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[longwillows]

reach out?

the smell of fresh water in dry desert air. the feeling of cautious curiosity. a place as dangerous as it is resplendent.

c

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➥ First Week of May, Before Shit Goes Down

[nestingdevil]

[The note from his end is the same as always. Or it would be, if it wasn't for something blatantly obvious lurking underneath. Something swimming under all the heavy smoke, the tease of fire, and the fingering touch of gold, pulsing like the pangs of a piano key, still trilling on its string.]

[It isn't a huge favor he needs to ask of her, but it isn't a small one, either. And oh, is it far more personal than he feels like getting into, now or ever.]

[Greed sucks slow on the end of his cigar, pulling from it every ounce of tobacco he can get.] Eh, sorry I haven't reached out sooner, lovely. Got caught up in a little bit of nasty business these last few weeks. [Which, if they were meeting in person, would be plain enough to see: how he now has his own share of scars mapped across his body, smearing shapes of long rectangles along his skin as smooth and black as charcoal. Thankfully, he doesn't have to explain those just yet. Eventually, probably, but not today.]

[Today, he has something far more important in mind. Something only she can do. And if she has questions? Well, she wouldn't be a fox if she didn't have a little curiosity now, would she?]

[The former homunculus shoulders on his vest, tapping the end of the cigar into a nearby sink.] Hate to ask, but I could use that talent of yours for something. [He starts but already, his mind is painting a picture of its own. Rough, of course, yet clear enough to understand. It's not as if the idea is marrying itself perfectly; he doesn't have the creative eye for such a thing. Still, he tries. And underneath it all, the sensation from him is guarded. Like the light buzz of a rattlesnake that would rather dart off than have to show its fangs.]

[Greed rolls the cigar between his knuckles.] Think you could come up with something? A stencil that can be repeated a few times if necessary? Course, I know there'll be a price. [How he says it, however, is resigned. He's already accepted her terms, whatever they may be.] So feel free to name it. Whatever you want.