East Side

Tall grimy buildings crowd together like sick old men. If they weren't mostly made of brick, this place would easily erupt into flames, and without fire escapes, the poor people living there would get trapped and cooked. People sit on their stoops next to the potholed streets. People sell stolen goods, gamble in the street. Bars suck people in and throw them out all the worse off. It's a dangerous place.

Important Sights_{Feel free to add to the list}
The Wolf's Den- If you tell anyone in the bar you want someone dead, word will almost always get to Wolfe
The Cobbler's Shop- Jack's place of work. The back room is for Gaint Slayer meetings.

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At the Wolf's Den:

Boots took a taxi to the East Side. Paying the driver, he hopped out of the carriage and began to walk along the streets. His destination was a skeevy little dive called The Wolf's Den, the unofficial office of Mr. Augustine Wolfe. Reaching the door he slipped inside and headed towards the bar. 

After ordering a drink he glanced at the bar tender, "Wolfe been in today?" He asked lightly, as if he were just asking about a friend and not a freelance hitman.

If the bartender hadn't seen Boots doing business with Wolfe before, he would have outright lied. "Back room, as usual," he said casually, not even looking up from the glass he was drying.

"Thank you." Boots said, sliding the man a couple of bucks before pushing himself away from the bar. Sidling to the door he gave it a swift knock.

"Who is iiiit?" Wolfe called.

"Boots." He called back.

"Ooo... come in, come in," Wolfe almost squealed.

Boots smirked and then headed into the dimly lit room, taking his usual place at the table. "Wolfe. Nice to see you." He purred, reaching for the bottle of whisky and pouring himself a glass.

"Do you have a present for me?" Wolfe asked.

"I might." He look a sip of his drink. "But first I want to know about this Red dame. Word is that you got yourself a bit of a shadow these days."

Wolfe twitched. "She's not a problem. Her business is solely with me."

Boots eyes sparkled with mirth and he took another sip of his drink. "Got yourself a little fan club. What's her deal, hunting you down to avenge her family? Or is she an ex that just can't get enough of you?"

"First one. It sucks. She's kinda hot," Wolfe admitted and pressed his cigarette against the table.

"I can imagine. And she must be good or damn lucky if you haven't been able to kill her yet." He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Unless you're playing with her..."

"I said she's hot, didn't I?" Wolfe smiled

Boots chuckled and put back the rest of his drink. "Well, have fun then. Just don't get killed, the GM wouldn't like that." He set down his glass and reached into his coat, pulling out a yellow envelope.  "And speaking of the Lady.... she's got a job for you." He said putting the envelope on the table and sliding it over to Wolfe.

Wolfe was going to assure him he'd live to be 80 but the envelope distracted him and he smiled hungrily as he snatched it up and popped it open, examining the contents.

The envelope held the information for a man named Mr. J. Horner. He was Baker on the East Side whose business had been steadily growing thanks to the funding and a little magic from the Godmother. However, the man had become greedy and was now trying to embezzle money, which did not go over to well with the Patin society. The envelope also contained a substantial amount of cash.

Boots stretched and leaned back in his chair as he watched Wolfe read through the papers. "The man's an idiot, so it should be a rather simple job. Also there's no time limit on this one. Just hit him in the next week or so."

Wolfe smiled evilly, flipping through the cash. "Consider it done."

"Fantastic." Boots purred, pushing himself away from the table and getting to his feet. "Well, I'm gonna scoot. I wanna catch a nap before I'm sent out on another job.  Wolfe, a pleasure as always. Happy hunting." he said with a sly grin and then slipped out the door and out of the bar, catching a taxi back uptown.

---

In the back room of the cobbler's shop- Giant Slayers meeting # 35:

"Where the Hell is everyone?!" Jack fumed, getting together his charts and papers at the head of a small lop sided table.

Ariel entered the cobbler's shop, looking hesitantly around the dim room as she smoothed down the front of her dress. "Hello?" She called hesitantly, not seeing anyone behind the counter. She was almost certain she had the right place, at least according to the directions she'd gotten off that police man on the corner between the Mainstreet and Park Lane. However, they could have changed the location of the meeting at the last minute for all she knew.

Ahah! A woman. Jack froze at her voice then smiled devilishly to himself. He ran across the wooden floor, with very quick very audible taps and then stopped in the doorway, puffing up his chest with his head high to seem all important. "And you are?" he said, more formally than was his usual.

"Ariel, Ariel Syrene," Ariel said quickly, smiling hesitantly. "I am here about the... that is, I got an invitation," she somehow made that fact sound more of a question than an actual statement. Taking a deep breath, she continued more steadily. "I got an invitation to a meeting, would you happen to know where said meeting is being held?"

