The Box

Leading back around he building past dumpsters and fire escapes it wasn't exactly the VIP entrance Luna had spoken of. More of a service entrance for employees and deliveries. No one tried to stop them though. Luna having been here enough to be well known by now.

On through the kitchen they went. With Luna tossing a wave to the cooks as she passed. Right to the service lift. Where they were both closed in the far less decorative metal box than the more public elevators.

"So, what brings someone like you to the district of criminal and freaks?" she asked to pass the time. while watching the floor numbers blink past. Until with a small ping the doors finally opened at their destination. From there is was a short walk down the fancy halls to the grand doors of the Empresses office.

"Well, lets see what all this is about, shall we?" she spoke while once again holding the door open once more for the half elf to enter.
 
"So, what brings someone like you to the district of criminals and freaks?" Luna asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Someone like me?" Arcana retorted with something akin to an incredulous look on her face. "As though I don't belong here?"

She could tell that the wolfkin wanted to respond to that, but Arcana shook her head and waived the comment off with a smile. "I've been here for a while. Needed to get away from..." she paused choosing her words carefully, "...from where I was. As for Shinjuku specifically? Well you might not know this" she said the next part with a wry smile, "but it's a hell of a lot more accepting of people who aren't completely human than the rest of the city."

The elevator came to a stop, and the two women stepped off. Arcana moved with a slow pace towards the end of the hall. She admired the decorations and framed portraits that hung on the walls. The decor said something about the woman, this Empress, and Arcana wanted to know what that was. With only a few exceptions, the portraits were of people that Arcana didn't know, but from their prominence in the hall she could tell that they were people held in high regard by this woman. Whether she intended them to instill, awe, respect, or fear Arcana didn't know, she guessed it was likely all three, and this told Arcana that this Empress wanted all three.

The overall ambiance of the hallway was at the same time lavish and purposefully subdued. Everything was expensive, especially compared to Shinjuku itself, yet at the same time almost spartan; almost as though she was trying to display her own idea of self, elevated status from among the common man and downtrodden. They horde everything they have and the clutter becomes their lives, she has no clutter, she uses things until they've served their purpose and then discards them. Arcana surmised she was the same with people.

"...she'll pay you well enough; but remember that she's in it for her."

His words echo in her ears, and for the first time Arcana starts to understand what he was talking about. Did she use him and discard him like the rest? Arcana took another look at the hallway, some of the things seemed old, antiques. The Empress did keep things around, things that held value; and he always held value. More than anyone, including herself, knew.

Did he simply become too big for her?

"Well, let's see what all this is about, shall we?" Luna's words broke Arcana away from her thoughts and held the door as the half-elf stepped through.
 
"I suppose I can wait until the other guests arrive." Jever turns the refreshments nearby a table when he hears the door open. Turning he sees the other guests have arrived.
 
"Just leave it." Looming over the counter, a muscular woman talked down one of the servers who promptly took back the stemmed glass seeing she had no intention of using it. She tilted the bottle up, taking a long swallow of the freshly uncorked wine. She wiped her lips with her arm and set the bottle down as she looked around. She was low on credits, but it was worth it. She patted her torso where she had stashed a combat knife, fitting seamlessly in her conspicuous armor.

Serena leaned against the bar, an open bottle of wine in front of her about two thirds empty. Her bovine ears twitched as she watched the gnome walk by to the elevator. "Figlio di puttana!" She swore before taking a long swill from the bottle and rose to her hoofed feet.

The cow-kin was about six feet tall, wearing tattered military-grade armor that was ill-fit over her appropriately bovine breasts. Each one over the size of her head. Her horns were wide and pointed upwards, chipped in places. "Oy!" She staggered up to one of the bouncers guarding the elevator. "I'm going... I'm going where that little shit went." She tried to find the words in clumsy Japanese. She stared the bouncer in the eye as she started to casually walk into the elevator, she clenched her teeth when the man stood in her way.

