Dahlia [BOUNTY] +(Riley and Lara)+

It was his first time venturing outside of the West District, his home area and the place he knew by heart. Oblivion operated in the East, though, and if he wanted the experience in bounty hunting – not to mention the credits, if all went well – and the target seemed the easiest out of the rest. So he went through the motions of using the Green metro line to travel, a little wary about spending credits on such a thing, though there was no way he was going to walk to East District.

Riley emerged from the Metro, carefully climbing the stairs to street level and looking around. It was evening, the sun being close to setting; he had less than an hour of light left. Not good. He’d been hoping to have more time to get a feel for the layout of the district and get some more information on where his target was, but he’d have to make do. At least the night would provide cover for hunting…or get him killed by gang activity, either or.

With a sigh, he headed down the sidewalk, careful not to look at anyone as to not bring attention to his eyes – though he was already drawing some attention to himself with his bandana, and there was nothing to be done about that.

Lara was comfortable in the area of odd jobs, she actually preferred it, however she was very new to the whole bounty hunting thing. She would never admit it, but she was actually very nervous about this job. It did make her feel better knowing it was a D-Rank though, and someone who wasn't too skilled in the art of combat, since that was an area Lara excelled in. Still, she was a little rusty, and she had no idea how to take on a weapon like poisoned needles.

As she emerged from the city's underbelly, she was slightly relieved it was still light out, since this bounty had led her to a part of the district she had never been to. Looking around she could see that as the sun disappeared, so did the number of civilians. Those left behind were clearly individuals of the night, they minded their own business for the most part, but there was definitely a thick tension in the air.

Darkness cloaked and transformed anything Lara had become even remotely familiar with, and it made her a little uneasy. She stood in the darkness between two street lights and took a deep breath. 'Okay, I can do this, I just need to focus.' She continued after a moment of collecting herself, but then stopped again when she became aware of another presence. She kept walking, but didn't let the stranger in a bandanna out of her sight. 'Where are you off to?' She thought to herself as they both continued down the same direction. It wasn't unheard of for people to pair up on a bounty, but Lara was so new to this and didn't know how to go about it, so she decided for now she'd keep to herself and stay aware.

As the sky grew darker, so did his anxiety. Being in an unknown place so far from home, and at night too…the resulting feeling did not sit well with him. At least most of the people left on the streets kept to themselves, and he still lacked any wounds. Not bleeding to death by bullet wound or frothing at the mouth by poison was always a good state of being. Even so, though, the mix between the tension of the area and his paranoia was probably going to kill him first.

The fact that he was being followed (possibly? Maybe?) did nothing to lessen the unease. Whenever he glanced around, he caught sight of the same figure some ways behind him. They weren’t exactly doing anything, but still. If it hadn’t been nighttime, he probably would’ve asked what she was doing – actually no he’d probably still be confused and anxious. He was fairly sure that the person wasn’t his target, at least. He’d caught a glimpse of blonde hair at one point, and Dahlia had been described to have black hair.

Steeling himself for the worst, he stopped walking underneath a streetlamp, letting the light from it fully show him as he turned around completely to face his stalker (or maybe they were just going about a nightly walk? He still couldn’t tell). “Hey,” he called softly, trying his best not to attract more attention than needed. Lucky for him that most of the night travelers had gone to do their work or whatnot; there were still a few at the far ends of the street, but nothing too worrisome anymore. “Did you need something?”

Worst case scenario, the person attacked him. Best case scenario, they either talked to him like a normal person or left him alone. In the first case…well, he hoped he was good enough with those knives to defend himself, though the thought of stabbing someone was unappealing as ever.

It was obvious the stranger in the bandanna had noticed her as well, and after a few passed glances he stopped right under a street light and addressed her. She figured if he had stopped in a well lit area, he probably meant well, as well as a harbinger roaming the streets at night could mean anyway. Still she approached with caution, making sure to keep a look of calmness on the outside.

"What I need is to be somewhere right now, and for you to mind your own damn business." She continued walking until she was a good few feet ahead of him, then she slightly turned her head to the side and addressed him again. "Actually, I'm looking for a.. friend of mine." She figured it wouldn't hurt to try and see if he was in fact on the same bounty, or at least knew where to find this chick.

"Her name's Juliet Giogio, she's got short black hair and green eyes." She remained completely still under the florescent light, ready for any sudden movements. This guys could very well be from Oblivion, in which case her choice to open her mouth could prove to be a stupid one. Either way, she came into this night prepared for a fight or two, and in all honesty she craved it. "You know where I can find her?"

Oh. Well, that was awkward. Riley watched her as she passed, feeling somewhat foolish, though it didn’t override the paranoia. About to turn away and head in the opposite direction – just so he could leave her alone – the woman spoke again.

