| Business is War | ||
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Summary: Nina Flip and her new friend Nanaki meet up with Louis the Red Deer for coffee after a business meeting held in a city on the Senta Mainland, only there are business competitors that disagree with such dealings and have something to say about it.  |
This part of the mainland hosts all types of people and strangeness is wont to happen when least expected. That the day seems normal is a small comfort to some. It's nearly just about time for Louis to finish up his meeting and head to a nearby Vegan Cafe. The streets are bustling with the usual foot traffic and the streets seem mildly congested. A loud sudden honk and a hand lifts out a cab window before an objection is raised to somebody crossing the middle of the street slowly. Just another day in a big city. Nina still doesn't have terribly many friends in this new place far from home. She didn't really have many there either that weren't strictly online, with how protective her father was with making some of his men serve as her bodyguard/babysitter. But she likes Louis, and though they have really only just met, she liked her meeting with Nanaki also, and so when Louis offered to meet her for coffee, she thought it might be good to bring Nanaki along to meet the man as well. Nina was at the park near the Usual, as it's been a place she's been hanging out a lot since it's got water, a bit of nature, and none of the gritty sand of the beach. She leaves the lake and takes a moment to squeeze the water out of her hair and comb it, still in her dolphin form for the moment. Nanaki certainly understood how not having any friends could complicate matters terribly in any kind of situation. He had always considered himself somewhat of a loner, but traveling through all of Gaia with Cloud and the others had spoiled him terribly. Even if it had been hard times, he missed the camaraderie, and the bonds that formed between him and his friends. It was why, when perhaps his old self would have rejected Nina's invitation to accompany her anywhere, now he jumped at the opportunity with great delight. Nina seemed like an interesting case, and while she had certainly been very helpful and friendly, she didn't strike him as untrustworthy, which was a very important quality for Nanaki who had been betrayed many times. It was true also that Nina had a feeling of vulnerability about her that made Nanaki naturally want to protect her, though he was trying hard to restrain himself from coddling her too much- particularly because she had way more experience in this strange world than he did. And so, the red furred warrior beast approached the park, sniffing the air in search for Nina's scent. Taking in the familiar smell of fresh dolphin, Nanaki padded over closer to the water area of the park looking about for the dolphin girl until he saw her sitting next to the water. "Ah! There you are, Nina! Hello!" He said excitedly, his fiery tail wagging slightly behind him. Nina smiles as Nanaki appears and greets her. Meeting here first worked great, as it was a quiet place where they could meet while Nina was still in her dolphin form, as Nanaki hasn't even seen her transform yet, then if that doesn't freak him out too much they could walk over to the coffee shop together. She waves back with her flipper-like hand and moves a little closer to him. "Hey Nanaki, glad you could make it. I just really think you might like Louis, and see the city he comes from. But first, I need to show you something. Please don't freak out, but I am going to change into my human form, it'll just be a lot easier to walk that way." She warns and gives him a chance to process that, watching his expression before she starts to concentrate on the change. There are not many things that can freak Nanaki out, to be honest, particularly after all his adventures in Gaia and then this! However, there was always room for brand new experiences that would startle him, so there was certainly the possibility that he could be taken back by Nina's shape shifting powers. To be certain; Nina being in her dolphin form certainly helped matters, Nanaki might have been able to recognize her due to her scent, but he would have likely been confused due to the change of appearance. "Well, he certainly sounds like the person to get to know around here," he said in regards to the topic of Louis. He was a character who's name got thrown around here and there through the city, a deer of great importance from the rumors that Nanaki had heard. "I would be remiss to turn down such an opportunity." He affirmed to Nina, nodding his head and smiling as best he could with that snout of his, it was difficult to convey human expressions, but he had practiced a lot and it was at least somewhat clear he was smiling. There is, however, a blink of is eye when Nina told him not to freak out to what was about to happen. "I'm sorry... did you say you're going to turn into a human??" This was.. certainly new territory for him. Nina nods, opening her eyes again to give a bit more explanation. "Yes, you see, this form is what they call