"Ohhhh ok. Ok." She shrugged, acting as if she were about to let the matter go. With a sudden swing she smashed her wine bottle over the bouncer's head and shoved him out of the way onto the ground. Wine spattered on the floor of the elevator, broken glass crunching underneath her hooves. The doors glided open. "No one ever comes up here unless there is work. Give it to me instead of him." She said bluntly, having at least the politeness to set the dripping and broken wine bottle on a table rather than shattering it on the floor.
 
The dark elf just shrugged in response to the gnome and looked over her laptop once more, as if she was contemplating something. And that was when the door opened and more parties than she expected to show did. Raising a brow at this result, she took another drag from her cigarette holder...how curious.

"Don't think I've seen you before, bovine beauty...though, judging from how you managed to get up here drunk and not stopped by any of my guards, I'd wadger you're that peculiar girl I heard from men...potential muscle and all that. Must say, not impressed with your manners, but your talents might be worthwhile." She then looked to the others and nodded, "Very well...but, before we get down to business."

She looked to the second guard from before, "You should be rewarded for your eye for talent in getting a good runner, who should also be rewarded. Head downstairs and fetch some water to help sober our surprise guest, and while you're down there...tell the runner that he gets a discount on any drinks for the whole night, and can keep whichever girl he desires for the next twenty-four hours to do as he wish. You can enjoy the same for the next forty-eight hours. You are free to go."

The second guard nodded as he went to leave the room, giving Serena a wide berth so as to not come under her drunken wrath. As he left, Aushra took her last draft from the cigarette holder and used an ashtry to put out the cigarette at the end of it. As she did so, she spoke plainly.

"Good to see you all have managed to make it to my Paradise...my Paradicio. As you should know, I am the Tai Hou." The woman grinned serenly and courtly as she leaned towards the desk she sat behind, her barely contained breasts resting on the hard wood surface, filling out the skimpy lavender Chinese dress. She motioned a hand to the table the gnome was at.

"Please...have a refreshment, something to eat...have a seat, mingle. I'd like all of you to be comfortable and have some familiarity with each other before we begin talking about why I summoned you all here, or come to barge in for some among us. We have much to discuss."
 
Arcana inhaled as one of the guards left and she shuddered slightly. Unconsciously, her fingertips grazed against one of their arms and for a moment he caught her gaze. He winked, gave her an arrogant smile and left to do as his employer instructed. Arcana flushed and cursed her arousal under her breath before recomposing herself.

As she walked through the door, Arcana was put instantly on guard, chin up, back straight, and her eyes scanned everything. The two guards were formidable enough she assumed, and the Bovine woman was obviously powerful; Luna, from what little she'd gathered, was dangerous in her own right, and the Gnome... well, the Gnome's rank smell assaulted her nose with a force that might as well have been deadly. 'What was he doing?' she wondered 'crawling around in the sewer!?'.

But it was the Dark Elf woman sitting at the far end of the room that made Arcana tread with trepidation. Her motions were smooth, fluid, and graceful to the point that Arcana found herself somewhat jealous. She had an aura of dignity and culture, a regal beauty and refinement of person which evoked both envy and respect. But there was something about it that seemed off to Arcana, as though it was borne from imitation rather than inheritance. Conversely, comments had been made that Arcana herself moved in a similar fashion; grace instilled from her upbringing, but compared to this woman she was clumsy and bullish. Had she stayed ho- well had she stayed where she was from, there was no doubt she would have the same refinement, confidence and sensuality of motion; but she was woefully out of practice.

"Dark Elves are not to be trusted." she remembered her mother warning her, "They've forgotten their way, traitors and renegades all."

Arcana studied her for a moment, the mischievous sparkle in her eye, the knowing grin on her lips, and the confident motion of her body; this was a woman who was in control of everything in her life. She thought back to the dismissal of the guards, she was gracious with her rewards, but was careful to give nothing that she cared about. 'She doesn't sacrifice anything that's her's.' she thought.