"... You're not a spy are you?" he asked squinting suspiciously. Of course, if she was, she wouldn't say, but he liked to play up on the dangerousness of this little group.

"Of course I'm not," Ariel scoffed, insignant on her own behalf. "I have the invitation in my purse, if you wish to see it," she added. "Besides, someone coming to this meeting have to know who I am, as someone sent me the invitation in the first place!"

"Hmm..." said Jack, as if he debating if she was lying. Finally he nodded and said, "This way. The others are late. I think." Or they weren't showing.

Ariel lifted her skirt a bit with one hand and followed him, taking in her surroundings as she went. "How many are you usually?" She asked, curious about the meeting and the kind of people who attended.

"Oh, lots," he lied. "But I have a feeling tonight's gonna be slow."

"Why is that?" Ariel asked, fidgeting slightly with her purse. She wasn't too comfortable being alone with this man, he may be smaller than her in height, but he had a look about him that made her feel a bit edgy.

Only bits of a ways away, a short giggle sounded in a darkened corner of the meeting room. It wasn't realy an amused sound. Actually, it was only pretense, a mear gesture. This came from a small pair that sat on stools hand in hand, looking gaunt and underfed and utterly unhappy. "Present." Gretta smiled, interupting Jack's answer.

"Gah!" Jack cried spinning around to look at them.

Ariel was already on edge and the unexpected appearance of the two children, if they could be called that, made her startle and drop her purse. "Oh dear!" She said and knelt down to pick it up, inspecting it and wiping off the small specks of dust that followed it up from the floor.

"Don't be so surprised, Jack." Hans spoke with a slight bordom to his oddly sweet tone of voice.

"You knew we would come eventually." Again, Gretta giggled without emotion.

"Yeah, but it'd be nice if you walked in like normal people," Jack said giving them a sideways glare as he straightened a small wore chalkboard.

They both gave a childish "Humph" before crossing their arms to their chests simultaneous. Four mismatched eyes watched him emptily.

Ariel watched their interaction and decided that while she considered the pair to be too young to be here at all, that Jack fellow seemed to know them and expect them, which had to count for something. Perhaps they were just there to take a message for their parents or something, she decided, taking a seat as far away from the two children as she could without seeming rude.

"Should we start or hold off for the others?" Jack asked.

Hans and Gretta mearly sat hand in hand once again, chuckling at what seemed to be an inside joke between them. The syrupy smiles refused to touch their hollow eyes as they watched Jack still with an occasional snicker.

Seeing that the two children didn't seem inclined to answer the question, Ariel hesitantly opened her mouth. "Well," she started, gathering her thoughts. "Surely... surely we need more people than us to hold such a meeting as this?" She half asked, half stated, looking around their odd little group.

Outside, Ruby Woods' carriage pulled to a stop and she got out. She knew it was late but she really needed to get her new boots before she went out "hunting" again. She was a bit surprised to find the door still unlocked, and she pushed it open and went in. The inside of the shop was dark and Ruby's eyes narrowed as she looked around.

Seeing a light coming through a door near the back she slipped across the shop to see what was going on. Without a sound she drew closer to the door and peered inside. The sight made her grin slightly and shaking her head she leaned against the door frame casually, "Interesting poker group tonight, Jack." She said cooly, her pale skin reflected eerily in lamp light and her blue feral eyes flickering with amusement.

Poor Jack's heart... He screamed like a sissy and spun, knocking over his display. "M-miss Woods? Uuugh... a costumer...." he tried to explain to the others.

Ruby chuckled, "You really need to learn to control your impulses, Jack. I mean, I'm a girl and even I don't scream like that." She teased stepping further into the room.

A long, strident cackle of sorts came from the sitting twins. They found the situation all too hilarious, but still, no humor reached their expressionless eyes. "Miss Ruby, you do make a lovely entrance." Hans twittered out. Of coarse, everyone knew Ruby and what she was about...at least the people who made it their business to know, as the twins saw it, anyhow. Perhaps it was just them. They both shrugged, seeming to have shared a though with each other. 

Ruby turned her head and regarded the two with a cool gaze. She too was somewhat in the business of knowing things, thanks in part to the access she once had to the files at the police station. A small smirk spread across her face.  "The Confitures.... My my my what interesting friends you have, Jack."

Ariel was getting the distinc feeling that everyone but herself were acquainted, so she kept silent and just watched the proceedings.

