Rogue Hunt: Gems and Beauties

The detective strutted down the lane, humming to herself. She chose the main road, weaving between the late afternoon crowds. Crispy bills weighing down her sealed pockets, the mare would ordinarily have taken the more clandestine route of alleys, convenience store backrooms and hood burrows – all vacant at this early time. Like hell would they let her pass with the towering dragon lady trailing her, though. Scarlet navigated the busy commercial area of the District of Trees and sincerely wished Jade wasn’t there to spoil the joy of having literally lined her pockets.

The client’s aide was quite the presence. On the one hand, she settled the banking procedure within minutes – who knew bankers were so negotiable? On the other hand, she stuck out like a sore thumb, even amid the rather colorful bystanders. Scarlet couldn’t but groan, if only internally – on paper, they were now officially partnered up for this case. But as far as her gut went, the mare felt a mixture of unpleasant sensations. Like she was being stalked, or hounded by an insistent peddler. Or stalked by an insistent peddler, for that matter. Her heart throbbed with disconcerted anxiety, borne of the sudden need to contend with a partner. Her mind, however, buzzed and languished in sheer annoyance, relegated to seeking out methods to adapt to the damn reptile.

Working under someone’s authority – technically so – was one thing, but having them tag along instead of sitting in an office, barking orders and acting important over the comms, was different.

“Ahhh, the noise. What a charming attribute of this great City. You don’t come down here often?” Jade made another of her copious attempts at socializing. “I can see why. The streets are evermore suited to your shadowy veneer at night, aren’t they? Hee hee~”

“How about we make like the sniffles and spread out?” Scarlet posed. The dragon merely produced another chortle and a heavy breath. “Not much work can be done with company comin’ out the taps.”

“Hmmm, well, there is an easy method of sequestering our business from the worldly hustle,” Jade said. She either misunderstandood or outright ignored the mare’s annoyed remark. Scarlet groaned and wiped sweat from the forehead, lifting her cap. “Let’s go to a shady café!”

“Uhhh...” Scarlet began, only to realize she had nothing to counter the idea.

“That’s where you discuss important things while not being spied on. Shady places get by on having such meetings take place,” the dragon informed her, to which the mare instinctively went ‘duh’. She then considered the fact that most commoners weren’t actually aware of such seemingly simple facts. The mare hummed in contemplation. “And besides – I’m parched, and you’re certainly not hurting for money!”

“I am not spilling my moolah on nothing yet – don’t act like I carry any on me, Lady!” the unicorn shot back. She then sighed and resigned to the dragon’s argument: “But… sure. You chip in for the drinks.”

“Ho-ho, quite the hard bargainer we are, mmm?” Jade clicked her tongue, which had to be quite loud to stand out among the loud pedestrians. “You do realize that bargaining supposes a counter-offer is made, and you aren’t simply pushing for a desired result?”

“I don’t bargain or haggle. I…” Scarlet stopped and softly laughed to herself before masking the laugh with a cough. “…negotiate. It’s how you get work done in this City. So where’s that place at?”

“Ah, not far at all. The Menagerie, you know of it?”

Scarlet rolled her eyes and let out a raspberry. “Well it just fuckin’ figures. Sure I do. Folks of yours work there?” She took a sharp turn towards an alleyway that led to one of the District’s less pony-centric establishments.

Jade let out a markedly frustrated huff.

“Oh, ha-ha. Very amusing, Detective. Please, you know better than that. The Menagerie’s contingent deals poorly with dragonkind, and besides...” She suddenly appeared ahead of the mare in just a short sequence of steps, then turned back to glance down at the pony, her eyebrow explanatorily raised. “I’d moreso say those folks work with me.”

“Duly noted,” Scarlet replied. She kept quiet until they came upon the establishment. If only the overgrown lizard would fold over like she very well should have. With any luck, her sharpness did extend beyond rocks and talking smart. Maybe she’d like to do a little less work for this case.

Shit, with all this, you’d forget all about the case, wouldn’t you? Well, Scarlet reminded herself that she did not. As they entered and acclimatized to the dark-lit smoke and drink longue located in one of the District’s inner cul-de-sacs, the Petrifier was very much on her mind as they approached. She’d given her first Rogue a name already, and was manufacturing a number of avenues for investigations: ones she’d regrettably have to proof by her serpentine companion.