Arcana's eyes turned to the electronics on the one wall. She noted monitors that no doubt fed security footage, multiple laptops likely so that if one was compromised she wouldn't be, and phones varying eras. She spotted a bin with a lone cell phone in it, and concluded it would likely be for burners. Her eyes caught the dark elf again, 'She doesn't trust anyone either, not even herself.'

Arcana moved with a purposefully controlled pace towards the center of the room. She stopped by one of the tables and poured herself a glass of red wine. Out of habit, she went for the Pinot Noir but stopped her hand before it reached the bottle when her eye caught the Syrah and she couldn't help herself. Glass in hand, she sat down across from the Gnome and watched the others. Luna walked with a nonchalant, if somewhat aggravated posture. She was upset about something, but what Arcana couldn't tell. The bovine woman drunkenly stumbled, albeit quite well, to her destination; and if nothing else it told Arcana that the woman could hold her liquor, or was a great actress who was very committed to the roll. She examined the Gnome for a moment and when he caught her looking, flashed her a mischievous smirk that made her chest heave slightly with an sharp intake of breath. She wondered what he might be planning, after all, gnomes were to be trusted even less than Dark Elves.

Then her eyes turned once again to this Tai Hou, this... Empress. The way she carried herself, seductive and elegant at the same time. Sex was at worst a weapon for her and at best a tool, Arcana determined. For herself sex was more than something of a necessity, and she was struck again with a pang of envy. The Tai Hou seemed amused as she watched her guests, no doubt studying them. As much as Arcana was assessing her situation, she felt as though she was under the microscope. As for body type, the Dark Elf woman had long, fine, features typical of any elf, yet surprisingly bigger breasts that even Arcana had. Although, every woman in the room seemed to pale in comparison to the tall cowkin. Their eyes caught each other for a moment and, regretfully, Arcana was the first to blink. With a self annoyed twitch in her eye Arcana took a sip of wine and waited on the rest of her companions to join her.
 
If Arcana thought the strong oder of the sewer on the Gnome was bad Luna was getting it even worse. Her highly sensitive nose could probably track a scent like that from a mile away. So she did her best to keep her new half elven acquaintance between herself and the Gnome. Having grown to enjoy the scent of elves over the years it did help offset it a bit.

She was about to get a drink herself but paused, glanced over at the Empress, and thought better of it. Already she was a few drinks in from the bar. Feeling a bit a bit tipsy. But not enough to forget what kind of trouble drinking in this place could bring her.

So with a sigh, she too moved over to take a seat. Giving the cowkin a little nod of greeting as she relaxed back into her seat. With a slight smirk from the bluntness of her entrance.

"Quite an interesting group we have here." Finally turning her attention back to their host. "I do hope I brought you the right half elf. Didn't really give me much to go on."
 
Gnomes don't have the best of noses. Over the years he has picked up when others have issues with his hygiene, and discovered way to keep people away or attracted toward him. At this time uncertain of certain individuals within the room it was to have an illusion spell casts that keeps some people away sewer stench, and others such as Tai Hou a more attractive earthly smell. Sitting across from Arcana he knew that the spell is working as more guest continue to sit and commune.

Two characters that caught his eye more then any other. The cowkin who seemed blunt and rather rude barging in the way she did, but it was those features that Jever could admire as a student of such things himself. Then of course a mysterious character he couldn't put his fingers together, but felt something familiar like they had met in the past.

Drinking a strong Chinese coffee mix the host has available wanting to stay awake and mobile for anything that could happen. He makes himself comfortable waiting for the mission to be announced.

A short history between elves and gnomes:
They and elves are often together, and with elves putting so little effort in technological advancement, gnomes seemed to follow suit. But, as any gnome will tell you, it is all an elaborate plan.

Jever is no different when it comes to working with elves. He enjoys working with them, but at times they can be quite a handful to deal with. You have to know which ones to trust and at what times. Take Arcana someone so attractive he could work with in time as he gains her trust, or Tai Hou who he needs to give off a very positive yet business approach towards at this moment with a job on the horizon. The rest he will keep an eye on uncertain at this time how to approach them.
 