where I'm from, my 'beastman' form. Our genetic makeup is close to true humans, as from what I learned in school we had regular human ancestors, but each of us has a specific kind of animal in our genetic code, and when two different beastmen have a child only one is passed on to the child. My dad is a beluga, while my mother is a dolphin, for example. I like being in this form more, and I can move around on land still, it's just harder, long distances on land wear me out. Anyway, here goes." She closes her eyes again and concentrates, sitting on her tail. What comes next is a fairly rapid change, taking only a few seconds as her tail turns a lighter blue and more indistinct, almost like water, and splits to form her legs, her face becomes more human-like, though she retains the same eye and hair color, her eyes gaining whites around her iris instead of being purely aquamarine. Her skin takes on a light peachy pink tone, and a pair of black flats appear on her newly formed feet as the transformation finishes and she opens her eyes again. Nanaki's eye narrowed slightly as he listened to Nina's explanation. That's right, he almost forgot that Nina was from an entirely different world and she was in fact not a native. This information was important because Nanaki had yet to see any native from this dimension shape shift, though that was not to say no one here was capable of performing such a feat. Either way, it did mean that Nina was not subjected to whatever passed for laws of nature in this place, and he watched the transformation carefully. "Huh..." he said sounding surprised, though at the very least he wasn't freaked out, at least not visibly. Seeing Nina human felt oddly wrong somehow. Perhaps because he had felt great kinship with her as a fellow beast, and now there she was, masquerading as a perfectly normal human. Ah well, it was no matter, she was still Nina after all- hopefully. "A very interesting and useful skill, I must say." He tilted his head to one side regarding the girl with some amusement. "Though...if I can be perfectly honest, I think I agree and I also like your dolphin form better. Not to say you don't look good in this form either that is." Nina nods and smiles. "Yeah, I guess it comes in handy more for me than for most like me, since my beast form has a tail instead of legs. Then again, many beastmen tend to stay in human form most of the time and change when they are angry, and the beast form makes them much stronger in a fight. I change when I'm happy or excited, so I guess I'm weird, but in a good way in my opinion." She says with a smirk as she heads off toward the place where they're supposed to meet Louis. "Well," Nanaki chuckled softly as Nina called herself weird after explaining the capabilities of the Beastmen from her home dimension. "I once again have to agree with you, as I've grown rather fond of your weirdness as you say. However, as much as I prefer your Beast form and others might prefer theirs in turn, I would be a fool to deny the power of such a transformation." He looked at his own paws with a narrowed eye. "Things would be so much easier for me if I could turn into a human, even momentarily. You all might have a choice in being beast or human, but I... Do not." It was just the state of affairs, and after pondering a little Nanaki moved on and followed Nina to their destination. ((Music start: https://youtu.be/fOg2PS_I2Us )) On approach to the meeting place, there seems to be a bit of a commotion. While Louis has a habit of attracting crowds, this seems to be the exact opposite. Humans of all sorts vacate the sidewalks, run into buildings, cars suddenly lurch to the side to pull around others to speed on their way. There's a definite sense of fear gripping these people, but it's not until the loud unmistakable cracks of gunfire ring out through the air that panic fully swells. People scream. Some dive for cover. Others stand still in a light crouch too afraid to move. At least one car swerves to avoid people running into the street and crashes into a parked car setting off airbags. One man, at least runs over to grab a child before they toddle off in front of the vehicular traffic, but more gun shots force the man to stay in cover behind a post box sheltering the youth while the distressed mother clings to the bricks behind the corner of a nearby building. There are other voices yelling in communication coming from the square where the meeting spot is to be, but it's hard to discern them over the din of cars and people. Those with sensitive ears might hear that there are two groups, each located on one side of the inner city clearing, but the gunfire alone makes that pretty clear. Just moments ago: Louis and two of his personal lion bodyguards, Free and Dolph, step out of an office building and begin to make their way toward the Vegan coffee shop. The deer appears to be a mix between annoyed and tired while a briefcase is gripped hard in one hand. Free tries to lighten the mood by telling a few jokes, only to get distracted by a very attractive black lady in a fetching skirt that wanders by. Dolph, almost always serious, makes