least that the jacket belonged to someone named Trent because it's printed on the jacket over the right breast pocket. It's faded, as is the whole garment.
 
Then the man reaches a hand out and opens it as if grabbing at something in the air. "Gotcha." The wolpertinger gets hoisted above most of the crowds heads telekinetically and starts to float back toward its recent thievery victim.
 
It's not overly rough but neither is it an especially gentle mental grabbing.
 
"Did she say anything unusual to you, miss?" Apparently he can yank and talk at the same time. "Oh sorry. Name is Trent. A/RC." This may or may not mean anything to her.
 
-----
 
Alette gives a squawk of surprise as he's grabbed, wings flaring out as he wriggles and tries to get loose from something that isn't really even there, front paws holding on tightly to his prize. Indignation flares through his bond with Xay and with Trent's attention over on his 'prey', Xay gestures with one hand, casting a teleport spell before spreading both hands in a shrugging gesture at Trent's question.
 
The air tears open around Alette, a tiny Rift swallowing him up and then spitting him out several hundred feet away on a rooftop. Somewhere the wolpertinger should be able to fly off from and avoid the nasty psychic.
 
"She asked me for help, which would be unusual as I've never met her before." Xay's American has a pretty pronounced accent, but it's Faerie Speak and not Dragoneese/Elvish.
 
—--
 
Trent's attention is momentarily split between his reeling in the wolpertinger and talking to Xay. Then he realizes though he isn't quite sure when that he's no longer got anything grabbed. "That is quite odd but about normal for he-"
 
He looks in sudden confusion at the air about four feet from him and lets out a frustrated groan. "Oh COME ON!" Now his PDA is gone which had his warrant on it as well as sundry other things that make his life a lot more convenient.
 
"Someone's going to owe me big time when I find that damn thing." He's positive it's someone's pet but it is FAR from obvious who's. It could be anyone in the market and thieving trained critters is a story he's both seen and heard before. And of course some do it on their own.
 
The ARC agent sighs and turns his attention back to Xayide. "It's been that kind of day. So she just asked you for help? Did she say anything specific? And did you get the impression that you were in any kind of danger?" Standard questions for him. Elves can be in danger same as most folk, after all. They're just about as squishy even if you'd think that ego would provide some padding.
 
Trent can't quite place the accent though, speaking of elves. It's not QUITE an elvish accent. Close, but not quite. Odd. He's usually pretty good at that.
 
----
 
Xayide pulls her arms back in, folding her hands before her as she watches Trent with some amusement. She's not trying to hide it. There's no sympathy to his Very Bad Day.
 
"She was quite vague on the details." Xayide remarks. Which is true. She was specific on what she wanted, but not what it was or why or… well. You get the idea. "But no, nothing that implied I was in danger, though being a stranger I *was* a bit wary. Who was she? Why were you looking for her?"
 
Maybe, just maybe, Trent will be the one owing someone 'big time' if they return his PDA to him.
 
—--
 
Her lack of sympathy is duly noted and there might be a slight eye tick that he has in his left eye. Maybe it really has been THAT kind of day.
 
"She says she's an elf. I suspect if that's true she's a rather unusual one. Either way someone in Kingsdale wants a nice long chat with her and asked ARC to bring her in. Intact." No disintegrations in other words. "Well, sorry to bother your flower shopping. If you'll excuse me though, I have a jackalope to hunt down."
 
It isn't a jackalope but he doesn't seem too concerned with the details. He also seems fairly confident that he can hunt down the creature though why might be a good question. Either way he gives Xayide a small half bow and turns to leave the way he came leaving the sidhe with an interesting chit and more importantly... a favor.
 
-----
 
It's only once Trent is well and gone through the crowd that Xaydie reaches into her pocket and pulls the chit out, turning it over in her hand and then looking back out into the crowd after him thoughtfully.
 
Her lips slowly curve into a slow smile as she tucks the token back away and folds her hands into her sleeves, leaving the plant stall behind. She's run across something much more interesting than a new plant for her flat.
 
The woman said she'd be back for the chit, but she didn't ask where to meet Xay. Another of those 'vague details'. Which means the onus is on Kassandra to find Xayide before time runs out. And Xay never said she'd stay in town…