Smash and Grab

[Malkavia]

Shimmerlace found herself snout to nose with one of the premier mma fighters in her league—and yup, that sufficed to close her teeth together with a click, put the breath halfway down Shimmer’s throat, made her legs curl, and her hands go tight on the armrests. Huan’s eyes pinned the fairy like a butterfly on the mat, while in the Feychild’s peripheral vision a spot of scarlet slid into, then out of view behind the superstar's back.

”Erhrm. Well. As to your first question.” Shimmerlace raised her fist to her mouth, coughed, and continued in a half-whisper. ”Eh. Let’s start with why here. It’s ‘cause she wants you for an Apex Qualifier. She wants leverage to make it happen. So if I got leverage with you, then I got value to trade. Simple, aye?”

Il Capitain de la royaume Huanette shoved his nose, hard, into Shimmerlace’s side. In spite of her best efforts to keep a serious look, a smile crooked at the edges—she could hold back the laugh, but couldn’t hide that she was holding it back. She let her loose hand drape over the dog’s crown and gave him a scritch.

”As for the second question, as to why. Ehm. I mean, well.” Her smile dimmed. “She’s got my rabbit, hasn’t she?”

[ThatPolishDude]

The answer she got was... Something, the fact that Huan had no interest in Apex nor any other belt for that matter was no secret so the whole storm around it just passed over her. Still, if it was just a single qualifier... "There are easier ways to get me into the ring..." She paused and tried to put a face to the name Shimmer mentioned. "Isn't she like... Tiny?" She asked, befuddlement over the situation overtaking her anger.

Then she heard about the rabbit, and sighed, her expression softening slightly. The kid just wanted their pet back. "And instead of asking for help you decided to go straight into a break-in?" She let her words hang in the air for a moment. "I would have helped." and just as she said that Capitan made another push for the snack, prompting an eye roll from Huan who then rubbed the bridge of her nose and said. "Just give it to him..."

[Malkavia]

Shimmerlace had only been half-listening—verifying that the board was, indeed, gone from its spot without looking directly consumed its share of mental load. But eventually the word registered and something inside Shimmer’s brain gave an angry pop of a short circuit.

”Tiny?” She gawked at Huan. Her brow creased, shock turning to outrage. ”She’s the Scarlet Fuckin’ Terror, is what Angie is. Marauder in Chief. Tiny…” She sneered, rolling her eyes before jamming a finger at her jaw, gesticulating while her eyes blazed. ”She took my fuckin’ tooth!”

There was more boiling where that steamed out from, but Shimmer bit her lip and forced it back. After a struggle, she continued at a more controlled tone. ”As for help, appreciate it and all, but you don't know her. She's not gonna trade Thistlebro…rabbit, right…she's not gonna give that up just ‘cause you agree to a match.” Looking at Huan started to itch again, so Shimmer's gaze went back to the dog, and she pulled the treat out of her pocket. But furball mcgee would have to wait a second longer still, as Snuggleblossom held the biscuit out and over her head’s height. ”Only way this worked is if you were…eh. Motivated like. Chasing your lost treasure. That's the only coin she’d care about. Sit boy!” Shimmer glanced up from the (quite excited) dog at Huan. ”What’s his name again? Captain, was it?”

[ThatPolishDude]

Huan just raised an eyebrow at Shimmer's outburst, letting her say all she wanted and remaining silent for a few seconds more, just so she could remember herself the exact position she was in. Then she said. "I fought better." Simple concise, it wasn't a boast or a supposition just a simple statement of fact. Huan spent most of her life fighting, her career in MMA was more than proof enough of what she was made of. If someone knew what the sport was, they knew her name, she earned that recognition not by some smart marketing but by facing the best the world had to offer and coming out on top every single time. A young girl bearly half her size was hardly an intimidating prospect.