a few remarks regarding the way things went. Louis shakes his head and casts his steely gaze downward to find a coin. He's never seen a coin like that before. As he leans down to pick it up, falling behind the other two, a shot rings out that shatters a glass table behind the deer. Dolph yells and shoves the deer aside before another shot rings out only to impact with the lion's shoulder. Free rushes over to pull Dolph down behind a parked car while Louis crawls toward the nearest shelter he can find. Separated from his guards, huddled behind a concrete planter, the lions begin firing back at the aggressors. Two large rhinos take cover across the way armed with revolvers. Nina blinks as she hears gunfire, and fortunate for her, while her hearing is still a bit above normal human ability even in this form, it wasn't fully up to dolphin levels of sensitivity. She looks around as she rushes to get behind cover herself, after a few moments she makes out Louis and his guards through the commotion caused by the ongoing scene, and she sees the rhinos with guns. She slowly makes her way to within earshot of Louis, and calls over to him. "Are they from Denko too? What the hell do they want?" As it usually was the case, Nanaki had no time to feel sorry for himself- there was battle to be fought! The sounds and smells of gunpowder weapons are not entirely new to him and he recognized the sounds of guns being fired as well as the smell of smoke they left after being discharged. Not to mention the screaming and the sensation of fear everywhere, something indeed was going down here and it was not the pleasant kind. "Nina! Look out!" Nanaki said to the Dolphin turned human as he chased after her, seeing her simply run into the fire fight and get into cover. This girl was insanely brave! He would have never imagined that she'd have the guts to simply dive into a hail of bullets like that, but appearances can be deceiving. It worked out just fine for Nanaki, because as Nina moved closer towards Louis and his bodyguards, she made certain to point out to Nanaki who were her acquaintances and in turn that made him identify the attackers; the Rhinos! Now that he had a target he could enter the fight proper. They wanted a fire fight? He would give them one then. "Hmrrg..." The red furred warrior beast stood next to Nina taking cover and he summoned magical power to his body. Channeling the materia he had in him he side stepped to get a clear shot on the Rhinos and pointed at them with his tail, as if it were a scorpion's stinger. "Firaga!!" He shouted as he sent an explosive fireball in the rhinos' general vicinity to at the very least smoke them out from their covered position. Leaning back against the car wherein he and his associate take cover, Dolph pulls free of his dress jacket, quickly undoes his tie, and then pulls his button-down shirt open with a muted pop of buttons onto the ground. Ripping free a section of fabric, the large lion uses his tie to secure the cloth in place with a tightly cinched knot. Free covers Dolph with return fire as he tries to use the reflection of the store front nearby to determine where the rhinos are located, but stray fire from the enemy shatters both front seat windows and the store front window in one swoop. "You okay, Boss?" "I'm fine, Dolph! Just a bit scuffed." "You know who these fuckers are, Louis?!" yells the pompadour-styled Free within seconds of Nina's own questioning. "I have no idea who they are! But if it's a fight they want-" The deer reaches into his dress jacket and a thumb pops open the latch on his hidden holster. Louis and his crew are no stranger to street fights, not that many would know, so for the most part this all reflex and muscle memory. Dolph quickly returns to the fight and tries to get a bead on the gunmen. A brilliant burst of flame erupts with an infernal scream as it consumes air and creates a dangerous blast of fire and heat. The sudden eruption glares off the metal and glass surrounding the square far too close for one of the rhinos. Shuffling to one side, patting at a coat sleeve to put out the fire lit on his outfit, one of the rhinos is exposed from cover briefly. Louis -- so small and weak -- turns out from behind the planter, quickly takes aim, and fires. One round. One rhino. The rhino's horn explodes as it deflects the bullet and the large thug falls backward in surprise. The other rhino takes a moment to check on his comrade. If it weren't for the horn being lost, that would have been a brutal and quick end to half of their assaulting force. This affords a moment of respite on both sides, although both no doubt seek to recover before re-engaging. Taking cover once more and panting, Louis looks across the way to where Free and Dolph are and then further beyond to where Nina and...another animal is located. A voice calls out from the other side of the open area. "You lion bastards think you can weasel in on our turf?! Shishigumi punks!" The other rhino adds, "The businesses around here are going to belong to Khan Industries, not your filthy second-rate street gang!" "Nina Flip, stay in cover!" commands Louis