A companion who blended in better than she’d earlier had her believe. Unperturbed by the establishment’s shady entourage and able to carry herself in the dark, she seemed to assume the place was benign while daylight still burned. She tried too hard though: Scarlet had to pull at the serpent’s tail to stop talking up the bouncer. It was fortune enough he didn’t arbitrarily try kicking them out, and besides, he was a minotaur. Scarlet shook her head in disbelief, wondering if Jade was trying to flirt with the brute. At least that’d be a more flattering assumption than to think he was the ‘folks’ that ‘worked with her’ in this place.

While the reptile puffed her cheeks and complained about the rush, the detective sent her off to locate an opportune table. Herself, she decided to act on her parchedness and headed for the stall.

“Welcome back. Still kicking around?” the hippogriff at the table inquired. There was a time, this place had the most affordable booze. The reputation was what you’d expect. “Glad to keep your patronage. It’s been a while.”

“I’ve stepped up some, whatsyourface.” That time was long ago. Scarlet didn’t even recognize whoever this was.

“Will it be the usual?” the barkeep asked. Scarlet puffed her nostrils.

“Don’t tell me you remember my usual. How long’s it even been since I ordered here?” the mare wondered.

“Number 13 with extra salt and two bundles of spiced fry.” The barkeep shrugged. “There aren’t many regulars who haven’t been given the boot.”

“Huh.” Scarlet scratched her head. “I guess I’m a consistent mare. Alright then, make that-“

“Goodness. More like predictable. Please, don’t make that two – in fact… eeewgh! I’d not recommend making it one!” Jade materialized by the mare’s side, suddenly butting into the conversation and delivering unwanted critique. Scarlet grimaced, glaring daggers at the dragon. Noticing the response, the nosy reptile clicked her tongue and lifted her arms defeated into the air. “Well, do as you will! But I’ll have a plain number 8 with some redstones for the munching.”

“Gee, thanks for the input. And for sorting out your order – I got no idea what you folks eat nor drink.” Scarlet placed down her payment. Jade followed up with hers, flashing an unnecessary smile at the barkeep. “Now go warm our seat, why don’t you?”

Jade stuck out her tongue and clacked away over to the table in a far corner of the establishment. Scarlet glared an extra set of daggers at the presumptuous dragon’s back, fuming internally. She pulled up the collar of her trenchcoat and sank her head. The hippogriff fixing their drinks didn’t need to be asked, lifting three talons and waving his hand when she glared at him too.

Scarlet used the signaled three minutes to appraise The Menagerie. Poorly lit, drenched in scents and perfumes, shapes lurking in the dark, not all of them equine. Surprisingly not too different from its nocturnal self, merely lacking the dancing/brawling crowd in which to disperse. Also surprisingly lacking in nostalgic appeal. At least Jade picked a table that was in fact quite secluded, yet offering a look at most of the rest of the seats, including those currently occupied by couples and triples similar to theirs. Scarlet’s frustration dispersed, now that she reminded herself of the cash, the imminent drink and the hunt to come. She headed over to the dark corner, lighting up one of her smokesticks along the way.

“Well there you are. Just in time, I see the waiters bringing us the poison,” the dragoness remarked in mock disgust. “I do trust you verily when I assume your sharp intellect will be worthwhile after you consume that swill. Peh!”

“Says the creature who eats frickin’ rocks,” Scarlet deflected. “Think I’ll skip on accepting judgement from you, thanks.” She sat down, letting her trench coat droop onto the sofa. “And it’s a good drink. Don’t peg me down with the common drunk, lady. I don’t make a habit of passing out piss drunk on the regular. I, for one, enjoy keeping the contents of my pockets – and my vital organs, for that matter. Live where I live, and you learn to drink the right way.”

“A skill soon to be rendered obsolete, Scarlet dear. No sane pony stays in the District of Stars when they obtain funds like yours.” The dragon grinned, tapping her fingers together. “And besides, your ‘regular’ is called ‘Shotgun Mouthwash’. Need I say more?”

