Looking down at the playing card in your hand, you wonder if
this is for the best. Everything seems somewhat sketchy about this
after all. But it's a bit too late to back out now.

You approach the chocobo carriage that's stopped just outside the
city. The chocobo hitched to it 'kweh's softly at your approach,
but there appears to be no one else in the vicinity. When you
hear the bootsteps behind you, you tense reflexively.

But the figure brushes past you, arms hefting a crate which it
shoves into the back of the carriage. When the figure
straightens, you can see it clearly, in the dusklight.

It's a Miqo'te. Female, somewhat chubby, and dressed for chocobo
wrangling - simple boots with spurs, simple blue jeans, simple
long sleeve, simple heavy duty gloves, and a simple hat for
keeping out the sun. All in varying shades of brown, except for the
blue jeans. Tufts of badly cut, brunette hair curl out from under
the hat and as she scans her surroundings, you can see the
bright, almost feral green eyes in her pale, freckled,
unattractive face - one a much lighter shade than the other.

She spots you and crosses her arms, remaining silent, expression
sullen. The perk of her eyebrows is the question.

You hold out the card. She stares at you for a moment longer before
plucking it out of your fingers. 7 of Diamonds.


"Get in," she mutters, voice rough and worn, like so much gravel.
"Where ya goin'?"

You tell her. She boosts herself onto the driver's seat. You
clamber into the back with some few, large crates. With a creak,
the carriage begins to move, and you with it...

"I seen the shine o' a blade underneath the driver's seat o' her
carriage. Not no Eorzean blade neither, them slim numbers from
'crost the sea."

"She's half Seeker, half Keeper - seen her fangs? But she only ever
introduces herself as Nolali."

"She must be a machinist, or use one of them Garlean blades. She
reeks of gunpowder." "She's neither, fool. Never seen her with
any type o' gun, have ye? Nah, I see her castin' magic with
cards, like them Ishgardians. But she ain't use a normal set,
looks like a beat up poker deck to me."

"Her chocobos seem to adore her, and she them. That makes her good
in my book."

"She's C tribe. Don't know anything else, but I do know that."

"I hear tell she'll take ye wherever ye need t' go, ye've the gil."

"Keep your voice down. I'm only gonna say this once. Used to be a
particular gang of bandits and highwaymen out in the Shroud. The
Dead Deck. Small, but effective. Right hand was a Miqo'te lass
looked much like that one, used a gun to blow folks away. Think
they called her Nine o' Spades. When she left, the gang fell
apart. Now scram."

"It's true she's a little stand-offish, but that can be said for
many born or raised in the Shroud. She does good work for the
Order."

"Sure, she'll ferry ye 'r yer cargo places, but 'er real talent
lies in 'ealin'. Right dab 'and at et. Nevermind 'er scowlin'
ways - ye want yerself patched, I'd say there's few better."

ooc

Short Change Hero - The Heavy
Reaper - Silverberg ft. Jordan Frye
Rusty Cage - Johnny Cash