Juliet Giogio. That was the name given for Dahlia, wasn’t it? And the appearance only served to reinforce that. He looked at the stranger, his eyes widening just a fraction before he got his alarm under control. Okay, wait. Think about this. Despite the woman’s use of “friend”, it wasn’t guaranteed that she was actually on Dahlia’s side. After all, why would she describe her friend to a complete stranger in the middle of the night? That’s just asking for trouble. On the other hand…perhaps there was a chance that she was after the bounty as well? It’d be a bit stupid of him to say it outright, though.

“Unfortunately, I don’t. But, it just so happens that I’m a 'friend' of hers as well, and she seems to have vanished from my radar.” That could’ve been the worst decision ever but maybe he could convince her (before he got himself killed) that he just wanted hunting experience and, if she really wanted to, she could take the reward. They could be competition, but they could be allies in this, if only for the moment. Assuming, of course, she actually was a bounty hunter and not affiliated with Dahlia. “Maybe we can help each other out, though. She’s quite sly, after all.”

He had to be in it for the bounty, he just had to, because really what were the odds that she found one of Dahlia's friends? Plus the way he was making it sound was more than suspicious, but maybe he was just putting on a show to protect said friend? It didn't matter to her either way though, all that mattered was finding her target, and if this was the best way to do it so be it.

"Yeah sure, why not? We'll find her faster if we work together right?" She put on a fake smile, since she wasn't exactly the friendly type. She hoped it would lighten the mood, but any sense of falsehood was sure to make the situation that much more awkward. "You can call me Phantom." Her hand raised into a quick wave, she wasn't about to offer a shake, she tried to avoid contact as much as possible.

"So, one of her usual hangouts is pretty close, it's a bar or club or something like that, we can try there first." It really had slipped her mind which it was, but she knew it was in fact one of the places she could be found. Hopefully this guy knew exactly which building it was, since they all looked pretty much the same from the outside. That was the underground world for you, a seemingly empty building is transformed into a bustling scene of colors and sounds if you know where you're going.

“...Riley. Pleasure to meet you.” He gave a nod, half-thinking over his decision to give her his real name. Well, he didn’t exactly prepare to give a fake one - and obviously ‘Phantom’ was an alias of some sort, unless her parents were just oddballs - so hopefully this girl wouldn’t try to hunt him down later on.

“I think there’s a nightclub in the area. Sunfall, or something like that?” Earlier, he had overheard some civilians talking about it. Apparently it was fairly popular among shadier folks (one of the people talking had looked like he’d happy stab a person then set their entrails on fire). “It should be around here somewhere, along Mooreson Avenue if I remember correctly.” Not that he knew where that was, but maybe she knew the area better than he did. “We could always start there; it’s worth a shot.”

As he spoke, he glanced out at the street around them every now and again, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious or hostile. He kept most of his attention on the girl in front of him, though, as she had the best chance of killing him, being so close (relatively speaking). Unless, of course, some trigger-happy jerk was out there with a gun and just so happened to stumble upon them. Hopefully not; finding Dahlia would be hard enough without a couple bullet holes in his chest.

Riley huh? It was a little strange to Lara that he would give her his real name, that is to say if it really was, after all he could have very well pulled that name out of a hat. Either way, it was apparent they would both have to trust one another, since they did have the same goal of catching this bounty. However, it went without saying that they'd both have their guard up, trust of not. That's just how it was out here, you could never really turn your back on anyone.

"Yeah I know the street, we're on the right track actually." She turned to lead the way, remaining completely alert of her surroundings, including her new acquaintance behind her.

The cross street was only a few feet away, she looked up at the barely readable sign. "Yup here we are, Mooreson Avenue." She turned her head left, then right. She hadn't the slightest idea which building contained the secret club, but just their luck, she caught sight of a small group walking into one of the buildings to their right.

"That one." Lara gave a small gesture to the building with her eyes as she pulled Riley to her side. "Just act like we belong." As they approached the door, she adjusted her outfit to look somewhat club appropriate. She adjusted her bra so you could see more cleavage peaking out from under her leather vest, and ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a more messy look.

"I guess we, knock?" She looked to Riley as they now stood in front of a large metal door with a speakeasy peephole. Taking a breathe, she pounded hard on the large door when someone appeared in the peephole, startling her a bit.

"Password?" A man with a stone cold expression quickly replied. "Oh shit, I totally forgot what that damned word was!" She said sounding like some buzzed, excitable blonde. "Ya see it's my first time baby, how about ya take it easy on me?" She smiled and winked at the pair of eyes, hoping he'd let them in, but slightly doubting it.