Scarlet produced a couple long, silent blinks. She scratched her neck, wondering if this was a joke. It took legitimate effort to recall that there was a menu table hanging by the bar stall. She’d hardly paid attention to it - her M.O. was to pick one drink at random and stick with it. Not that she’d let the dragon know that was the whole secret of her consistently safe drinking.

“Oh yeah. Judge the drink by its name? Ain’t that shallow thinking. Color me offended,” the mare replied in a droning monotone, propping up her face with her fists. The waiter, some fancy equatorial equine, finally arrived, spinning the trays onto the table and clopping away on her sharp hooves. “Anyways, thanks for the memories. Been a while since I’d visited this bunghole of nowhere. Not used to the local street cats not slashing one another’s throats as I’m trying to think. That’s the norm around here.”

“Hmmhmmhmm~” Jade sipped at her drink through the attached straw, the green liquid fizzling and bubbling as she did so. “I’m glad you appreciate it! Evermore glad the owner has delivered on their promise. There was a particularly bad fight here recently – as bad, if not worse, than the hypothetical you just conjured up. Take Buster, the bouncer: he’s only just come off leave - struck with venom in the fray. All better now, I so see! I do enjoy seeing the fruit of my, ahhh, advice, being born.”

Scarlet tilted her head.

“Uhhh… wait, y’advise whoever runs this joint?”

“Well, yes. I did say these people work with me.” Jade fluttered her eyelashes before rolling her eyes and letting off a subtle groan. She gesticulated, explaining. “You see, being Silver Ingot’s… wellness aide, I happen to functionally double as his personal assistant. Beyond acquainting me with most of the District of Gems’ more relevant personages, it also means I often advise or supervise dealings of business. And Silver Ingot’s estate is a major investor in this establishment, sooo…”

The dragoness simply shrugged, grinned and gracefully tossed a gem into her mouth, crunching it down with visible glee. The detective could but shake her head and throw her hands up in the air.

“You done got me. Nice one. See, the ploy to get me to think you’re super duper competent? That’s transparent.” Scarlet put a hand behind her back, grabbed her drink with the other, and reclined against the couch. “But getting this place to stop being a shitshow for even just one day? Even at, what is it… 2 PM? Now that’s commendable. I’ll drink to cleaning up shitshows.” The mare took a deep, satisfying gulp of her brew. It popped and bubbled in her mouth, rattling her head, until she finally swallowed it. “Oof! Now that you said it, it does feel like shotgun mouthwash.”

“One needs to be in quite the… particular state of being to consider that enjoyable, Scarlet,” Jade snidely pointed out.

“Oh bug off, miss problem solver.” The mare cleared her throat. “What the hell do you do, anyways? You’re making yourself out to be quite a big deal, but that official title’s awful dodgy.”

“Hmmm, the bottom is still wet and you’re already wishing to know me better!” Jade let out a measured giggle before sipping more of her own drink.

“Lady, I’m stuck with you, and you’re clearly not the sort of suit that sits in place and lets the house play by its rules.” Scarlet pointed at her. “Something got you hired in the District. Gems, banking operations and business advice are all good, but what’s your deal? So I know when you open your mouth and don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Now Jade let out a genuine laugh.

“What rustic charm, Starlite~” she drawled before sighing and averting her eyes. The dragon took off her decorative spectacles and gave them a wipe. “But I see what you mean. You want me to put it in your terms. So be it, detective. I’m a shrink.”

Scarlet sighed before giving off a slight laugh herself.

“Well that just fuckin’ figures. You ARE really good at talkin’ and getting others to talk. ‘least you two weren’t lying!” The mare grasped her temple and shook her head. “Aight then. Let’s get to the nitty gritty of it all. Lemme pull out my notebook and we’ll consider our moves.”

Jade took a long, leering glance to the side. As the silence was entirely too pointed, the mare had to follow the dragon’s eyes. Her snout wrinkled in mild confusion. She squinted. Just a few tables away from them sat a donkey in a trashy white shirt, practically hugging a bottle and kissing the tablecloth.

“Hmmmmmm.”

“Hmm what?” Scarlet asked the murmuring dragon.

“Don’t play coy, you see it.”