in a tone that has humbled many a Carnivore. "These motherfuckers didn't get the memo." Free laughs from the hilarity of it all. Nina sighs as from what she's hearing this is a bloody turf war. Not something she was unused to hearing about back home either. Animals may build fancy civilizations with gleaming cities, but they still can't shake off the fight for territory. "I don't think I can help much anyway." Nina says back to Louis with a nod, and moves a bit further behind cover but still tries to keep a look at what's going on. "Pretty much all the muscle I gain in my beast form goes to my tail, so it doesn't do much for me in a fight... Probably one reason my dad worries about me so much..." A turf war between gangs? "How terribly quaint." Said Nanaki, once again taking cover after he heard the two sides shouting at each other. At first, not knowing much background of the situation, Nanaki had assumed this was some kind of assassination attempt. Louis was after all a very famous individual, and while Nanaki wasn't certain what was it that lead him to such fame, being that powerful certainly made him a lot of enemies. Now, after hearing the rhinos and the lions shout at each other, it turned out it was nothing more than gang fighting. Curious, and almost disappointing, but a fight was a fight and Nanaki would be remiss to not stand by his new friend. He'd figure out the full details later, right now those rhinos presented a danger to Nina and they had to be dealt with. Yes, Nanaki had tried hard not to act the part of protector but old habits truly died hard. "Brute strength won't do much in this kind of situation. One must be swift." The wolf/lion said to Nina before glancing at Louis and his bodyguards. "Hey, you three! Cover me!" Taking the opportunity that the two parties were repositioning, Nanaki rushed across the street quickly to close the distance between him and the rhinos. He ambled around their destroyed cover, tracking them with his scent and charged at one of them from an oblique angle to force at least one of them into melee. "GRRROOOOAARR!!" A Lion's roar was heard as Nanaki pounced at one of the rhinos, the one that had gotten his horn blown off since he appeared more vulnerable. He tried to dig his claws hard on the rhino's biceps and rake his arms, before snapping his fangs into his collarbone to brutalize him and tear apart the rhino's clavicle. The peace doesn't last long. Nanaki seeks to take the initiative and rushes headlong across the way. "Who the hell is that?" quips Free, but Louis is quick to shut down the questioning. "Keep them hiding like cowards. If they have local law enforcement, they'll be here before long." That's not a guarantee. Some areas of Senta are completely controlled by gangs, no matter how civilized they may appear to be on the surface. That this kind of conflict has broken out is no surprise, but no less disappointing. Free and Dolph lay on the heat for as much as they can with what ammunition they have available. They don't exactly travel with bags of the stuff. The rhino with a shattered horn is assaulted just as he starts to get back to his feet. His hide is nearly as strong as his muscles make him. What might otherwise be a quick take down turns into a wrestling struggle as a thick-fingered hand reaches to try to grab the wolf-lion by the scruff of the neck...which might result in mane pulling! While the rhino's hide may be extremely tough and he might be built like a tank, it's still no less dangerous that facing down a shotgun. At the very least, the attack completely keeps one of the thugs busy while suppressing fire from the lions keep the other rhino from moving from his spot to help. Then, the squealing begins. Rubber against asphalt, a black shape comes into view from around the building beyond where Louis huddles. A sedan takes the corner so fast that it briefly rises onto two wheels, but the weight of the gorilla that rises through the sunroof keeps it from tipping completely. Louis goes wide-eyed as the tommygun being held by the gorilla starts to discharge. His breath catches as his body lurches from his exposed and no-longer-safe spot into the open and the stamping of shoe and metal foot collide against the dirty sidewalk in pattern as the cement from the planter shatters, the nearby wooden bench splinters, dust fills the air in his wake, as he races for safety. Rounds clip the deer's right foot, twisting the shape, sending Louis forwards and downwards into a roll fully vulnerable. Dolph, topless and bleeding, sprints out from behind the car and dives in order to protect the deer while a frenzied Free stands out from the car and begins firing in rapid succession at the tires, yelling loudly in one continued exhalation. Nina watches as Nanaki assaults one of the rhinos while the lions give him some cover fire. She is left feeling rather helpless, really wishing she could do something for her friends, but she can only cower behind a concrete planter. She lets out a scream though as the new vehicle appears and more gunfire starts raining down. As the planter shatters, and dust and dirt fill the air, she