{Catch the freedom of falling

[shadowthief]

Who: Inej + Various
When: Month of September
Where: Cadens + the Horizon
What: Various closed threads
Warnings: Things that might come up in Inej's narration are: stealing; murder; descriptions of touch aversion, anxiety, depression, PTSD; heavy trust issues, paranoia; mentions of past instances of prostitution, slavery, sexual assault. Everything will be clearly marked if-when it comes up.

I took a hit of heaven

waiting for the sky to drop

Comments

[shadowthief]

[She isn't sure what to make of the silence at first. Had she given up? Was she weighing the options? Was this the sure sign of a hammer swinging down into a solid and firm 'no'? She doesn't know Shepard like she knows some, can't begin to guess which way she might land.

But when her next message comes through, the relief is palpable as it washes through her.]

Thank you.

[And in twenty minutes, that's where she'll be: At the gate, as requested.]

[earthborn]

[The gate is, as they always are, a hub of activity. Even on a calm and quiet day it would be bustling with people entering and exiting the city, inspections, bargaining, and people trying to sell something to those stuck in line or newly arrived.

There's always a guy with deeply suspicious sausage buns. Always.

But today it's a much larger and more rapid chaos than usual; the military works on its own rules. Shepard is ready and waiting when Inej arrives, dressed in a somewhat dusty uniform, and she cocks her head to Inej as a clear follow me.]

Don't talk to anybody, don't make eye contact, walk like you're on your way to do a murder. [This is good advice, Shepard feels, for those who are in a hurry and don't want to be stopped. Not everyone can be invisible in a crowd, and the next best thing is to be unstoppable. Shepard's good at that one, at least.] Which you'd better not be.

[It isn't a threat: if anything, Shepard sounds a little resigned to the idea. Something about the barely-constrained bedlam all around them, of people offloading and wagons coming in and out, of all the shouting— well, it's not how she'd have organized it. But it isn't her place to say.]

Last anybody saw him, he was first in on this mess. [As you would expect. She approves.] Should be coming back off duty for mess within the hour; if we're lucky, you can catch the guy before he ends up heading back to base— there.

[She spots him, with his mark of office standing out on the shoulder. He's on a slightly raised bit of ground, surrounded by aides coming and going, and gesturing with a clipboard, clearly harried and just as clearly exasperated. Might be that all this isn't how he'd have preferred it, either.]

You see him? [She'll follow, at least up to the point where it's a proper hand-off.] There's your guy.

[Hopefully this'll be quick.]

[shadowthief]

[She isn't surprised by the short run of instructions as a greeting, but Inej nods her agreement to them and doesn't bother hiding the slight roll of her eyes at the last bit.]

I don't make a habit of it, it doesn't please my Saints. [She has enough blood on her hands as it is, adding more to that isn't something she personally seeks out.]

I understand- it won't take long, promise.

[Once he's been pointed out to her she nods and heads toward him. It's a short exchange, a brief conversation- Shepard might catch something about a delivery, but the details aren't there. Inej thanks the man for his time, sends well-wishes for their efforts, and slips away once again.]