She sighed. "We could have staged it but it hardly matters now, does it? Even if I let you take it to her, I fear she will be disappointed in the end." Huan said, her tone almost bored. "If I come "motivated" she won't be leaving in one piece and forgive me but I do not make a habit of entertaining other people's death wishes." She said before sliding off the desk and grabbing a pair of glasses, setting them down on the desk and bringing out a water carafe and gesturing questioningly with it before answering the question. "You got it." after which she gave the unsure dog a go-ahead to follow Shimmmer's command

[Malkavia]

”Staged it, ey? Fuck Huan, never took you for the thespian type. To me you always, eh, came off a bit dry, honestly.”

She was pushing it. The long silences her captor dragged between interactions underscored that plain as the hunger in Captain’s eyes. He gave a whine, stood on both feet. No, sit Captain. His second whimper was longer and peeled into a whistle in his throat, but he sank to his haunches and chuffed.

”Anyway." She swallowed, bit her tongue, pushed back the teeth-grinding irritation. "Yeah, I’m sure you’ll just...wipe the floor with her no problem and all. Part of the plan, actually. Not really theft if you’re just gonna win it back anyway, aye?” What was one more lie for the day? Huan would find out for herself what kind of punch Angie could pack.

Captain interrupted Shimmer’s line of thought with another grunt, the kind of cough-like a dog makes when it’s itching to go out. How did he go out to shit in a penthouse like this anyway? And how frequent could his walks be with a schedule like Huan's? ”Oi! Up boyyo!” The dog didn’t have to be told twice. He lept on her lap, took the treat, and grinned to the high heavens while Shimmer grinned and scrunched his cheeks and snuzzled his ears. Fuck. If Huan hadn't come and fucked this all to kingdom come, Shimmer’d have found something to top Rodney alright. And given this pup better access to play space. Maybe. If she could’ve swallowed the hypocrisy—which might have been a tougher sell before Huan had come talking all big and mighty.

”Eh, as for the water, I don’t…I mean. Unless you need anything, I figured I’d be taking my leave here. You’re right, this idea’s fucked. I’m clearly not cut out for a life of crime, fictitious or otherwise.” Plus, it’d be quite difficult to pull off a fake heist after Angie’d already pulled off the real McCoy—a fact Shimmer was most anxious to have Huan notice after the Seelie Maître had skedaddled.

[ThatPolishDude]

Huan set both glasses on the desk and filled them up despite what Shimmer said, then just as she set the decanter down, Captain turned to her and jumped up almost as if wanting Huan to catch him. She gently helped him back to all fours, kneeling on the ground and scratching him on the neck in a place that made him tap his back paw like a professional drummer. "You know you shouldn't jump like that you rascal, not good for your paws" She said, though the dog's content expression made it seem like he did not listen at all. Then Huan looked up at her "guest".

"You don't believe a word you just said." She commented on how Shimmer referred to her future match with Angie. "I could care less but word of advice, don't treat people like they are dumber than you are." She continued, returning her attention to the dog. "Though if you think my offer of staging it means I'll let that incident slide, you take me for a far kinder person than I really am." She paused for a moment as the dog decided that one spot had enough and decided to roll over, showing his belly to receive some rubs which it promptly did. "Damaged lock, broken stuff inside, and that's not even mentioning that what you just did was a crime. I'm not letting you off the hook just because you did it for your pet."

[Malkavia]

”You’re right,” Shimmerlace spat acidly. ”I think, actually, someone who went white-knuckle, toe to toe with Yuki Kazikura and fuckin’ won, someone who swims in the same circles as Rose Gold herself, someone with title buzz thick as bees in Provence after it’s rained jam, might just be a challenging opponent. Especially after my own fuckin personal experience with that…woman landed me in the fuckin’ hospital for a day. But fuck do I know, right?”

Shimmerlace took a deep, angry breath. Her insides were whirling. Heist gone to shit, threats being lobbed her way, Angelina gone. Even if she did get out of here, she had a police siren suspicion that wouldn’t shut up that she wouldn’t like what Angelina had to say to her. But spitting in her captor’s face was just gonna make this worse.