"Good... good..." She threw herself on one of the seats in Tai Hou's office, the furniture creaking under her weight. She raised her hand up to her face, briefly confused that she's no longer holding the bottle before remembering she had put it down. She drapes her arms over the back of a sofa, her digitigrade legs spread apart some.

Relaxing on the opulent furniture she looked around the room at all the others already assembled. Already she was considering what her cut would be in this endeavor. Afterall, every job needs muscle when things go south.

"So what's there to discuss anyways?" She points accusingly at Tai Hou. "You tell us what needs doing, and we do it. Only thing we gotta talk about is how much we get paid." She pinches her fingers together and rubs them while talking about money.
 
Aushra looked at all of them, eyeing them up and see how they interact with one another. Thus far, not a whole lot of mingling going on, seems they weren't into the idea of warming up with another...that could be a given. In this line of work, connections were better left professional. Get too close, and you'll probably end up hurt. The Tai Hou knew that all too well.

She reclined in her chair when the bovine ruffian spoke, which just resulted in a bemused sigh to come from her lips, "Fair enough, I suppose. I can imagine the rest of you feel the same way." She gave a glance over in the direction of Luna, as for why she did so who knew, but glance she did.

She fiddled with the laptop that was on her desk for a bit as her gaze left Luna. It instead went to Arcana, giving her a once over in time to see the intentive, studying gaze of the half-elf. This mage was studying her, trying to get a read off of her. Clever girl. She just smiled and gave Arcana a wink, "You are a cute one."

As soon as she said that, she motioned for the guard to come forward, which he did. She raised her cigarette holder which he put another cigarette in and lit it up for her. Once she was set, he took the laptop and brought to the table in between all of the guests with the screen facing them so they could see.

"The job is as mysterious as our potential benefactors. I only know that I am instructed to put together a team for a heist." She took a draft from the cigarette holder, the smoke whisking away like a fog, "Not sure what we're to heist quite yet, probably wants to see if the team is competent before going into details. However, I do have a place and time for a meeting to get the job, as well as how much it'll be in total...which is on the screen right now."

Granted, the total income of this job wasn't going to make any of them rich...but it was needless to say that there was more zeros in that number than in any of the jobs they have done recently. Aushra quickly interjected, "But do know...this is my team that I am pulling together. And I do not pay equally, I believe in giving incentive for and rewarding hard work. If you want a big payday, you'll need to be effort into it. The more you put in, the more you'll get out of it. I trust that is easy enough to understand."

She looked over the gathering once more, taking another draft form the cigarette holder, her large breasts rising with a careful action before falling, the smoke slowly rolling out of her lips and around the stick. She then grinned, "And...that isn't all. See, things have been going slowly for my outfit. Good for business, bad for my growth. I plan on becoming more active, and for that, I need a dedicated team. Do well on this job, and you all may just be that team." She licked her lips as she brought the holder away, "Now, don't get wrong. I won't officially owe you and you're free to come and go as you please, do whatever you want, even refuse to do some jobs I send your way. But, you'll be able to enjoy my Paradicio as if you were employees and you'll be the first to hear from me if I ever do manage to get more jobs."

She reached into her desk and pulled out a pen and a sheet of paper. She slid them to the other side of the desk, "No need to say you agree, or even decide right now. We have some time before the meeting with the employers. Until then, you are free to come and go, do some last minute preparations, or just bail out of Shinjuku. But if you're in...I need you to sign this sheet of paper. Feel free to ask me any questions if you desire, as well as enjoy my Paradicio with all of its pleasures."

The Tai Hou grinned one last time as she brought the cigarette holder back into her mouth, "You are free to go. But don't keep me waiting too long..."
 