“...yeah. Riiight…”

It was 2 PM, and something about that ass did pang her special talent zone. Also known as her own ass. You didn’t get so comically shitfaced at this hour. The math just didn’t add up with how long it’d take. Furthermore, there was another discrepancy…

“Has he been there this whole time?” she asked the dragoness.

“Why, I chose the most pleasantly vacant corner!..” The reptile tapped her chin.

“Hold on just a sec. I’ll have me a refill.” Scarlet stared at her partner with as much conspiratorial implicitness as her less than refined mimics could afford. “Awful parched for poison, you see.”

“Ah. Hm. Yes. Don’t let me stop you.” Jade fluttered her eyelashes and nodded.

Scarlet made a quick trip over to the bar stall. The hippogriff was a bit apprehensive about telling her what other customers had been having. Learning she was a Seeker on an investigation and her partner was one of the people enabling this dingy hole to run changed his mood considerably. As she thought, the donkey had only chalked one order. He was also a fellow, genuine regular. Scarlet’s intuition got her to quiz the barkeep some extra, though it didn’t take much of an interrogation to have enough. Her butt tattoo was on point as always.

As if on cue, the donkey started to pack up and head out as Scarlet returned to the table.

“He’s in with the locals. You know what I mean. Flashy fashions draw eyes in seedy spots like these, I woulda expected you to know that.” The mare pointed a finger at the dragon, who’d indeed come out in roughly the same attire as she’d last seen her. “Nothing to worry about though. I wouldn’t-“

“Ah, well that just confirms it. Scarlet, darling, dearie, ahem, lean in closer,” Jade urged her. Unwillingly, the unicorn leaned in toward the table. Her eye was pinned to the donkey, who was dispersing toward one of the exits. “I say we give chase.”

“Give chase? We got plans to figure out! What’s a long-eared hoodlum to us?” the mare asked in frustration.

“And what sort of business are donkeys usually involved in?” the dragon replied, twirling a redstone in her fingers. She popped it in her mouth, expecting an answer from the mare.

As she well should have, because it was rhetorical. Scarlet rubbed her chin. It didn’t even occur to her – she was too centered on soon having to deliver her plan of action to the irritating lizard. Poachers, most donkeys in these areas were poachers – or worked with them. The detective shook her head.

“Oh please, you think the poaching syndicate who procured our perpetrator’s Tektalisk sent out a goon to spy on us?” She puffed her nostrils. “I’d consider it if we’d gotten any work done at all! The Rogue shouldn’t have any idea yet, certainly not to send out henchmen.”

“But I imply no such thing. You need no conspiracy,” the dragon posed, twirling another gem in her fingers, watching it glitter. “When you have luck.”

“…pardon me?”

“Let’s give it a shot! Weirder things have happened, right? We’re dealing with a Rogue, you never know what’s on the table!” the dragon quietly exclaimed. The corner of her mouth curled into a sly grin. “And besides… there were murmurs of statues being disposed of at the poachers’ holding stocks recently. Oh, and he’s currently leaving through the smugglers’ exit.”

“You couldn’t have-“ Scarlet scratched at her own snout, letting out a raspy sigh. “Get up, just get up! Be subtle.”

“Ooo, but I will,” Jade assured her. “And don’t be so frumpy. I was going to mention the rumors… if not for such a shot at serendipity, I would have!” The mare was already storming toward the lower exit, the one that led to the back alley. “Oh, how exciting. In hot pursuit already!”

“Not so hot,” Scarlet hissed.

“Pah, fine.”

“Not yet…” Scarlet murmured as they passed by the smugglers’ exit registry gems. There was no other security there – likely why it was used for this purpose.

The Menagerie likely saw a cut from the dealings in and around it, the detective didn’t need to be a detective to guess as much. It seemed like a bit much, but what if it did actually play into their hands? She was going to say something about not making noise, or dissing the dragon’s get-up, but she realized that the only footsteps she could hear were her own, and Jade was actually a few steps ahead, striding by her side. At least that surprise was a pleasant one.

