Scene #3466: Contract Accepted

Owner	Pose
Ira MacNally	Hole in the wall is kind of generous for the place that Ira has picked. A hole in the wall might actually turn some decent business. The bar that Ira has picked doesn't look like it gets very much traffic. In fact, the bar itself isn't even actively manned-though given that it's after school, it might not be getting that much traffic at the moment. Maybe that comes later in the night? About three people are loitering within the darkened room, which is decorated like an old hunting lodge with a distinct wolf theme. Towards the back wall, aside from mismatched tables and chairs, is an old worn pool table. The bulky form of Ira MacNally can be found over here, lounging over the table, idilly playing a game of pool against herself it seems. Nobody else in the bar dares venture near her but the other two patrons seem to be older German gentlemen busy yakking to each other.
Laer	It seems Laer did actually notice the restrictions that the students had asked nonhumans to pay, because it's not obviously an elven woman who wonders into the bar. Rather, in a very stylish pantsuit, a brunette human will make her way in. The illusion is mostly right, but subtle; Laer's eyes still look the same, at least, as she makes her way over towards the pool table. She doesn't play, so she'll just watch for a moment before speaking up, keeping her voice low. Mostly because she doesn't speak German, and even if they would understand, she has her reasons for trying to keep this meeting quiet. "Food here any good?" Is the question, even though a glance around would suggest that it is not.
Ira MacNally	Hilariously enough, Ira doesn't actually understand that Laer is an elf /because/ of the disguise she wore the other day. It's something she's yet to pick up on any of the radio channels. However she is immediately suspicious at that random, unrecognizable woman entering the bar, which has a total of regulars that can be counted on one hand. She straightens from being bent over the pool table as Laer strolls in. "No." Ira says bluntly, leaning a hand against the pool table. "I don't think they even open the kitchen at this time. The drinks are alright."
Laer	Laer will hmm. "Ah. That's a shame; it's nice to do this over food. Still, drinks would be fine. Can you order for us? I'll pay, of course, but I'd rather not draw attention more than I have to." She'll head for a normal table, waiting patiently for whenever Ira might be ready to join her, with or without drinks. She seems to be trusting the teen to place an order that she'll find acceptable. This is mostly because Laer spent the better part of fifteen years playing in various dive bars, and can no longer be affected by bad drinks with anything more than mild displeasure.
Ira MacNally	"Yeah, sure, what do you like? Spirits? Wine? Beer? Actually, let's stick with beer, I get trouble sometimes if I try to get spirits." Namely because she's not supposed to be old enough to drink them yet. She puts down the pool cue and saunters over to the bar, making use of a bell left on the counter that summons the tender from the back. A few moments pass. She returns with two big beer steins filled with a foam-topped brew. It smells...decent. It's okay beer by German standards and those standards are pretty high. She sets them both on the table and has a seat. "So." She keeps her voice low. "I want to be discrete. You heard my classmates last night. Hoshi seems to have become rabidly anti-Confederate."
Laer	"Beer is fine." Laer says, agreeably, taking a sip at the beer. Her standards are much lower than this, so she seems fine with it. Once business is gotten down to, Laer will glance back up, with just a little bit of foam on her nose spoiling the effect. "Yes, I can certainly agree to that. I was going to make a suggestion, on that note. We have a program that can be useful in these cases, where it's inconvenient for one side or the other to acknowledge an alliance. We offer support, both financial and when it's feasable more direct or solid." She'll pull a radio out of her bag, sliding it across the table. "In exchange, you give what information and help you can without interfering with your own situation. This can last indefinitely, or the day may come where discretion is not needed. School days don't last forever, after all." Does the confederate sound a little wistful at that? Possibly. "If nothing else, think of it as having quite a lucritive job already lined up, and this as.. an internship, if you will. A quiet, discrete one."
Ira MacNally	"Oh really." Ira is happy to speak english, it seems. It might prevent the other two patrons in the bar from understanding them, at least, unless the Translation Effect starts reaching their way. "It'd be a pain if they knew. They started a little group for the persona users in our school and right now it's advantageous for me to be in on it. We don't know much about how the supernatural stuff works yet so we'd all wind up learning it together." Ira grins and lifts her hand, stopping the radio as it slides over to her. "Heh, I can do that. Does seem like Gudako and Ark are interested in what's going on in this school. And I always appreciate steady sources of income." She takes the radio off the table and pockets it into her coat. "So what are you exactly? A wizard? Mistress of disguise?"