"Where did you get this? It belongs in a museum."
Poisonhook was in a fence's office, a small space on the third floor of an abandoned office. The chairs were uncomfortable, the wait had been so long he'd considered barging in and tearing the bastard's throat out (there'd only been one other customer, but he was a haggler), and the flickering lights made his head hurt, but all off that was forgotten now.
Laying on the table between him and the fence was a katana. Not a cheap knockoff, either - it was a relic from World War Two and the Japanese advance through the pacific.
"It was in a museum. At least, that's what the thieves told me."
The fence was a goblin woman, dressed in a cheap suit and tie, as well a dozens of pieces of bling. Poisonhook had found her office while roaming the city one night, and asked about weapons. This was all she had.
"Fine. How much?"
She pulled a price tag up from behind the sword. Poisonhook's eyes widened. The sword would cost more than half his savings...
His visor pinged, and a small message popped up. "Big job. Meet at Paradicio for more information."
Hmm. With a job running, this just might be affordable...
"Any way I could get the price down?"
The goblin looked up from her nails.
"Well, you could get me some stuff back. I found some boxes of ammo, but then someone else got them before me. Or you could help make up for that loss - I've heard reptilians have good tongue skills..."
Behind his visor, Poisonhook rolled his eyes. Still the goblin's lusts might prove useful, since cunninglius would be easier than a recovery mission, and less painful than half his savings...
He let his tongue dart from between his lips. "Do you keep a bed in your offices?"
 
Goblins weren't the most attractive species on the planet, but it was better than some. Poisonhook could look on the bright side. At least it wasn't a troll female. Grinning at him with sharp teeth. "Good, I just 'knew' we could could come up with an arrangement."

The office itself was like many in this district. Cheap, likely with old asbestos in the ceiling, and a mock up of what low level street thugs thought corporate offices looked like. Granted, the bobbing bird was a nice touch. But the neat stack of paper probably was just bills, as opposed to actual paperwork from her enterprises. After all, one tended not to keep paperwork when indulging in illegal enterprises.

"I have a loft in the back." She mused. getting up... although not gaining much height from it. "Well, shall we?"
 
So, they were called all the way here only to be told they need to wait. Luna sighed to herself again. All the other things she could be doing right now flashed through her mind. Well, she was here now. May as well make the best of it.

Pushing herself up she walked right over to the desk. Then, grabbing up a pen from the holder, she quickly scribbled her name on the sheet. Paper? She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually written on paper. Of course paper couldn't be hacked. So that was a plus. There were a lot more things that could happen to it though.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't in. So no point wasting time with that."

Dropping the pen back in the holder she looked back. Yellow eyes scanning the others again. With that long fluffy tail swinging slowly behind her. Seeming to swish a bit faster when her eyes went over the half elf.

"So, anyone for drinks downstairs?"
 
By in back, she meant it literally. Opening the door, a small bedroom greeted the reptilian animalkin. It was more akin to a broom closet, a large one, but for anyone else it would have seemed cramped. A small loft greeted the pair, bending over, she slid off a pair of black panties, showing off her shapely ass, before hoping up on the bed. "Well, hurry up. My pussy won't eat itself." Her pussy was bare, proving that she was clean shaving. All in all, there was worse ways of getting a discount.
 
Poisonhook dropped to his knees, running his tongue across his lips. It was long, longer than that of pretty much any other race, thin and dexterous.
He leaned forward, tongue darting out, first coiling around her clit before continuing on, licking her pussy proper.
He brought his hands into the action, one running along her thigh while the other opened a zipper on his suit, allowing his cock to pop free. It was big, about eight inches, gently ridged, and fleshy, unlike his scale covered balls. He wrapped his hand around his rod and started to jerk himself off.
Meanwhile, he was still licking the goblin's pussy, his mouth now close enough that his warm breath washed over her sli, his tongue still buried inside her, licking at her inner walls. He took her clit between his forefinger and thumb, gently toying with it.
 
With the mission announced Jever is ready to move and make his presence clear on how to get the box. Not wanting to play his cards all at once he sits waiting to see who makes the first move. The oddly familiar one named Luna makes the first move announcing her call for drinks downstairs. Could be a call for I dare you to fuck me all that money is clearly mine or it could be a way to create teamwork. Either way he needed to make a move.