"And you..." Ruby said turning to look at Ariel, "I don't know you." She said simply, shifting her purse and the newspaper she was holding carefully out of her left hand which sported a bandage from her palm up to her elbow, and into her right.

Ariel thought that sounded pretty rude, but she for one hadn't forgotten her manners. "Ariel Syrene," she said, smiling politely and holding out her hand for the other woman to shake.

Ruby shifted the things in her arms so she could shake the woman's hand, "Ruby Woods," She said as she looked at the woman through narrowed eyes. She had heard that name before but couldn't quite place it. Releasing her hand she turned her attention to Jack. 

"As fun as this is it's getting late. Jack, I'd like my boots please." She came around the table, "I've already lost three days to this inconvenience." She growled gesturing to her left arm.

"Yeah, sure. Just follow me. I'll be right back in, guys," Jack said and started walking into the main shop to look through the boxes.

Ruby nodded and followed him without a sound, her face an impartial mask.

"What's with the hand?" Jack asked, picking up a shoe box and peeking under the lid.

"I fell from a two story building and put my arm though some glass." She answered casually, "I'm fine, but the doctors freaked when the saw the amount of blood I lost. Ordered me to rest for a week or so."

"Wolfe push ya?" asked Jack, looking into another box and then pressing it to his chest.

"No...I was ducking out of the way of a bullet and I tripped." She replied, watching him dig through the boxes.

"Ya know..." Jack said, giving her a mischievous look as he clutched the shoe box all the more tightly to himself. "You really should join us in there... You hunt Wolfe, Wolfe follows Patin orders, we figure out patin orders, don't make me ask twice, Ruby. You know I'm right about this. Plus... we have a new girl in there, and uh, I'd like to impress her. I'm uh, not, uh saying for myself, or anything. You know, so she'll stay in the group."

'"Am I late?!" called Pinocchio, stumbling through the door. "I was bringing you all sandwiches, but this stray dog lunged at me from behind a trash can, and he cashed me a while. The sandwiches didn't make it, but I'm here!"

Jack cringed at the embarrassing awkward man. Feeling he was just about to reel Ruby in, and that Pinocchio, as always, would make a mess of things, he barked, "Back room. Now."

Pinocchio was surprised at the sharpness in Jack's voice, and, too shocked to even notice Ruby, he looked at the floor boards sadly and shuffled into the back to join the others.

Ruby did notice Pinocchio and was thrown into a mild state of shock as she watched him walk into the next room. Shock made way for anger and she fought to keep from heading into the next room and strangling him. The week before Ruby had the unfortunate luck of meeting the strange reporter. He had followed her on a Wolfe hunt and nearly got himself and her killed, never mind blowing her chance at finally killing Wolfe.

"What is he doing here?" She growled, her glare snapping back to Jack.

Jack flinched, with a little surprised strangled noise. "What? Pinocchio? He's uh... I don't know what he's doing here," he lied. "You know, you should really join our group."

"Fat chance now that I know the true member quality." Snapped Ruby, "The idiot nearly got the both of us killed the other night, just because he couldn't keep his oddly shaped nose out of other peoples business. I was so damn close to killing Wolfe. Just a few more steps and one pull of the trigger and it would have been over. But that moron crashes in and blows everything!" She was fuming now, pacing towards the door and then away as if she were deciding whether or not to go in and strangle said idiot.

Ariel was sitting at the tip of her chair, her back straight and her eyes warily watching the two children opposite her, when Pinocchio shuffled into the room. She startled a little, but quickly reigned herself in and offered him a hesitant smile as she looked him up and down. He didn't look like much, in fact, this entire group didn't look like much, and she was beginning to wonder what she'd gotten herself into. This was not the couragous resistance group she had pictured, with brave men and women fighting side by side against the oppressive rule of the Patin Society.

The twin children, both turned toward one another, had been whispering with soft, childish whispers and smiling with lithe, sugary smiles, all the while trying to toy with the Ariel woman with little glances and short laughs. They, too, noticed when the unsuccessful journalist walked in, and the two went into a subdued fit of giggles. Gretta turned and gave a girly wave and batted her eyelashes just for the awkward lad.

Ruby's voice was getting so loud that she could be clearly heard from the next room. "He's an idiot! I can't have him following me around, Jack! I'm surprised he hasn't already tackled me with an array of stupid questions The fact that you've let him into your little club is complete lunacy. What if he writes up a story about you and blows your cover? The Patin will be on you before you even know what's happening!"


- - - - -
The West Side
The Uptown
The City Park
The City Docks

Blood Money and Fairy Dust
The Magic Begins