coughs a bit as she looks for some stronger cover, then cries out as Louis is shot in the leg. "Leave him alone you bastards!" She yells as she suddenly shifts back to dolphin form as adrenaline now pumps through her veins. Nanaki had a feeling that there was much danger lurking beneath the peaceful facade of the city- but he hadn't quite imagined it would be quite this volatile. In just a few moments, the street had turned into a full on warzone. Nanaki had hoped that it was only these two rhinos who were causing trouble, but soon more reinforcements come in the form a car with a gorilla bearing a machine gun. There would be not much Nanaki could do to stop that and that wasn't even considering the fact that the rhino he was fighting was tougher than anticipated, all the wolf/lion could do was to take down his opponent as quickly as possible, otherwise he could be in a lot of danger as well. "GRAAAAAAH!! You dare!!?" All pretense of taking easy on the rhino disappeared the moment that he pulled on his mane. Nanaki might only be half Lion but he had all the pride of one and pulling on his mohawk mane was a great insult to him. In the end it would perhaps be the wrong move for the rhino in every way imaginable because if he was pulling on Nanaki's mane, that meant that his face was now fully exposed, even more so because he didn't have his horn anymore. WHAM! Nanaki swung a meaty left claw at the rhino's head to rake him across the face with his claw. This was mostly just to open him up for the follow up, as he swung upwards and cracked into the rhino's elongated chin hard with his right claw, essentially uppercutting him with enough strength to decapitate a normal human. Though in the rhino's case it'd probably rattle his brain inside his skull with enough force to hopefully leave him unconscious. Those next few seconds seem to draw out, slow down, as each minute detail plays out. Fragments of stone and wood hang in the air joined with trash and refuse from an exploded bin. The sparkle of glass litters the ground and the sky as slugs of metal rebound and wreck. Fire literally shoots outward from the end of the barrel of the machine gun as the open-mouthed gorilla in the car roughly aims. Louis is on the ground, on his back, while specks of glass bedazzle his clothing like glitter. He can only see the large shape falling toward him slowly blot out the image of the gunner in the car. Dolph hangs in the air, mid dive, thinking not of his own safety. Arms outstretched, rolling to one side, he presents his back as a barricade to the deadly spray. Free continues to fire, but now stands in sheer defiance of this act of attempted murder, not yet aware that the next pull of the trigger will be fruitless. There is no more ammo to spend. Nina's change is frozen in time, for what detail can be seen, as she, too, yells in defiance from where she hides. The impact from Nanaki's swipe equally persists in that moment, the thunderous crack of contact can be seen in ripples over the goon's face in some halfway point between consciousness and none. The other rhino ducks down, taking further cover from the introduction of the tommygun and the one driving the car, with his arms held in the air covering his head. In a flash of convergence, all of these actions come together, and the pause in moment amid such chaos comes crashing down. The rhino being clubbed falls backwards, K.O.ed, into the nearby bike rack. His gun discharges and clips the gorilla, the gorilla flinches and jerks the aim of the gun away from the target, a spray of bullets cuts into the hood of the car, the car jerks before spinning out of control and sliding into a crashed stop, and the other rhino rushes out of cover to sprint to the crashed car calling out for his boss. The gorilla in the sunroof slips back into the vehicle and voice within yells NONSTOP in frustrated disappointment. The rhino pulls open the driver door and a three foot tall alligator with a 5-Gallon Hat jumps out and immediately begins berating the thug. "What a disgrace! A DISGRACE! How's anybody supposed to fear the name of Trader Moe when you GOONS go and make a mess of everything. EVERYTHING!" The alligator pulls at the edges of his hat, very distraught. "Now get outta here before the fuzz arrives. Or, even worse, Mister Khan! We're never gonna secure that deal with him now! You FOOLS!" Nina doesn't get angry often, but these guys had really pushed the right buttons, and there was now a fierce expression on her otherwise cute face. With no other means of fighting back, she resorts to grabbing a big rock, she is far too late to throw it at the car with the gorilla, but the gator seems to be with them from the way he's talking, so she hurls it at him with all her might, yelling as she throws. "Yeah, get the hell out of here and don't come back!" She then quickly ducks back behind cover as sense comes to her a bit too late and she wonders if she just poured lighter fluid on a fire that was burning out. Out like a light. Nanaki would grin in satisfied defiance after his quick one-two combination knocked the impudent rhino thug out and laid him flat on the