The whole lot looked like they needed to be fucked or at least drink a few to get themselves ready for the mission that awaits them. "I'll play along with some liquor and a little talk. Nothing ever went sour having one drink." Jever smirks waving his hand toward Luna. He stands in motion ready to follow her downstairs.
 
Arcana pondered the Dark Elf's proposal for a minute as Luna rose and signed her name on the sheet of paper. Money was tight and although she wasn't in debt, at least financially, she couldn't depend on odd jobs and small time finders fees for much longer. She needed to get out and make a name for herself, and building various contacts was the way to do that. This Tai Hou had said that none of them would be beholden to her after the job and that suited Arcana just fine. Plus the sizable sum that was displayed on the computer screen, while it wouldn't make her rich, would certainly alleviate any financial woes for a little bit of time.

With a thoughtful breath, she finished the drink in her hand, rose from her seat and moved over to the Dark Elf's desk, where she looked the woman straight in the eye and signed her name. "I'm in."

Arcana straightened her stance and stood beside Luna. The wolfkin woman had suggested heading downstairs for some drinks and the gnome was quick to be on board with that. Arcana knew that she would have to return home to change into her adventuring gear as well as pick up her companions, but she had some time before that happened.

She swirled the empty glass in her hand and mused "I could also use another." before setting the glass down and heading downstairs.
 
Heading back down the hall with the two in tow she went to the real ViP elevator this time. The only one that came up to the Empress's office level from the main levels. Nodding to the now familiar piggish orc guard she would step inside and wait for the others to join her.

"Second floor," she told the grunt and down they went.

This floor wasn't the main bar but it did have a smaller one. Across the dance floors where a myriad of the different species that frequented the place were flailing and grinding on each other. What ever passed for dancing in a place like this.

As they approached the music was so loud they would probably have to be a few inches away to hear each other. Luckily Luna only had to give the bar tender a small wave and he nodded back. Seeming to already know her normal order. It would probably be a bit harder for the others. Having to yell over the music.

"Never worked with a team this big before," she shouted. Though it was still barely audible over the noise. "What is it you two do?"
 
The elevator ride down to the second level was uneventful, but being so short there wasn't really anything that could have happened. She did catch the gnome ogling her breasts once, but she ignored it; after all he was pretty much at eye level with them so she figured there wasn't much he could do about it.

Once the doors opened, her ears were nearly deafened by the loud music that filled the room, but after a minute of discomfort had adjusted to the volume. While initially difficult to hear she found she could still pick up distinct sounds if she paid close attention. Luna led them over to the bar and ordered a drink, along the way Arcana found herself unconsciously swaying slightly to the beat and accidentally bumped into a rather muscular orc (which was saying something) and quickly apologized. He looked down at her almost ready to start a fight, but when he spotted the blonde half-elf he just grinned and took his turn at ogling her. Arcana blushed, caught her lower lip between her teeth and scurried to catch up with Luna embarrassed. She looked back once and saw him shamelessly look her up and down appreciatively and she immediately turned to the bartender and ordered her drink.

"Never worked with a team this big before!" Luna shouted over the music. "What is it you two do?"

Despite herself, Arcana felt her hips move to the rhythm of the song again as she answered. "Well, that's a little difficult for me to answer." She said, "I used to work with someone as an associate. He was a Mage for Hire, did all kinds of jobs for people who needed a wizard for something. Warding, summoning, enchanting, tracking, dispelling, extermination, you name it he did it!" She paused as the bartender handed them their drinks, "He was really great at it too! But he... well he had to leave a little while ago and so I'm trying to keep the practice going I guess."

She felt a hand brush against her ass for a moment and she froze. She thought about turning around and seeing who might have done it, but decided against it. The bar was crowded at it was probably an accident she reasoned. "What about you?" she asked before turning to look at the gnome for the first time, "And you! I'm sorry I feel like I'm being rude! I'm Arcana, Arcana Gold." She said and held out a hand for him. "What's your name?"
 
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