Scarlet cast her qualms aside, glad to finally be in her element. The only thing more in tune with her life’s work than sweeping through dark, shady alleyways, was sitting on her ass for hours on end waiting for an abstractly described guy to show up so she can then do the former. If the latter could be skipped this time around, she was all for it. The granules of her investigation already lined out in the mare’s mind, she even had some questions in mind.

This District’s alleyways weren’t quite the perfect suit for her, though. Leather trench, camo hat and modest height were optimal for the District of Stars’ narrow, vein-like repositories of trash both literal and figurative. Here in Trees, there was some space to maneuver and a lot of incidental nooks and crannies, compounding the dim illumination and causing the mare to have to watch her hooves. Fortunately, she’d dealt with enough donkeys to know the disadvantage was applied evenly. Her pursuit loomed on the horizon, and the usual alleyway contingent kept to their hidey-holes as the detective strode the crate and barrel-filled passageways. Trees at least didn’t have the changeling problem Stars did – Scarlet wasn’t fond of dodging discarded drone molts. The crunching sound was the worst, giving the pursuant mare away, and generally awful on the ears.

Her partner, meanwhile, wasn’t gonna ever have that problem, so it seemed. Scarlet could hardly notice Jade was there with her at all. The serpent slithered through the shadows, sticking next to the detective and eagerly eyeing her as she encroached on the donkey. Her scaly snout betrayed entirely too much excitement – understandable, the reptile likely romanticized Scarlet’s supposedly action-packed job. Up there in high society, corners were always quite rounded, filthy works lacked the right impact. All she could ask for was that Jade not be a burden, and sure enough, she wasn’t. Good. Now she could establish who did things around here, and on even terms.

The donkey had given himself away a long time ago, lumbering through the smugglers’ pathway with as much grace as could be expected. In fact, for a donkey, he was borderline graceful, further solidifying that he’d used this path often. Catching up was a matter of time. Scarlet had this. Poachers and smugglers weren’t much for unity – even if some of his ilk lingered nearby, they wouldn’t risk butting in.

“Hey mister,” she sent out a husky call round the corner. Her shape soon followed, the faulty lights flickering as she did. Actually, they flickered as Jade slipped in behind her, but the donkey probably didn’t notice. Scarlet cleared her throat, nodding in contentment at the not-so-fellow equine frozen in place. “By which I mean, hey asshole.”

The donkey skidded to a halt, his ears flipping wildly in the air. He cast a glance at the mare, which caused him an ego gratifying jolt. The hood scampered to take off, a hopeless endeavor, considering Scarlet was deceptively fast for her stature – and the cumbersome trench coat. Besides, donkeys weren’t the fastest equines out there.

As he invoked numerous less than civil reasons she shouldn’t be interested in interacting with his unassuming person, an extra reason piled into the mix. While Scarlet power-walked on the scattered goon, expecting to catch up within minutes, Jade had slipped way ahead and now blocked the only way forward, sandwiching him between the two partners with her towering self. The mare let out a ‘huh’. She’d forgotten this lizard could be stealthy when she wanted to.

“Hi. We just have a few questions,” Jade said, lighting up a smokestick. “Oh don’t look at me like that.” Her long, muscular tail swaying behind her back, informing the poacher minion that rushing past her was ill advised. “Sometimes you just get cornered in a dark alleyway by people with questions. I’m sure you know the drill. Now, be a-“

The would-be spy didn’t even get to hear whatever ended up not manifesting out of Jade’s mouth, yelping and hitting the ground hard. Scarlet’d caught up and pulled hard on his tufty, scarred tail. The bottle he’d carried with him, suspiciously empty and likely to be used as a weapon in a last resort, shattered on the pavement. The mare stomped hard on the donkey’s back, staying directly above his midsection, invalidating the goon’s characteristically strong kick.

“The FUCK are you doing? What the hell sorta game is this?” the donkey complained, groaning. “Do you even under-“

“Hey, asshole. Don’t insult my intelligence, or I’m gonna mush your guts harder than your ethnic cuisine. I know who you run with, okay? Fuckin’ please, white shirt, notched tail, trailing me and my, ahem, PARTNER there in the middle of the day.” Scarlet gave the dragon an informed glare as the latter stood with her eyebrows high, high up on her forehead. Be it bemusement or plain surprise, it was hard to tell. At least she didn’t interfere.