ground, but there was hardly any time to spare. He saw how the rhino's gun discharged and somehow managed to hit the car, making it spin out of control and miss their intended target. All very fortunate series of affairs, but Nanaki had learned never to lower his guard until the enemy has been completely neutralized. "Is everyone alright!?" He yelled as he ran back to the group, catching sight of Nina yelling angrily and trying to hurl a rock at the fleeing gator and his posse, which he could hardly blame her for that. The wolf/lion scanned the group quickly and not certain if there would be a second wave he made sure that at least everyone was in tip top shape. "Hold still for a second. Curaga." He pointed at Louis with his tail which glowed with a blue light and healed him of his wounds first. The sheer rage behind that thrown rock causes it to whistle before it impacts squarely with the back of Trader Moe's noggin. He falls forward and right into a puddle, then thrashes about in a tantrum before the gorilla can pick him up to carry him off. The rhino goes over to drag the other rhino away, as well. For as dangerous as the situation may be, there's something absurd about the displayed departure. Free clicks the gun a few more times, then snaps out of it and punches the swiss-made car in anger as the thugs get away. While well-meaning, Nanaki's directed healing magic is obstructed by the half-dressed lump of lion covering nearly all of the deer underneath him save for those antlers. Dolph is the one to get Curagaed, but he needs it more anyway. Such magic won't do much for Louis' mangled leg anyway. "Dolph," comes a muffled sound. "I find you useful, but I don't like you quite this much." With immediate danger passed, such positioning now is very awkward. That's not a place that Louis would prefer his face to be pressed against. "Are you all right, Boss? I didn't hurt you or anything did I?" asks the large lion as he pushes up and away from the prone deer. He doesn't yet notice that he's no longer bleeding or hurting. Adrenaline still runs strong. "I'm fine. What about Nina and her friend?" Slowly, Louis sits up and gets his bearings. The place is in shambles. An absolute battlefield. And his briefcase? Louis espies the case with holes in it, opened, and any paperwork within long shredded or scattered to the winds. He sighs. Then there's his right leg and foot... Seeing as Nanaki was more concerned about healing others than trying to get such attention himself, it would seem to indicate he was alright. Nina herself emerges from cover after the thugs make their escape, still sporting a tail and looking mad/annoyed, but doesn't appear to have a scratch on her, just a bit dirty. The problems with wearing a white dress. She would have asked if Louis was OK but Dolph beat her to it, she gives a slight smile to hear he's okay, but it fades quickly. "I had heard this city had its moments, but this looks like a warzone..." With the gunmen gone from the scene, other people begin to filter back into the open from their hiding places. People begin talking again. A few cars drive through, slowly, avoiding the wrecks along the way. Dolph and Free take a moment to communicate their status and lack of ammo, Dolph steps beyond to walk toward where Nina is located, and Free does his best to reassure the public with a wide-armed posture and a cocksure grin while his gun hangs from a finger by the trigger guard. "I've seen worse," admits Dolph to the dolphin girl. Louis, as usual, feels very alone. No matter how hard he tries to work toward keeping the peace and making things better for others, it seems he always winds up falling into yet another pit of violence. With a sigh, the buck pulls up his tattered right pantleg and works on disconnecting his prosthetic now that it's in disrepair. Using the metal shape of a damaged foot, Louis pushes himself up and onto one leg, hobbles a bit closer to a tree, then leans against it. "I don't know who this Trader Moe guy is, but I'm far more interested in this person of whom they were claiming these businesses. Who the hell is this Mister Khan anyway?" The car slowly rolling through comes to an eased stop. It's a black limousine. The far back passenger-side window, already half-open, begins to lower further through silent motors and a voice within speaks. "I believe I can answer that." It's far too dark within the car to see who speaks and this approach alone, after what just happened, makes Free nearly trip over his own feet to hurry to Louis' side. No more gunfire, though. The only sound is the driver door opening. A black panther chauffeur dressed for the job steps out and begins to walk around and down the long length of the car. It's more than enough time for everyone to focus attention. Nina tenses up too as the limo pulls up suddenly and coincidentally right as Louis asks about who the boss of Trader Moe was, but with no further gunfire coming, she relaxes a bit and focuses with the others on who the panther is about to reveal as the man with answers to Louis' question. She also finally shifts back to her human form while everyone is focused