”Look.” She swallowed, ran her fingers through Captain’s fur. Gave his belly a scarooshie. ”I’m talking out my arse a bit, right? I know who you are.” She caught Huan’s eye and held it. ”You could break me in two as easy as look at me. Sure. And Angie’s not gonna have it easy. Fuck, I think she has the fight of her life ahead of her if you get in the ring with her, and that’s not me just flappin’ my gums, right? I hope you do beat her. I hope you make of her insides godforsaken mincemeat. But you gotta know who you’re facing, right? You’re not gonna have it easy either, and you better fuckin’ know that going in is all I'm saying.”

The fairy bit her tongue. She thought. Listened. Pictured herself as Huan saw her. Started feeling what she said before she said it. Jail was a career ender, and it was technically still on the table.

”As for your hook…I mean, aye, you’ve got some claims what need claiming. Sure. But if you were planning on using cops for that, I figure we wouldn’t be chatting over ol’ Captain here. So.” Shimmerlace persed her lips. How would Huan want her to phrase it? She let the breath out through her nose, pretended to feel guilt roiling her gut until she really did feel an inkling of shame. She’d thought about stealing Huan’s lil Captain. Her poor wee pet. Take that shame. Let it make your cheeks hot and ears rosy. Get your tongue dry with anxiety, lower your eyes. ”...Well, eh. That is, how do I make it right then?”

[ThatPolishDude]

"You are brave, I'll give you that" Another descriptor came to mind as well but it seemed Simmer figured out that by herself when she continued after her initial words. "I said that I fought better, not that it would be easy. But I have more in-ring experience than most people have training and if all I accomplished in my life doesn't amount to a right for confidence in a fight with a woman half my size then it was all worthless." She paused, despite the situation she did not look angry. "And she wants me out there to be angry, she wants me to try and break her like you say. But that's when people make mistakes so she ain't getting that.".

She stood up, making Capitan roll onto his side and look at her. She reached for a glass, took a sip and sighed. "I was trying to decide if I should call the cops and, you did make it tempting at times." She replied, swirling the liquid in the glass. "But let's not pretend I didn't make my share of stupid things when I was younger." She smiled and continued "And you have some promise, would be a shame to cut it short too, so, no, no cops today. You are gonna have to work it off for me though. I'll tell you when and how and this whole thing stays between us. Deal?" She finished, extending her hand, there wasn't much of a choice for Shimmer in this situation but it felt like the right thing to at least treat it as her choice.

[Malkavia]

The pair of them might have been hundreds of floors up from the street, but the distance did not completely shield them from the sounds below, and when a police horn began to wail, Shimmerlace could hear it as a faint, faraway call.

”...Aye, ‘course.”

She shook. The deal had a dangerous edge to it, unspecified favor to be called in…whenever. A boon is what she would have called it when she was younger. Still, it opened the door.

Shimmerlace remained in her chair. The dog sat at her feet, chewing on the scrap of a biscuit it had left, while Tokyo roared on its rain-splattered and sun-burnt life. What now? Well now you take the open door, walk down the carpet hallway, push ground floor on the elevator, get to the van, call Angelina, and…

Her hands folded in her lap, Shimmerlace blinked. Her eyes had drifted to the carpet. Confronted with the world outside, jail didn’t sound quite as terrible as it had.

[ThatPolishDude]

The deal was struck and Huan expected Simmer to get the hell out of dodge, probably hoping that Huan would forget about ever vomiting her to any sort of payback but among many surprises of the day, there was the fact that the girl didn't even stand up or made any motions toward leaving. That prompted Huan to actually hand shimmer the glass of water she poured a second ago, hanging it in front of her with a warm expression just shy of a smile.

"Something still eats at your gut, eh?" She asked, all in all, they were in a rather precarious situation and playing a role of a therapist did feel odd when she did that someone who tried to rob her but on the other hand, Shimmerlance was just a kid. A kid that certainly made some questionable choices as of late but a kid all the same. The rabbit she mentioned was an obvious thing but Huan felt there was more. Still, she wouldn't probe too hard, it never did much good, much less in a situation like this.