The donkey had begun to try and argue the gravity of her mistake again, to which she cut him off, twisting her hoof-boot some more. What could she say, she prided herself on easily taking the reins of any situation. Even something as random as this.

“Let’s save us some time: you ain’t doing shit to me. I live deep in Diamond Eyes territory. They hang your types up by their tufts on sight. Suck it up, grease-hairs – and answer some questions.” Scarlet stomped a little harder, preventing any reply from diverting the discussion. Donkeys were generally useless from the waist up – were this a pony, she’d probably have had to get them in an arm lock, maybe bash their noggin against a hard surface if it were a unicorn like herself. Helpfully, they were as hardy as the hardiest of earth ponies, so she risked nothing by pushing hard. The prissy dragon watched intently, seemingly impressed with her application of street smarts – as she should have. And she didn’t know half the stuff required to be impressed with Scarlet’s tactics, anyway. “Warehouse number?”

“blrgh! Hrrlmmm… Five, I’m warehouse f-five,” the donkey managed. “But they didn’t send-“

Scarlet glanced up at Jade. The reptile scratched her chin, her lips curling. She shook her head. That wasn’t the site she mentioned, then. Poachers ran different crews warehouse to warehouse. This one would’ve heard of it, but he wouldn’t be here on their orders…

“Aight, so now I know you’re here after me, thanks a bundle for confirming that one.” Scarlet let out a low chuckle. “Bribed or forced, asshole? It don’t take much of either to pull you into an errand, so what was it?”

“H-hey, ease up! Grhfff! I’ve got a-“

“The message can fuckin’ wait, it’s always cryptic fuckin’ bullshit that goes nowhere! How’d they get you? Spill all you got, scabby pants.” The detective looked up at the dragon, trying to see how much of her prowess she was absorbing. “No serious Rogue would turn to you vultures for gruntwork. You don’t got much to fear, ‘cause I’ll be done with them, and soon.”

“I-I…” The donkey stuttered, breathing hard. Jade sighed, taking a long drag of her smokestick. “Th-they sent a guy… I just had to sl-slip you a note!”

“Motherfucker thought an oaf like you could sneak up on me and slip me a NOTE? Alright, now I know I’m not being stalked.” Scarlet grinned. “What guy?”

The donkey let out a signature nasally groan, making one last attempt to slither away, for which he received a further stomp, and a kick to the ribs to boot. There was a reserved yet unpleasant crackle, which provoked a further grin from the mare. She turned the wheezing equine over with her hoof. Grimacing and taking a demonstrative spit off to the side, the unicorn crouched and slipped her hand in his shirt pocket and procured a zipped envelope.

Unsurprised that she found it so easily yet surprised that the note did indeed exist, she got back up, clicking her tongue. Jade had given her a wide-eyed look, shook her head and turned away, puffing her cherry scented vapors in another direction from the interrogation.

“Woulda gotten to it later, but you just pushed the envelope. Hurf.” Scarled cracked her knuckles and flexed her neck. “What. Guy.”

“…f-fuckin’ one of you…” the donkey spat. “W-with wings?… Hkk! Wore a suit a-and tie… some weird paint on the sh-shoulders? I wasn’t- grff –really l-looking… s-said to ask no questions and do w-what I’m told.”

“So you did. I can’t believe that I’m buying this, but crazier things’ve happened.” The mare sliced the envelope open with a brief burst of telekinesis. Her snout wrinkled. “Did you hear about the statue incident? Who raided that warehouse?”

“I…” The goon grit his teeth. He looked behind the detective’s back, where Jade stood with her back turned toward them, tapping her foot repeatedly. She shook her head in exaggerated disdain for the events currently unfolding and tossed another redstone in her mouth. Scarlet chuckled at the weenie that she was and glared back at the donkey, who’d hung his head and rubbed his chest. “I didn’t hear nothing about-“

“Oh, enough of this malarkey! Scarlet, I wanted to trail this miscreant, not deliver him beatings! He reeks of… eeewgh! And I’m unsure if being near him isn’t going to give me a disease!” Jade cut him off with a petulant tirade. “I trust we’ve got our results? Any more and I’ll have to extoll my influence on the local authorities. You are much too physical for a unicorn, what with your alcohol-hampered immune system. That may be a bad look.”