on the limo, and moves a bit closer so she has a better view and can hear what's going on over the clamor of the crowd. Dolph, too, follows along with Nina to join Free while Louis stares intently at the blackness beyond the open window not with awe or fear, but with the gaze of one hungry Carnivore meeting the stare of another. The deer may be crippled, but that doesn't stop him from wearing his no-nonsense on his dirtied sleeves. The panther reaches the open-windowed door, but he does not open it. Instead, a hand extends through the opening holding stiff-paper stationery. The hand itself is furred, orange and white and feline, and the claws show. Behind the wrist is the lining of a white sleeve enveloped by the sleeve of a navy blue blazer. The very detail of such a handing-off of this note is done with finesse and elegance and an extended little finger. The chauffeur takes the note, the hand withdraws, and the note is presented to Louis in turn. "Mister Khan does cordially invite you to a personal appointment at the stated address, date, and time wherein to discuss matters fiscal. Should you wish to do business with Mister Khan you are advised to not be late or your appointment will be subject to cancellation. He further advises the general public to worry not over this latest altercation. A sizable donation has already been made in order to facilitate repairs so that all may go on about their daily lives." Louis holds out his hand to take it, yet his stare never once leaves the window. How infuriatingly arrogant this man must be, the deer can't help but think. "Be sure to let Mister Khan know that if Khan Industries wishes to engage in a business partnership with Horns Conglomerate, we'll take the invitation into great consideration, but I would be remiss to act without first consulting my Board of Directors. I'm sure he understands that eagerness is weakness and ignorance is foolish." A very very poshly enunciated, "Indeed," comes from the person beyond the window before the window rises and the driver begins his long walk back around to his door and seat. Slowly, the car pulls away and whispers from the public immediately whip up. Free mouths the words 'the fuck'. Nina watches the exchange and is in disbelief as well that this wasn't information on who Khan was as much as an invitation to meet him. She nods in agreement with Free's expression of 'wtf' and mutters to herself as she makes her way closer still to Louis. "Smells like a trap, even if it's more the business sort of trap than the 'abduct you and hold you for ransom/kill you' sort of trap. Though I maybe it can be both..." She muses with a shake of her head. Louis sighs. "That's business for you," he comments after a beat. He next turns to face the direction where his lion companions and no-longer-a-dolphin acquaintance stand. He looks wearied, but he refuses to show exhaustion in front of everybody else. "I think it's safe to assume we can leave, given what was just said. It sounds as if there's a cover-up in play and the only way we'll learn more is if I visit this guy. I'm no fool. I've had to talk business with the most ruthless of Carnivores, so I'm not worried, but I don't for one moment think he has anything other than monetary acquisition in mind. So long as there's that, arrogant as he may be, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends." Louis stumbles as his left leg grows weak for a moment and he very nearly falls, yet Dolph is there to catch him. "Free, call a cab. We'll get Louis to the hotel where he can freshen up and change clothes." "Yeah, no worries. I'm on it." The buck looks to Nina. "It would seem coffee is off for now, but you can come visit the Hotel instead and we'll stop by the house cafe. If you want. Bring your friend, perhaps." Nina frowns a bit at Louis' response about that being business and what the invitation really means. But she tries to put that out of her mind as that was something for Louis to deal with and it seemed both that he had it in hand, and that it was unlikely she would be joining him to face this Kahn fellow. She is disappointed that her real meeting with Louis would need to be put wait for a bit but she certainly understands why, and hey, maybe this hotel also has a nice pool, that'd be a plus. "Sure, his name is Nanaki, I thought he might like to meet you." "Nanaki? Mm." From a cursory glance Louis or the lions might think Nanaki to be some sort of hybrid animal with a unique shape, something akin to another animal they know with similar legs and physiological features. "Of course. I'm sure I can talk staff into making it all worth our while." Dolph softly asks Louis something, but the response is a firm shake of the head. He has no intention of being carried. He's content to stand (with assistance) until the taxi arrives. "It's really a shame, you know." A flick of the nose in the direction of the now ruined Vegan coffee shop store face directs to the focus of his commentary. "I hope they get going again soon. At least it's good to know they have Herbivore-friendly options elsewhere. If you spot any, Nina, be sure to point them out." | |