Laer	"Well. I'm somewhat known for making myself involved in these sorts of situations as well, so I may venture this direction from time to time. Though I was telling the truth - I'd be less interested in what's happening for its sake than in seeing if any of the others would be worth the effort of recruiting." Laer's pretty good at that, implying she'd taken her pick with the first of them, even though Gudako had done most of the work. She'll glance around, shifting over and getting the light to fall in just the right way that the other patrons won't see before letting the illusion drop. "Laer Azati. Colonel of the Confederate forces, bard, writer, occasional teacher. A wizard is not correct but is close enough for most purposes." She's saying that mostly because her claiming to be a wizard would bother the hell out of all the wizards she'd ever known.
Ira MacNally	"That depends on if anyone else is strong enough to survive the challenge. It /would/ be nice if we could just chuck 'em all in there to sort that out in one fell swoop." Ira grins toothily, taking up her beer. "Does Gudako get some kind of referral bonus for this? Is that a thing you have?" The immediate thought follows of 'recruiting' some herself, provided they prove strong enough. The glamour disappears and Ira squints, eventually spying the pointed ears. "Ah, there had to be something to need the disguise." she remarks, "A colonel, huh. Is that a high rank? Or is it different than the way Earth does it?"
Laer	"Ah, I don't know. We can probably make something happen. I'm not really sure what Gudako would even want, but if they wanted a bonus one could certainly be provided." Laer admits, with a slight shrug. Gudako is slightly a lunatic, in different ways than Laer is; the elf isn't certain of her desires. "It's a pretty high rank, but mostly that's so I can speak with authority when I make offers like this one. And a reward, in turn, for having done so well in the past." She'll sip back into her beer, before glancing up. "In any case. If you need me, personally, you can reach me most of the time. I won't always be around, but I try to be available for our associates. I can usually come up with a reason to interfere."
Ira MacNally	"Oh. Just curious. She's pretty cool and she absolutely enrages Hoshi. That's enough of a reward for me." Ira is clearly the master of having excellent tastes in friends? Maybe madness attracts madness. "You said you're a teacher though. I'm curious as to in what." Ira says between sips of beer. "And yeah, it's my position in The Travellers on the line. I know how to be...careful about associations and stuff like that."
Laer	"I see." Laer says, a bit of amusement showing. "Well, Hoshi could use a little enraging, from what I saw." Not that the elf is exactly unbiased, of course. "I was a teacher at the school I grew up in, which taught magic and music and how the two are inexorably linked. I'm technically obliged to return from time to time in repayment of my upbringing and education, but it has been difficult to find time to figure out how to get back there for some time now."
Ira MacNally	"It's super easy and doesn't take much." Ira comments lazily. "Anyway, enough about her, she's not going to be that useful to you anyway." The bias isn't even touched. No need. She drums her thick, calloused fingers against the table. "Magic and music...two things I have zero talent in. Even with the superpowers. Darn. So your Colonel job keeps you so busy that you can't visit your home?" Ira actually seems a little intrigued by this idea. "I mean, kind of rough I /guess/ but being that busy..hmm, might be a good thing."
Laer	"Oh, no, I just.. Hmm, how do I explain this? About fifty years ago, I got caught on the other side of a dimensional rift from my home when I was far less knowledgable and powerful than I am now. Your mirror sounds something like it, though it wasn't exactly a world of horrors on the other side. I could probably find my way back these days, but I've less interest than I once did." Laer will shrug at all of this. "Sometimes, even if it's a nice place, where you come from is just a nest. You have to fly somewhere else."
Ira MacNally	"/Oh/, yeah, I completely missed that." Ira seems only mildly embarassed by the misunderstanding and is quick to wave it off, "Maybe. The Mirror World isn't that much of a one-way trip if you can survive the first one. But I've only been there once so my idea of it is a little skewed." Discarding what little she knows about the Mirror Forst for now, she continues, "Gotta agree with that. It would be nice to have the freedom to just roam pretty much whereever. Eventually, maybe..."
Laer	"The Confederacy can be a key to that door. Feel free to use it like one. Here's to a mutually beneficial arrangement." Laer says, lifting up the remaining beer, and digging out some money with her free hand. It's an excess amount, though in the proper local currency. She wants to spend, wants to try to keep a good impression up even with the deal already made. "In any case, we'll see you around down the line, right?"
Ira MacNally	"Here here." Ira lifts her own glass rather heartily, though not enough to spill. She's already drank enough out of the mug that there isn't anything TO spill with her careless movements "Oh, yeah, the tab." She'll /gladly/ accept the offered money and quietly pocket any difference between what the beers actually cost and what was given. "Oh yeah, you'll definitely see me around. And hear me around. Yes." She gives a slightly feral grin at that.