Scarlet groaned. She really wanted to keep wailing on this lowly goon, considering they truly weren’t under any risk of pursuit. At the same time, she did in fact get all the answers she wanted. If only this were someone else – but the mare knew too well that donkeys couldn’t lie worth shit, and would in fact take odd jobs for little pay from who knows who without paying any attention. This info just wasn’t implausible enough to keep the interrogation going. Besides, the contents of the note were… both disappointingly predictable, and, well, a clue in and of itself.

In the end, Scarlet chose not having to hear more long-winded whinging. Clicking her tongue, she mocked one last blow toward the donkey before letting out a sharp guffaw and turning away.

“Be glad I’m not with the Force. Go get gone, droopy face. Linger ‘round and I’ll forward you to people who are with the Force.” She nudged him with her boot. “Not many donkeys go around with a greasy fuckin’ mullet like this, they’ll find you right quick.”

“It’s a- hrrrl –it’s a hairpiece!”

“Well blow me down, more identifying characteristics, it’s a gift I didn’t know I wanted!” The mare fake-laughed. “Scram!”

“Ssscaarrrleeeetttt, we should gooooo,” the dragoness whined. Sighing and rolling her eyes, the mare obliged, waving her hand at the recuperating ass. “I want to be in civil company and entourage as we figure out our steps. Away from, ahem…” Jade motioned at the goon, additionally pointing and wagging her finger at Scarlet. The detective merely fixed her shades on her snout and grunted. “…all this!”

“Hey, you sounded like you wanted an adventure,” the detective said, walking past her and back into The Menagerie. “Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”

“Your skillset? Respectable. Your manners? Oh gosh. I’d only use this kind of vocabulary somewhere private.” Jade cleared her throat and caught up, haughtily clicking her heels. “Nevertheless, it seems my hunch was correct.”

“Your hunch. Uhuh.”

“Yes, my hunch!”

“Keep dreaming, Suit N’ Scales. I’m a lot less helpless in these seedy spots than you think,” the detective assured her.

“You do blend exceptionally with the common filth and muck for someone of your talents,” the dragoness replied. “Pfeh!”

To avoid hearing any more of the shrink’s refutations, the mare simply remained silent, riding her ego boost all the way to their table, where a second round of drinks awaited them. How very nice of the establishment, as the mare was going to need some more shotgun mouthwash before putting together the pieces placed down by the archetypical cryptic Rogue note.

I want only for beauties, within and without. Have you either?

Scarlet could but sigh. The District of Beauties. The murkiest den in this whole City, and that said something. Of course. It had to be someone bold, or mental, enough to operate out of there, to steal a ‘lisk from some lucky poachers. Or, well, to BE themselves a half-reptilian magical hybrid with appropriate abilities. Scarlet preferred the latter backstory for her prospective first Gallery hit.

“Yes, now, Starlite-darling-sweetie-dearie-pumpkin-pie, please don’t go on another binge of violence and instead tell me-“

“No. Not yet. I’ll have to… run it through some sources.” The detective shook her head. The dragon slowly tilted her head, pupils growing large. She produced incoherent, outraged noises. “In fact, I’mma seal it back up. Rogues are a tricky lot. Could be laced with something for all I know. That’s why I wear gloves.”

Jade let out a sibiliant, hissing moan and slumped in her seat, sticking a straw in her mouth and sipping at her drink.

She wasn’t going to tell this… partner of hers, what it was. Not until she was comfortable heading to that hellhole, let alone with such a companion. She had too much of a habit of kicking things into motion when Scarlet didn’t want them therein. Even if so far all of it had admittedly worked… the mare had her routine, and that worked. Better safe than sorry.

Once it was all said and done, she did wish she’d committed to outright wasting the dragon’s time so as to establish her control over their work endeavors… but the reptile was an inopportune debater. Too much complaining, not enough hooks on which to latch more info that’d weigh down an uninitiated mind. At least she could be sure her partner understood the intricacies and details of investigative minutia, and, regrettably, got her sing-stone tune written down. Moving on, they had some general investigation matters to tend to, and prepare.